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YC Facelift: DrChrono

kyrobeshay.com

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Re: YC Facelift: DrChrono

#11

Post by sjs382 »

thechangelog wrote: post #10

While I applaud the effort, this seems like a very short-sighted project. Design is not about how things look, it's about how things work to advance a set of goals. And it's very difficult to know how things work without research and exploration. Any new design would start with reviewing stats, business goals and the competition. Projects that don't do that should more-aptly be called "re-colouring" or "moving things…

I dont think "re-colouring" or "moving things around to be pretty." really applies to this series. The redesigns seem really effective and are based on a specific criticism of the site (“doesn’t make you feel confident in their claims of what their app does.”).

Re: YC Facelift: DrChrono

#12

Post by mdoerneman »

pbreit wrote: post #5

This is the first one where I think the original might be better. What is "MU"? Feature headings are too subtle. The "darkness" seems fine (I actually found the facelift's dark splotches jarring). Too wide (as usual). The original feels easier to scan. No link to the demo. Some positives: the arrows to the call to action. The image of the doctor. Spotlighting MU certification (even though MU is not defined).

I think this is your best work yet Kyro. The re-design feels so much more professional and it looks gorgeous. I guess it's true what they say about design being subjective.

Re: YC Facelift: DrChrono

#13

Post by tonywebster »

This is excellent. Really demonstrates trust and confidence, and brings attention to Meaningful Use certification, which is a big deal. Clear call to action to get started and quick points to jump into product views. Really good work, and I hope the DrChrono team jumps on this! In fact, I think their entire EHR -- while excellent -- could use a YC Facelift™.

Re: YC Facelift: DrChrono

#14

Post by chintan »

dominostars wrote: post #7
pbreit wrote: post #5

This is the first one where I think the original might be better. What is "MU"? Feature headings are too subtle. The "darkness" seems fine (I actually found the facelift's dark splotches jarring). Too wide (as usual). The original feels easier to scan. No link to the demo. Some positives: the arrows to the call to action. The image of the doctor. Spotlighting MU certification (even though MU is not defined).

This design gives me the immediate impression that this product is related to health care, something that the current drchrono.com does not do. And it's gorgeous, I think he did a great job with this one. As far as MU, he claims, "I brought the ‘MU Certification’ badge front and center because I’ve been told that potential health incentives factor heavily in a practice’s or hospital’s decision to adopt a new platform…

MU is a term frequently used in Health IT field. I'm not sure if the actual customers (physicians/doctors) will know about the term. Unless of course, there is an internal "IT evaluation team" evaluating the product and then I don't think design/UX matters anymore.

Re: YC Facelift: DrChrono

#15

Post by aaronkwhite »

thechangelog wrote: post #10

While I applaud the effort, this seems like a very short-sighted project. Design is not about how things look, it's about how things work to advance a set of goals. And it's very difficult to know how things work without research and exploration. Any new design would start with reviewing stats, business goals and the competition. Projects that don't do that should more-aptly be called "re-colouring" or "moving things…

This is the Greatest Response EVER!

Re: YC Facelift: DrChrono

#16

Post by bhousel »

chintan wrote: post #14
dominostars wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This design gives me the immediate impression that this product is related to health care, something that the current drchrono.com does not do. And it's gorgeous, I think he did a great job with this one. As far as MU, he claims, "I brought the ‘MU Certification’ badge front and center because I’ve been told that potential health incentives factor heavily in a practice’s or hospital’s decision to adopt a new platform…

MU is a term frequently used in Health IT field. I'm not sure if the actual customers (physicians/doctors) will know about the term. Unless of course, there is an internal "IT evaluation team" evaluating the product and then I don't think design/UX matters anymore.

MU = Meaningful Use

The person making the purchasing decision will almost certainly know about this. A provider must meet certain "meaningful use" criteria to be eligible for tax credits, and so this designation indicates that DrChrono meets some of these requirements.

I think it's fair to say that most organizations currently looking to buy an EHR are doing so because they want to take advantage of these tax incentives.

Re: YC Facelift: DrChrono

#17

Post by rkudeshi »

I looked at their current design first, which seemed to actually be pretty good (at least compared to the original sites of the last few you've redesigned).

