Roast my product: An app for freelance software developers
As a freelance developer myself, I want to create a product that helps our workflow. I've had this idea in my head for a while so I thought I'd put a landing page together and would love to know what you think:
- Does the page tell you clearly what the product does?
- Is it something you would use?
- If not, what is it missing?
Hey there!
I'm a product designer in NYC. Happy to give my 2-cents. :)
--
"Mission control for your freelance software development business" is a bit vague and confusing. Most users will probably bounce if they don't get the main value prop immediately.
You're opening message should communicate your primary value prop clearly.
Consider Slacks opener:
"Slack brings the team together, wherever you are"
And their secondary line:
"With all of your communication and tools in one place, remote teams will stay productive no matter where you’re working from."
https://slack.com/
You'll notice that most successful sites follow this core structure:
They clearly state the "What" (i.e. what your product does), followed by the "How" (i.e. how your product accomplishes this).
--
I would also simplify your home page across the board. There's a lot to digest right now. Again, lean into your core value props. Figure out your 3 core value props are, and make those very clear on the home page.
Consider Allbirds.
Their unique selling points center around being the world’s most comfortable shoe; made with sustainable, natural materials.
Now take a look at their home page: They clearly focus on these two value props, and reinforce them again and again with text and imagery:
https://www.allbirds.com/
Hope this isn't too harsh, and somewhat helpful!
Best,
J
Thanks @Magic this is really helpful! I agree with your points, and it's something I've been struggling to get right. Your feedback gives me some ideas so I will work on improving it :)
Hey there,
Just wondering if you could take a look at our new site, and give your opinion (Desktop only right now)
http://magicmorning.co/
2 Questions:
- Is it clear?
- Do you want to try the product?
- If not, what's the reasoning?
Thanks!
Sure thing! Let me know if you want extra feedback on a new version!
@Magic @neeravbm
I wrote some updated copy for the top fold. What do you think? Is it any better or am I still way off? Any feedback is really appreciated!
## Headline
Effortless timesheet and invoice productivity for freelance software developers, in one easy to use desktop app
## Sub Headline
Link popular timesheet and invoicing apps (Toggl, Timely, Upwork, Freshbooks, Quickbooks, Bill.com, and more) and manage them all in one place.
Review and add time/fees with one “single source of truth”
Easily create and track invoices from multiple sources
Increase important data visibility
Export data and invoices to PDF
Designed with freelance software developers in mind
More features coming soon!
Hey!
I think this is moving in the right direction, the opening line still feels a bit confusing imho though.
I understand that your creating one central hub for all these tools, but I guess I'm missing why that's something I should want.
----
As a side note:
I just went through a process that was really helpful for me, and might help you as well.
It's based on the Simon Sinek Ted talk, where he emphasizes the importance of not only what you do, and how you do it, but also why you do it.
https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action?language=en
Here's what it looked like when I ran through this exercise for my company, Magic.
Our "Why"
Our "How"
Our "What"
----
Hopefully after reading this, you have a clear idea of not only what we do, but why we do it.
The answer to your "how", will ultimately become your value props, and the key information you'll end up communicating to your customers.
For instance, Magic's value props are:
Primary
Secondary
Just wanted to share since this provides a nice clear framework for telling your story.
Feel free to follow, and we can keep a convo going. I'd love to get your feedback on my stuff too!
J
Hey @Magic thanks for this feedback it's really helpful. I think what you have brought up are things I have been aware of maybe sub-consciously and not able to verbalize.
This framework you present is very helpful. I really like your "Why"'s for your own product. It gives you a very clear picture of the purpose of your product.
I think that is the hardest part for me to communicate. I tend to answer my "why" with a "how", and have a hard time taking it further. I'll def check out the ted talk link you sent and give it another shot once I free up.
Hey there!
Just wondering if you could take a look at our new site, and give your opinion (Desktop only right now)
http://magicmorning.co/
2 Questions:
- Is it clear?
- Do you want to try the product?
- If not, what's the reasoning?
Thanks!
