Genii Weblog

I need feedback on new product pages

Thu 16 Jun 2005, 12:00 PM



by Ben Langhinrichs
[Modified 8/17/05 to remove links to old pages which do not exist]

As I have mentioned here recently, I am looking at ways to make our product pages more useful, especially for the Solutions (CoexLinks and CoexEdit).  I was hoping that some of you who like to share your opinions could take a look and share your opinions on these new versus old pages.

CoexLinks - Old Page and New Page (old page and new page are now the same)
CoexEdit - Old Page and New Page (old page and new page are now the same)
Some questions to consider:
1) Does the page look better, worse or no better/no worse?
2) Is the information provided in the boxes clear in the new versions?
3) Would you know to click the screenshot to see more screenshots?  If not, how and where could I point that out?
4) Do the screenshot pages (if you do click on them) communicate anything?  (People seem to like screenshots, such as the Hannover ones, but they don't speak to me much)
Thank you so much in advance.  I would really appreciate any feedback, positive or negative.

Copyright © 2005 Genii Software Ltd.

What has been said:


328.1. Julian Robichaux (06/16/2005 10:36 AM)

Initial reaction for the CoexEdit pages:

I like how the Features, Requirements, and Pricing are all there on the front page, boxed out. However, I don't like having to scroll to see them.

I think you should have a "click to see screenshots" link or caption under the graphic.

I think the 3rd paragraph on the new page ("CoexEdit 1.0 was released...") could be deleted.

I think the first paragraph on the new page could be largely turned into bullet points.

I like how there was a "download" link in a very obvious place on the old page.

I'd like to see a FAQ, like you have for Coex Links.

For CoexLinks:

Largely the same feedback. bullet points, minimize scrolling, give me a download link. Also, you might be able to move the FAQs to a different page.

For both products/pages:

A link to the support forums for each product might be good too. Some of the users might be existing customers coming to the page for support, instead of potential customers.

I'd like to see a lot of examples of use for both products (even without screenshots). I know the strength of the products is that they're very flexible, but a dumb ol' developer like me might need some inspiration ("Have you ever wanted to...?").

You could stand to have a little more whitespace on the pages too, if that's an option. Especially on the right hand side and between the text and the graphics.

- Julian


328.2. Julian Robichaux (06/16/2005 10:45 AM)

If you truly wanted to start from scratch on your product pages, and take a really minimalist approach, here's a page I came across recently that I thought was a good, basic product page that put all the necessary information right in front of you (of course, it's a wiki page so it probably changes by the minute, but...):

BeagleWiki

It's got a nice big font (so you can easily scan the words), an even bigger bolder font for the different topics you might want to know about, and a decent amount of whitespace.

I've found that on most web pages with a lot of words (especially ones with small fonts), I don't read them at all. I scan (A) headlines, (B) links, and (C) short sentences.

Okay, I'll shut up now...

- Julian


328.3. Ben's Daughter (06/16/2005 11:24 AM)

I think both of the new pages look better. While I know very little about what you're attempting to present, it is fairly clear that you click on the link to get more screenshots. I'd also have to agree with Julian about the headlines and links.

Hope this helps!