

Ask HN: What's wrong with this design? - colevscode

Please trash the new design for sendwrite.com. Here's a link that shows the current and old designs side-by-side. (http://colevscode.posterous.com/new-sendwrite-registration-process) I'm curious to know if the web registration process is easier and more intuitive than the former email-only registration process. Also I'd like any general design advice, suggestions or feedback. Thanks!
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swanson
Be careful about the As Seen On YC link - my first impression was that you
were in a YC class and it's really you submitting your own post to hackernews.
Seems a bit sketchy to me...

I actually like the old design better. It has more character with the cartoon
guy and the video. There is a pleasant color scheme vs a full screen stock
photo of a mailbox. Maybe try incorporating the envelope input box thing with
the some elements from the older design; the new design seems to be missing
the human element, which seems important since the business is about people
buying something for others.

~~~
colevscode
Wow, not the feedback I wanted to hear, but I appreciate it. The key aspect to
the new design is that it allows you to create a card from the landing page,
whereas the old design requires email for registration. I could potentially
bring back the old design and insert the envelope into it. I get the point
about the website having character. I'll have to think about this.

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infinity
Hi,

there are some points that I like about the old design:

1\. The cartoon pictures are cute and tell the "story" of your service. In the
new design something like this is missing.

2\. The ordered list of instructions how to use the service is actually good.
It's linearly ordered and concise. I like it.

3\. There is a "Helpful Video"? That's fantastic!

In the new design there is a huge background image, the mail box. On my screen
I see only the upper part of the picture, the wooden part visible in the
screenshot is clipped - scrolling does not help, the image is fixed.

In the old design there is no background image, so the text links to the
privacy policy and terms of service are better to find. Text or text links on
a background image are generally not the best idea, if readability is
intended. Maybe you will even have users with a mobile device that can only
display some grey scale colors, then setting a sufficiently high contrast
between text and background is a good idea.

On the other hand, there is now a logo for the service in the new design.
That's an excellent idea, since it was missing in the old design. Pick a logo
you are happy with and never change it.

The design of the "terms of service" page in the new layout is not so bad,
maybe you could use parts of this design on the front page as well, plus the
now missing elements from the old design? Like taking the best from two worlds
...

Please, consider to add a page about who is running the service. I always want
to know who is the mind behind a site and why it is there.

I can't comment on the registration process, but I hope that there was
something helpful for you in this comment.

~~~
colevscode
What browser are you using? You should be able to see some of the mailbox
regardless of the size of your viewport.

~~~
infinity
I'm using Opera. I can see a part of the mailbox, but not the complete
picture.

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Skywing
The background image does not gracefully fill up larger width screens. It
obviously can't repeat, but perhaps a gradient to soften the edges?

~~~
colevscode
Can you tell me roughy how large your window is?