Hey @Magic I saw your page and will give you my first impression:
I like the clean feel and minimal copy and I like the overall design. It feels clean and simple. I like those kind of sites. I signed up :)
One thing I could point out is that I did feel like I wanted a little more info. Maybe a bit of copy that explains what you can do with it will go a long way. Above the fold right away I got that you can create a morning routine, but I don't understand how exactly. Is it like a scheduler or a to-do list with some added features? I see that later it tells you there's curated content but not clear above the fold. Users might just bounce right off the page if they don't know a little more info right away.
On the section that reads "Learn the habits of highly effective people", this sounds really interesting, but I'm not clear from the visuals right below that statement, if that means you have curated content that I will be able to see in your app, or if you had a different intention with that statement. I would like to know what that means at that point.
The next section below that one, with the black background looks nice but I had to scroll well into the solid black background before anything showed up. Most of my page was solid black before something showed up. Maybe you will want to adjust that. I'm on a 16" laptop, if that helps.
The graphic on the last section looks cool, but I don't understand how it relates to your app. Is it supposed to indicate your daily ration of Magic? I think it throws me off because it feels too prominent as if I'm supposed to focus on it. Maybe a supporting small text there to hint at the meaning would work? Or making it smaller and placing side to side with the early access input?
Overall looks very nice, and an app I'd be interested in checking out. But I think a little copy in some key places would help a visitor like me understand what the app is really about.
Hope this helps :)
Hey!
Thanks for the extremely useful feedback here.
I actually re-worked the whole site based on your feedback, the feedback from others, and my own thoughts.
http://magicmorning.co/
If you have a moment, could you check it out, and let me know if it makes more sense.
I still have the graphic at the bottom, but I've been thinking about ditching it :D
Thanks again for the feedback. Truly appreciate it!
J
@Magic I checked out your site again. It's looking great in my opinion, definitely more clear to me what the app is about and the design looks nice and clean
Really like the animated parts that show the app it really brings me into the app and understand it better. Curious, are those screen recordings? I'd like to learn how you did that. It is a great touch.
Hey,
Thanks for the follow up! Glad it's more clear now.
--
For the animated parts:
For the most part these are just screen recordings of the actual app.
Couple pro tips:
You can record directly from your phone, but there's a bright red record symbol in the top left corner of the phone, so that's not super ideal.
I also did some stuff in post production. Namely adding those blue dots, so you can see what the users tapping on.
I created these in Principle (prototyping tool)... but there's lot of ways to create these (photoshop, after effect, etc.
Hope this helps a bit. Let me know if you need anything else!
Thanks again.
J
Thanks @Magic useful info. I'll have to play around a bit with that :)
Awesome, let me know if there's anything else I can do to help!
Feedback about landing page:
"Mission control for your freelance software development business" doesn't mean anything. Instead make your second line "Efficiently keep track of time, fees, invoices and budget in an easy to use desktop app" the headline. It's way more clear.
I am not a fan of the dynamic typing JS that you have above the fold. It takes a lot of time for users to go through each point and frankly, no one is going to wait that long.
Answers to your questions:
The page sort of tells me what the product could be but not really. But it does tell me enough that I know that I don't need it.
No. It seems like one more project management tool. I already have one. In fact, I use many depending on what my client prefers. You have not given me any reason to switch.
What is the primary benefit to me of using your tool?
@neeravbm Thanks for this feedback. I agree, the value prop is vague. I've been changing this idea a lot as I've built the page and I totally see what you mean now that you bring it up.
The main value prop right now is that you will be able to integrate different timesheet (and invoicing) sources into one app so it's all in one place. I don't think the page really explains that well.
Hmm yeah, the typing. I didn't think of that. I may test out different versions and see what works best with that part, but def keeping that in mind.
@embpdaniel Now I understand what problem you are trying to solve. Do you have any numbers on how many hours on average can I save per month? If someone gave you a testimonial with this number, you could use this number in your headline:
Does that make sense?
Great idea @neeravbm I will add that once I can get that data!