

Ask HN: Please review my site/app - Dokuments.com - dokuments

Hi everyone-
I'd love to get your feedback and suggestions on two things:
- the marketing site (dokuments.com)
and
- the software (signup for a free 14-day trial)<p>Thanks in advance for your time and comments.
======
imp
I'm a web developer, and I'm a little confused on who the target audience is.
Is this something that I would buy and then resell as a product to clients? Or
is this something a mom-and-pop store would buy for themselves and hook into
their hosting account? In general it looks cool, but I'm unsure what level of
abstraction you're going for.

Also, your tagline "custom software solutions" is way too vague. Tighten that
up to be more specific so that it's clear what you're offering. Also, your
name Dokuments may be a cute domain name, but I'm not sure how documents are
related to custom-built LAMP apps.

It looks like there's some really cool and easy to use technology there, and
this is probably a really good area to target. I know a couple non-technical
family and friends who could possibly need a couple of those applications. I
would just work on some of the marketing copy to make it clear who your
audience is. Good luck!

~~~
dokuments
Thanks for the feedback; this is very helpful.

In reviewing this and the other feedback, I think I'm going to focus
dokuments.com on non-developers (small businesses), and use another domain I
own (appGenerator.com) for a developer-oriented version.

Thanks again!

------
marcamillion
The site design looks ok, but it looks a bit bland. The color palette is not
too enticing.

There is too much info on the main page. I have looked at the page briefly
twice (while writing this) and I still don't know what the app does. That
scrolling image in the middle should tell me what it does, and not show me an
abstract example of a screenshot of the app.

Upon looking at the page a third time, I see the following: web + database
apps made easy create portable, open-source PHP/MySQL/Ajax web apps in
minutes.

That doesn't sound specific enough. What problem is this solving and why
should I care?

Looks like you put all of your links in the navbar in the header. Maybe you
can reduce the number of links there and move some of the others either
throughout the page or to the footer (e.g. the blog, contact us, etc.)

The 'free 14-day trial' button doesn't jump off of the page enough. It's your
only call to action but it doesn't grab me, per se.

Other than that, congrats on actually launching.

I am not being mean, just trying to give constructive feedback.

Good luck!

[edit] All of the above was for the marketing site...not the service itself.

~~~
dokuments
Thanks for your feedback; this is very helpful. I'll work on improving the
issues you brought up.

------
revorad
Your pricing looks really complicated. Perhaps you could merge the two
dimensions (no.of sites and type of plan) such that each type of plan comes
with a set number of sites?

Just for fun, I slid the "number of supported users" slider all the way to the
right. $20,000 per month for a 1000 users??? That must be some serious support
you are offering.

~~~
dokuments
Thanks for your feedback. I was worried about this. I think I may try out some
other ideas which may solve the complexity and other problems mentioned by
others.

------
jkahn
First impressions on the marketing (no time to test the software, sorry):

\- I looked at the site and almost clicked away. There is nothing "grabby".
Why would I use this? What would people that land on your site be looking for?
Try answering some of those questions. Second thought: I see you have included
this lower on the page. It needs to stand out more. Maybe something like
"Create powerful data-collection web apps in minutes".

\- The concept of the animated centre section is popular and works. I think
the execution here is not so good. The slides are too busy. Instead, try
putting concepts/features/testimonials on the slides. E.g. "With Dokuments we
developed our HR survey in hours rather than weeks - Random Company".

\- What's your market? I'm guessing anyone who knows the buzzwords near the
top of the screen probably isn't going to buy dokuments (I could be wrong,
though). Talk in their language.

I hope that helps.

~~~
dokuments
Great feedback; this is very helpful. I hope I can revise the site to solve
the problems you mentioned.

------
alexwyser
I'm a web designer so the criticism I have is of the website itself.

While the aesthetics of the site is quite good, it does not meet the objective
of introducing the key benefits of the app, and inviting the user to try it
out.

If you are tracking your visitors, I'm sure you have a high bounce rate. You
should redesign your site.

<shameless plug> If you need a web designer, I could help you out. My
portfolio is at <http://www.alexwyser.com> and my email is
alexwyser@gmail.com. Let me know if you need my help </shameless plug>

~~~
dokuments
Thanks for your feedback. You've got some great work in your portfolio; I may
email you soon.

------
minalecs
I think its good you have a business model, but I think you're price points
are little high. I would put one option out there as free. With a 14 day trial
at $40 a month, to me is very high. I wouldn't even go through the 14 day
trial, as you have a lot of competition in this space. More than likely
someone using this type of product is not someone that will want something
that complex. Theres wufoo, google spreadsheets, formstack, all offer a free
option. Good luck

~~~
dokuments
Thanks; I think you bring up some good points. I'll keep this in mind as I
move ahead.

------
zeroxsys
It is also not a "document" for me, a "form" (that a non-programmer may use to
build their own custom online forms). So I guess, providing a map of flow of
operations/commands will be helpful to tell the clients where Dokuments will
play in their business/personal workflow. Good luck!

~~~
dokuments
Great suggestion; thanks!

------
marilyn
The focal piece on the page, the moving images of the product, is quite off
putting, and doesn't really explain what's going on with your product clearly.
I suggest replacing it with a demo/promo video with voice over explaining the
value of your product.

~~~
dokuments
Thanks; that is a great idea.

------
asimjalis
Looks very clean and well designed.

~~~
dokuments
Thanks! Glad you like it.

------
puredemo
I found the design really offputting personally.

~~~
dokuments
Thanks for your feedback.

~~~
puredemo
Sure. No offense intended at all. It just struck me as very low contrast and
stripped down. And I actually like stripped down sites (craigslist, ycomb,
reddit) but your site sort of took it to a whole new level.

