

Rate my startup: Simplton - zarski

It has been almost 8 months since I was shellacked in the hacker news comments (which I totally appreciate btw) for bad design/ui/ux.<p>http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1282132<p>Simplton is back after a total overhaul. I am hoping it is better but don't pull any punches. Please be "that guy" (or gal).<p>http://simplton.com
and
http://simplton.com/screenshots
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mootothemax
It's pretty enough in its own way, but do you know what my first reaction was?
I first viewed your site in Chrome, then loaded it up in Firefox, and finally
IE because I was convinced that something wasn't rendering correctly.

Two things stand out in particular: first, my laptop's resolution is 1600x900
and I have to scroll down to see the links on the left; secondly, that's a
HUGE amount of empty space on the right hand side, and it looks like it could
accommodate the "What is Simplton" text quite nicely.

Honestly, I'd advise doing what I do - although I'm not terribly successful,
so perhaps you should disregard this advice ;-) Anyway, go to ThemeForest,
find a decent sales page theme, and another one for your user area. It'll cost
you $30-40, and whilst some will object to what are pretty obviously cookie-
cutter themes, you'll find out pretty quickly if people will pay for it.

I was in the same place as you a year ago, with a tool whose design was 100
times worse than yours is, and I was signing up 1 trial account per day. Many
months later I bought a design for $15 and an admin theme for $20, and that
increased free trials to 20 a day!

Good luck! :)

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schwabacher
Hmm, I agree about the links. I am on a desktop and the sign up link is right
at the bottom of the screen. On a laptop it would be hidden.

Other than that, I like you art and design quite a bit more than a prefab
theme. If you do try it, don't throw out what you have :)

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Travis
On <http://simplton.com/philosophy> I would make the bullet points the only
content on the page. Click them and it expands to show your explanation.

For something that focuses on simplicity, you sure have a lot of words. If I
were you, I'd look to cut 75% of your verbiage.

I don't understand what the companies represent on
<http://simplton.com/pricing>. Is that companies that use your service? Am I
buying real estate in this imaginary town? I think you're overusing your town
metaphor.

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alnewkirk
I like the "small town bug tracker" marketing on the home page, ... not sure
if the image depicts a small town tho.

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zone2
clickable <http://simplton.com>

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Charuru
About design, I have only 1 thing to say.

Use gradients or don't use gradients, PICK ONE. If you use gradients, then all
(or most of) your elements need gradients. I recommend removing gradients, as
sometimes gradients are hard to make work.

