Ask HN: What makes a great Web app home page?

#1

Post by gacxllr9 » Mon, Jun 21, 2010, 4:00 AM UTC

Designing the home page has proven to be a challenge in the past week. There is so much information to include that I'm not sure what to do. Obviously, I'll have links to the site's Facebook and Twitter page, a brief explanation of what the Web app is and a brief explanation of what the Web app does. I'll also possibly have a newsfeed that spits back the recent activity on the site, ala Facebook's real-time newsfeed.

What should I be thinking about when designing my Web app's home page?

Re: Ask HN: What makes a great Web app home page?

#2

Post by chime » Mon, Jun 21, 2010, 4:50 AM UTC

Your problem reminds me of this story:

    A little boy sat on a stump, contemplating a chunk of wood in his hand.

    "What are you going to do with that?" his father asked.

    "I'm going to carve an elephant," the boy said, confidently.

    "Do you know how to go about carving an elephant?"

    "Easy," the boy replied. "All I have to do is
        cut away everything that does not look like an
        elephant."

Figure out what really needs to be on your home page. Don't put everything on there. In fact, remove as much as you can. Merge the two brief explanations (what web app is + what it does). Put the links to FB/Twitter in bottom or top bar so that they do not detract from the main contents.

Primarily, add a "Get Started" button or some other action cue. If at all possible, include a short video that shows how to use your app. I wouldn't bother with newsfeeds etc. unless it is core to the app's functionality.

Re: Ask HN: What makes a great Web app home page?

#3

Post by _urga » Mon, Jun 21, 2010, 5:38 AM UTC

A logo, three sentences (sans adjectives) re: benefits, and a button to start using it immediately (make registration deferred and progressive).

Re: Ask HN: What makes a great Web app home page?

#4

Post by dreadlabs » Mon, Jun 21, 2010, 5:42 AM UTC

chime wrote: post #2

Your problem reminds me of this story: A little boy sat on a stump, contemplating a chunk of wood in his hand. "What are you going to do with that?" his father asked. "I'm going to carve an elephant," the boy said, confidently. "Do you know how to go about carving an elephant?" "Easy," the boy replied. "All I have to do is cut away everything that does not look like an elephant." Figure out what really needs to be on…

I like your story, in a weird recursive way your story reminded me of a quote i've remembered.

"You know how you design a plane? You leave out anything that aint the plane, cuz the damn thing gotta fly."

Re: Ask HN: What makes a great Web app home page?

#5

Post by jasonemerick » Mon, Jun 21, 2010, 5:48 AM UTC

Create 2 versions of the home page that you like and then A/B test them to see which one performs better. Go with the one that performs better or add some more tweaks and more A/B testing.

Re: Ask HN: What makes a great Web app home page?

#6

Post by pkulak » Mon, Jun 21, 2010, 6:06 AM UTC

jasonemerick wrote: post #5

Create 2 versions of the home page that you like and then A/B test them to see which one performs better. Go with the one that performs better or add some more tweaks and more A/B testing.

This is a good idea, but really only works when you have enough traffic already.

Re: Ask HN: What makes a great Web app home page?

#7

Post by j_baker » Mon, Jun 21, 2010, 6:08 AM UTC

Tell me what the thing does and why I should care with as few details as possible. Once I care, provide me a way to fill in the rest of the details.

Re: Ask HN: What makes a great Web app home page?

#8

Post by keefe » Mon, Jun 21, 2010, 6:25 AM UTC

based on what you have said so far you should be thinking :

           less is more

Re: Ask HN: What makes a great Web app home page?

#9

Post by papachito » Mon, Jun 21, 2010, 6:39 AM UTC

keefe wrote: post #8

based on what you have said so far you should be thinking : less is more

That implies that "more" is better. A better way to say it is "less is better".

http://37signals.com/svn/archives2/less_is_more_is_bullshit....

Re: Ask HN: What makes a great Web app home page?

#10

Post by jasonkester » Mon, Jun 21, 2010, 7:04 AM UTC

What should you be thinking? Simple:

"I have 5 seconds of this guy's time."

... and then only if you're lucky. Once you realize that, everything else follows easily. Your first goal is to answer "what does this website do" in six words and stick that message in a place the user can't miss.

Next up is a clear call to action. A "Solve My Problem Now" button that takes up a third of the screen and can't be missed or mistaken.

Then you have 3 other elements to play with (At a maximum, a user will be able to process 5 things about a page, and you've already used up two). I'd go for a couple bullet points explaining benefits (not features), and some form of graphic showing that benefit happening in a spectacular way.

And that's it. That's all you get above the fold. Feel free to add more stuff, but make it low key and below the fold. The 4% of your visitors who are still around and curious can read it, but the rest will have bounced or clicked the signup button already. The facebook/twitter stuff you mention goes all the way down in the footer.

Examples (my own):

http://www.fairtutor.com/

http://www.twiddla.com/

Visit each one for 5 seconds, then come back here and see if you can remember what they do. If you can't, I've failed. If you can, I've probably still failed. But if you get stuck and click the "Go" button, I win.