5 ms·
The TrueCar homepage (http://www.truecar.com/ http://www.truecar.com/) looks like one of those generic 404/squatter page.
by vinhboy 13y ago
The TrueCar homepage (http://www.truecar.com/ http://www.truecar.com/) looks like one of those generic 404/squatter page.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- buss 13y agoOh wow, I wonder when and why they started using this design? If I saw this without already knowing about TrueCar I would have immediately closed the tab.
- mojobot 13y agoYeah, it's mostly the top banner that's the problem. With the large stock image that may or may not be about buying a car and the set of links that are sort of relevant to what you want. Scrolling further, the content looks more legitimate. Had I not just read that article, I wouldn't have gone beyond the top banner.
- prostoalex 13y agoI think their most common channels are cars.overstock.com, as well as americanexpress.com partnerships, you wouldn't be actually visiting truecar.com.
- heelhook 13y agoAnd the "trusted brands" links just before the fold looks a lot like the end of a page (probably because of the small font and gray colors). On the first visit I didn't even realize I could scroll down, until someone mentioned there was more genuine-looking content further down.
- Andrenid 13y agoI had assumed they typo'd their link and I had clicked through to a squatter, and closed the tab. Only after seeing your comment did I realise it was correct and go back and look.
- dsl 13y agoThose generic parked domain pages are heavily A/B tested and iterated to achieve maximum revenue per user. What this tells me is TrueCar probably has a pretty solid layout that gets users to click and start the process.
- overdrivetg 13y agoThis is totally right - that page is A/B tested to high heaven and is targeted at the mainstream car buyer (aka "typically less internet-savvy") who seem to respond best to that kind of layout. Trust me, they tried a bunch of different Web 2.0-ish layouts and they all lose to these kinds of generic-looking pages. Sad but true. Source: previous TrueCar employee.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- tptacek 13y agoI'm super confused by this (you're one of a few people to say it), because that page doesn't look spammy to me at all. A little corporate, maybe. The list of car links on the front page is workable as a UX.
- matthewbadeau 13y agoI think it's just the basic design. Here are a few examples using motherboard as a root word: http://mother.com/ http://mother.com/ http://mother.net/ http://mother.net/ http://motherboard.com/ http://motherboard.com/ http://www.motherboards.com/ http://www.motherboards.com/ I think it has to do with a single color header, half the page with plain blue links and the other half with a stock-looking photo.
- alan_cx 13y agoYeah, you're not wrong. Its quite odd, and fascinating, because it has the info you'd want to see, give it a second or two, and it does look purposely designed. But, yes, it looks like a parked domain page. Or at the very least, hints at one. I guess its one of those instances where no one sort of blinked and saw it how we are seeing it... if you know what I mean. Same sort of thing that happens when a song writer writes a song they genuinely thought was original, only to find out they has dragged up something from their subconscious that they heard before. I bet if at some point someone said, hey, that looks like a parked domain page the designers would have immediately seen it too.