Less Everything Blog - Design Comments

Comment on 'Static Screen Captures Suck' by John Gallagher

2010-03-01T01:07:18Z

Love the video.

I totally agree with you. I think a massive screenshot is a big waste of space. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t include a series of gorgeous screenshots elsewhere on the site. I just think your primary selling tool in the first few seconds could be video.

However, it needs to be done really, really well. Your video nails it, but it’s so rare to find this in an overview video. When the tour starts with “Hello. My name is X and I want to tell you about my great application for blah blah blah” I just want to scream and close my browser.

So my take? Hard to do, but when you polish and polish and finally get it right, I think it’ll draw customers in. I put up a video on my site for the Beta signup and I’ve got some pretty good conversion rates from it – about 20% who’ve seen the video have signed up.

I’ve also had some really nice comments from potential customers saying that I nail the problem. Check it out for yourself at http://lapsusapp.co.uk

Thanks Allan and Steve for saying what needs to be said. There’s so much untapped potential for businesses in video.

Comment on 'Buttons on the left is the winner' by Storm Force

2010-02-25T12:56:16Z

Interesting research guys. And very interesting information on theatre Darien.

My next round of optimisation would be to consider a primary and secondary call to action rather than giving both buttons equal weighting.

Perhaps at this stage “See the tour” should be the primary call to action as someone would want more information before handing over their details.

Just a theory, but one worth testing I think.

Storm Force

Comment on 'Addiction' by Annette

2010-02-19T00:55:40Z

I could not agree more that addiction is a dominant trait of humans. Search of happiness initially, and another thing is that the force of habits quickly takes over. Humans like to avoid uncertainties, and finding a regular routine that seems to work provides a false sense of security. So I always try to test new things and leave routine to task automation.

Comment on '#10 Rules for Bootstrapped Web App Startups ' by Tom Dwan

2010-02-18T23:01:54Z

Each of the 10 points is worth thinking about. The key is 1/, build something people need, and there is a lot of competition to find novel ideas.

Comment on 'Addiction' by Amy

2010-02-12T16:04:12Z

I was a consulting-aholic, but I quit recently. I never felt better!

(Funnily enough, I’ve got 90% of a guest article written about quitting, where I even introduce myself as an addict. GMTA, or FSD? ;)

Comment on 'Addiction' by SQQZY

2010-02-12T15:56:58Z

I am a stevaholic.

Comment on 'Static Screen Captures Suck' by allan branch

2010-02-01T13:27:48Z

Josh, accounting unlike say, a to do list is complex. While you can make the interface of an accounting app simple the feature do require explanation of when you use them. It’s the nature of the beast. It’s how you can major in Accounting in college. I would consider LessAccounting a smashing success if I could explain accounting and how to use LessAccounting in just 30 minutes.

Comment on 'Static Screen Captures Suck' by John Holdun

2010-02-01T09:14:23Z

Well, perhaps, Allan. But I think there’s still another category in there; something between a pitch and a tutorial. A gist? I don’t get a gist from this video.

It seems to me that Grasshopper is primarily a service, rather than an application. Disregarding that, their “How it Works” page is similar to what you have here at first glance, except that I’d say their list is active, while the list provided by the Less Accounting video is passive.

LA says, “Here’s what’s going to happen.” Grasshopper says, “Here’s what you’re going to do.”

Again, rather subtle, but more than negligible. A lot of it lies in the copywriting.

Finally, if I can get snarky for a second: if a tutorial for your app would take thirty minutes, then maybe the problem isn’t in the video. :)

Comment on 'Static Screen Captures Suck' by Allan Branch

2010-01-31T18:31:11Z

John, you’re looking for tutorial. I’d argue that most people aren’t and a tutorial of our app would be about 30 minutes long.

http://grasshopper.com/how-it-works/

Comment on 'Static Screen Captures Suck' by John Holdun

2010-01-30T13:06:49Z

And in case those 250 words weren’t enough, I’d also recommend taking a look at Pulse’s tour page:

http://pulseapp.com/tour

It’s pretty weighty—probably too comprehensive for a first look—but the detail is fantastic. Plus, all of the screenshots are full of data, which not only looks nicer than the blank slate of a fresh account but it’s also a much better representation of how my work would look once I’ve been using the app for a little while—that is to say, a vast majority of my time spent with it.

And regarding your point, Allan, someone looking at Less Accounting as a customer would likely also be interested in Pulse.

Comment on 'Static Screen Captures Suck' by John Holdun

2010-01-30T13:01:38Z

Kelvin, I don’t need to see every single feature, but seeing SOME, with a reasonable amount of detail, would be nice.

Here, look at Backpack’s animated demo (http://backpackit.com). It’s not exactly a video, but it shows me everything I want to know up front in about thirty seconds.

As you say, the ultimate demonstration is a free trial. I don’t know about you, but my process in test-driving a new application usually boils down to first clicking around to see all the screens and then probably adding some bogus data. It takes ten minutes at most. If I like what I’ve done I’ll keep going, but that first phase is inevitable and almost always the same.

37signals gets that, which is why those exact steps are what’s show on their front page. Suddenly I have a very clear idea of what I can do with this thing and I’ve saved the time and effort required in signing up for a trial account and poking around. As I’m sure you know, that registration form is a HUGE barrier to conversion.

Compare that approach to this video. When the 1:07 are over, I still don’t really have a good idea of what I’m in for. There are some nice bullet points but they’d be just as effective, if not MORE effective, as a simple bulleted list.

The difference is subtle, but I think it’s an extremely important distinction. Video, the way I see it, is for demonstrating interaction.

Comment on 'Static Screen Captures Suck' by allan branch

2010-01-29T14:37:32Z

Hi Kelvin, to defend John he’s probably not looking for an accounting app, he’s just looking at the site. It’s hard for people NOT looking for an accounting application to imagine the thought process of someone that IS looking for one and then cater a video towards that target. It’s great having your opinion of the video.

Comment on 'Static Screen Captures Suck' by Kelvin Jones

2010-01-29T14:26:39Z

@John Holdun – who wants a video showing every single feature that an app might have? I mean, apart from you.

I was searching for an accounting app very recently and there were 3 things I was looking for in this order:

1. An idea of the quality of the app – if the site looks like crap, I doubt the app will work well 2. Get a decent idea of the way the app works 3. A free trial – this is how they “Show them to me!”

So, I completely disagree with you, I think the video looks very polished and professional, which hits number 1.

Also, you’re talking about people searching for a business app here, one that they will turn to for years to come. I doubt that these customers are as fickle as your average consumer.

Comment on 'Static Screen Captures Suck' by John Holdun

2010-01-29T05:03:20Z

I would agree that a minute of video demonstrating the application is a good thing, preferably with complementary large, annotated screenshots (e.g. “Learn More”).

But I don’t think this video is effective. It’s more of a pitch than a demo and I think that’s a waste of an opportunity. The first fifteen seconds tell me nothing about the application, and the remainder is simply too vague. A lot of tasks are automated. Great. But what about the things I still have to do? How do they work?

“There’s plenty of other features in Less Accounting, but you’ll need to see those in action to be wowed and impressed.” Okay, fine. Show them to me!

Comment on 'Static Screen Captures Suck' by allan branch

2010-01-28T14:38:44Z

Edgardo you prove my theory, you’re an early adopter. I’m writing another blog post on this.