J J Weimer wrote:

As an unbiased (WRT Hyperplan) observer taking due respect to the great
work done to generate the page, I would offer the remarks below with the
hope they are taken as ways to improve the impact rather than critiques
about mistakes.

Constructive feedback is always welcome. And I have developed a fairly thick skin over the years. ;0)

* We focus on pictures first and then look for the explanation for the
picture afterward. In English, we read from left to right. The page
scatters the placement of images and text between left and right sides.
For consistency, put pictures on the left (what will be seen first) and
put their explanations on the right (what will be sought next).

It is a fair point. But I tried this to start with and it looked really dull.

* We capture ideas in snapshots. The page flows continuously with no
clear demarcations between ideas. Provide better demarcations between
ideas.

I hope to get a proper web designer to tweak the white space along with the colours, fonts etc.

* This struck me at the first feature (Layout cards in ...). The fewer
"fluff" words and the fewer inferences, the better. Remove "e.g" and
words in ' ... '. Also, make the explanation text bigger (you've got
lots of space there next to the images).

I have been gradually paring down the text. The latest version (now at https://www.hyperplan.com is quite a bit sparer.

Also, can you slow down the
action in the moving videos? You might consider allowing about 3-5
seconds between each layout change to allow the layout image to "sink
in" (3-5 s is what we typically consider as the smallest instant in time
to process a concept before moving to the next one).

I know it is reminiscent of a pachinko parlour at present. But if the pause is more than a second or two, you might scroll past without realizing it is an animation.

Otherwise, I am enticed by what I see and will try Hyperplan in the near
future.

The website did its job then. ;0)

Thanks for the feedback.

--

Andy Brice
https://www.hyperplan.com

@Andy

It's definitely an improved site. The screenshots and the gifs communicated to me the features of the software a lot more clearly.

At the moment though the home page is still focusing on features, rather than on benefits.

Maybe this is what you want, but at least in terms of classical marketing, Theodore Levitt comes to mind: "People don't want to buy a quarter-inch drill, they want a quarter-inch hole."

I'm not insisting that Levitt's addage applies to every situation. If your customers are feature-focused, like CRIMPERs tend to be, perhaps the current communication strategy makes more sense.

Personally though my issue with Hyper Plan has always been that I was intrigued with the features, but could never really think of an actual use in my daily practice.

So to prospective customers like me the links at the bottom to "Kanban board etc." are potentially more interesting, to help us imagine what we might be able to use this software for.

Another observation: the matrix style thinking and analysis that Hyper Plan enables probably comes easier to more numerical types (engineers, programmers, people who enjoyed and preferred maths in school to the humanities or social sciences types subjects).

However, the humanities types ('poets') probably need a bit more help to grasp how constructing matrices can help solve problems, as they had trouble interpreting or constructing graphs etc.

I think it is much better. I hope it proves to be effective for selling your fine software.

Steve Z

Andy Brice wrote:

Following the helpful feedback I have put a new version online:

new: https://www.hyperplan.com/staging/
old: https://www.hyperplan.com/

Note that that I haven't changed the design (fonts, colour, white space)
much and I haven't made it responsive yet. I will concentrate on that
once I am happy with the overall structure and copy.

--
Andy Brice
http://www.hyperplan.com

Dr Andus wrote:

It's definitely an improved site. The screenshots and the gifs
communicated to me the features of the software a lot more clearly.

Thanks.

At the moment though the home page is still focusing on features, rather
than on benefits.

Maybe this is what you want, but at least in terms of classical
marketing, Theodore Levitt comes to mind: "People don't want to buy a
quarter-inch drill, they want a quarter-inch hole."

I'm not insisting that Levitt's addage applies to every situation. If
your customers are feature-focused, like CRIMPERs tend to be, perhaps
the current communication strategy makes more sense.

'Sell the sizzle, not the steak'

I hear you. I personally hate those websites that concentrate on telling you how wonderful their product is without telling you what it does. Also benefits always pretty much boil down to reduce cost, time or risk. But it is a work in progress and I might add some more benefits oriented copy. Any websites you think do a particularly good job of this?

Personally though my issue with Hyper Plan has always been that I was
intrigued with the features, but could never really think of an actual
use in my daily practice.

Some people love it and some people don't like it at all. That's fine. I think it depends very much on whether it matches your mental model of the world.

So to prospective customers like me the links at the bottom to "Kanban
board etc." are potentially more interesting, to help us imagine what we
might be able to use this software for.

It is also an attempt to get more organic search engine traffic. ;0)

Another observation: the matrix style thinking and analysis that Hyper
Plan enables probably comes easier to more numerical types (engineers,
programmers, people who enjoyed and preferred maths in school to the
humanities or social sciences types subjects).

I think you are mostly right. Although I know some people are using Hyper Plan for writing novels/screenplays.

However, the humanities types ('poets') probably need a bit more help to
grasp how constructing matrices can help solve problems, as they had
trouble interpreting or constructing graphs etc.

I don't think that is my job! Better to try and get in front of those who are already looking for something like this.

--
Andy Brice
https://www.hyperplan.com

Stephen Zeoli wrote:

I think it is much better. I hope it proves to be effective for selling
your fine software.

Thanks!

--

Andy Brice
https://www.hyperplan.com

Just to follow up on this. I have been working on a new design, with the help of a web designer.

Here is the current design:
https://www.hyperplan.com

Here is the new design:
http://hyperplan.stefanoginella.com

The new design is still a work in progress, but hopefully not far off now. It is fully responsive, so should look ok on any device.

What do you think?

--
Andy Brice
http://www.hyperplan.com

Good one, Andy! Wow, that's a huge improvement - and straight into the features (plus benefits)!

Bravo!
Bill

MadaboutDana wrote:

Good one, Andy! Wow, that's a huge improvement - and straight into the
features (plus benefits)!

Bravo!
Bill

Wow! What a change! I completely agree with Bill.

MadaboutDana wrote:

Good one, Andy! Wow, that's a huge improvement - and straight into the
features (plus benefits)!

Bravo!
Bill

Wow! What a change! I agree with Bill.

I agree with the accolades above.

Steve Z

Thumbs up from my part as well :)

Stephen Zeoli wrote:

I agree with the accolades above.

Thanks for the feedback. We'll never have something that is perfect or everyone likes. But it looks like it is heading in the right direction.

--
Andy Brice
http://www.hyperplan.com

Hi Andy

Your app idea is amazing. I particularly like the way you can build relationships.

I would look at a couple of issues with the home / landing page:

1. What problem are you solving? I think making this clearer helps to orientate a visitor to your site
2. Maybe put the video on the home page. Something to explain what this does and does differently.
3. Overall I think the design etc is good enough for a start and to get user feedback.

Have downloaded and keen to test this. Good luck

1. What problem are you solving? I think making this clearer helps to
orientate a visitor to your site

"Hyper Plan combines the simplicity of sticking colored notes to the wall with the flexibility of software"

This is now at the top of home page in the new design.

2. Maybe put the video on the home page. Something to explain what this
does and does differently.

It used to be on the home page. But I moved it to a separate page to keep the home page more focussed.

--

Andy Brice
https://www.hyperplan.com

The website is live:
https://www.hyperplan.com

Thanks for all the feedback. Please let me know if you spot any issues (even a typo).

--

Andy Brice
https://www.hyperplan.com