Then I looked at your redesign. And it was really interesting to see the things you highlighted. If I was a doctor, I'm sure the MU certification and $44,000 tax credit would speak directly to me. It shows me that (1) the product is trustworthy, and (2) why I would want to try it immediately.

Then I flipped back to DrChrono's original design and immediately noticed the shortcomings that I hadn't realized before:

* There are screenshots of the app above the fold, but they don't really grab my attention (the doctor in the redesign not only did grab my attention, it also made it abundantly clear this was made for medical professionals).

* I also now noticed that DrChrono was using some generic clip art below the fold - it's cute, but it doesn't sell the product for me. In the redesign, you use actual screenshots of the app which made me curious to want to click through. You also had picture testimonials at the bottom, which immediately gave me social proof of other people using the product and made me want to read their stories.

* Regarding social proof, I also didn't even notice the NY Times/USA Today/CNBC logos on the current design. Whereas, on the redesign, those were some of the first things that struck out to me. Like it or not, mass media mentions definitely make me (and just about everyone else) take your product way more seriously and so it definitely pays off to feature them.

* As I mentioned before, the tax credit and MU certification really "sell" the app to me. And on the original design, I didn't notice either. The tax credit is described in very small text and doesn't stand out in any way. As for the MU certification, I was completely oblivious to it on my first pass-over (it's a triangle in the top right). I suspect ad blindness has trained me to ignore anything featured in that way, whereas I couldn't help but notice it in the redesign (the textured background helped especially - it looked like a juicy lemon and compelled me to see it).

* Lastly, the original design definitely felt like a template to me. Almost all of the graphics are boilerplate iPad app icons to the point that you could just replace some of the text and have it work for any other app. That's not a dealbreaker by any means, but it certainly doesn't help if you want people to notice your app on its own merits.

Re: YC Facelift: DrChrono

#18

Post by dkrich »

I like this. I also like the current design. I don't particularly think one is significantly more effective than the other on the surface. I think the redesign is somewhat distracting because there is text all over the place, some big, some small, and there is no logical path for your eye to follow.

My main criticism with the current design is that it should never be that complicated to find pricing information. "What is it going to cost me?" is the first question any prospective customer is going to ask about any product once they realize that it is something they may want. So why require the user to click through to a pricing page and then click a drop-down to see a price list? You may as well put it front-and-center, because hiding the cost from customers is not going to make them forget that there is one.

Re: YC Facelift: DrChrono

#19

Post by kelsokennedy »

I love this design. I really think the focus on lighter colors/whites is much more appropriate for something that is 'medical grade'. I also agree with the placement of key features targeted directly to the buyer.

Re: YC Facelift: DrChrono

#20

Post by grey-area »

This is quite a brave, interesting series of posts, so thanks for that; long may they continue.

I like the way you're breaking the grid here with the person in the white coat, which helps this feel less like a standard startup template, and more something tailored. Having someone hold/interact with the app also humanises it (as compared to their existing page), which is a lesson many tech startups (from pebble to this one) would do well to heed if they want to attract people who are not technical. The colours are very important, and I think you're right to go with white here with splashes of colour, in fact I think the dark blue is a mistake for the very reasons you argue in your post against grey/dark colours.

These 'trust us, the nytimes does' links seem to be de rigueur for startup sites now, but I'm not sure that they really deserve this placement. I'd boost the actual users of the product instead and leave the press links for lower down the page.

The only place I feel this redesign falls down is in its presentation of the key points lower down on the page. You have identified that they are not working, but I'm not convinced by the replacement:

The key points on the old website are ugly, and inconsistent (why two different styles of presentation for 6 different points, and then unrelated user testimonial beside the lower ones?).

The key points on your redesign are repeats from above, and are hidden by distracting chrome - presented in some sort of slider widget which doesn't do them justice. This is a home page - if you are going to present USPs there should be 1-3 major selling points/calls to action which you extract from the client, and those should be presented beautifully with supporting illustrations and clear actions. Navigation chrome is just getting in the way here - if necessary present them as a grid with more than 3, but there should be no clicking just to see more IMHO.

PS As a meta-point, I really feel you lose something in these blog posts by not comparing the two pages directly with a screenshot of the site as it was. These sites are likely to change, which will make your commentary and redesign difficult or impossible to understand, and also I'm lazy and don't want to have to click another link :)

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