Learn Web Design, Web Development, and iOS Development

Re: Learn Web Design, Web Development, and iOS Development - Treehouse

#31

Post by ryancarson » Mon, Nov 07, 2011, 4:25 PM UTC

robinduckett wrote: post #19

Feedback number deux: 1. From first glance this is an education website 2. No free tier, so you can't actually take any of the quizes without paying at least $25. 3. This is when I closed the tab

We think it's a good idea to charge for products (generally). I know it's not hip, but revenue and profitability allow us to ...

1) Provide very high quality education because we can afford to hire full-time Teachers, instead of crowd-sourcing the curriculum

2) Be profitable, so we can stay in business and continue to grow the service, which benefits our Members

Re: Learn Web Design, Web Development, and iOS Development - Treehouse

#32

Post by ryancarson » Mon, Nov 07, 2011, 4:26 PM UTC

Pewpewarrows wrote: post #14

This looks amazing, and I'll be signing up immediately when I arrive home from work today. Really great job, and congrats on launching. My only question thus far: Is there an easy way for me to be informed when new badges/topics/videos are available? Either a digest email or some sort of RSS feed that I could customize based on personal interests would be fantastic.

Thanks for the kind words. On the Library page we list the new badges, but you're right. Not super easy for you. We should hook that up to the @treehouse account.

Re: Learn Web Design, Web Development, and iOS Development - Treehouse

#33

Post by rkalla » Mon, Nov 07, 2011, 4:26 PM UTC

ryancarson wrote: post #26

rkalla wrote: post #9

Feedback: Have no idea what Treehouse is, clicked the site, took 300ms to look at the 3 giant buttons. Clicked "web design" (the site looks very nice BTW) ... and started learning about web design. Watched the first video, hit the only button "Let's Go" and found a collection of other videos to get me further down the path of web design, letting me skip directly to my problems areas instead of grinding through things…

You just made my day. We worked hard on the on-boarding UX.

Ryan, it really shows.

There is this shallow navigation depth to everything interesting; I don't have to hunt. Very clearly demarcated signs everywhere indicating where you can go and what you'll get.

Topping all of that off is that the actual design/typography of the site is calm, easy on the eyes and attractive.

Re: Learn Web Design, Web Development, and iOS Development - Treehouse

#34

Post by ryancarson » Mon, Nov 07, 2011, 4:27 PM UTC

Maro wrote: post #29

Dislaimer: I'm not the target audience. Looks good. $25/mo seems too much. Can't take any sample tests without paying $25.

We're hoping to make a couple Code Challenges and Quizzes public soon. Couldn't finish it for launch.

Re: Learn Web Design, Web Development, and iOS Development - Treehouse

#35

Post by scottschulthess » Mon, Nov 07, 2011, 4:27 PM UTC

Great site; I would appreciate a bit more language on the homepage about what exactly it does and how it works.

Something like "Treehouse is a ...." what? An interactive subscription based learning platform? A online classroom? Whatever you want to call it but it took me a while to figure out

1. What is it

2. What can I do for free vs what do I need to pay for?

Re: Learn Web Design, Web Development, and iOS Development - Treehouse

#36

Post by tomwalsham » Mon, Nov 07, 2011, 4:29 PM UTC

I'm interested in why you'd go with 'Treehouse' as the name considering the trademark space for educational content is already pretty cluttered for that term. Was this considered and dismissed?

Re: Learn Web Design, Web Development, and iOS Development - Treehouse

#37

Post by jimrhoskins » Mon, Nov 07, 2011, 4:29 PM UTC

voxmatt wrote: post #22

This is great. I've been watching things like codecademy get tons of buzz and quietly thought: has no one been over to Think Vitamin Membership? I think this rebranding is a great idea and the new design is wonderful. Now add in some of that fancy interactive-in-browser-coding/learning and you'd be unstoppable (not that the more in-depth stuff should be done this way, but it's a really compelling and addictive hook).

We have added Code Challenges, that allow you to demonstrate your knowledge using real code in the browser to learn badges.

Re: Learn Web Design, Web Development, and iOS Development - Treehouse

#38

Post by tommi » Mon, Nov 07, 2011, 4:30 PM UTC

danberger wrote: post #23

khill wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I totally agree with your point. However, unlike you, I didn't click on anything because (a) my time is valuable and I can't waste it on a site which may not provide value to me and (b) I don't trust web sites which don't explicitly tell me what they do or have an obvious "About" link on the home page. Please add a sentence or two at the top of the page to tell me your target audience and why I should use the site.

It distinctly asks at the top "What do you want to learn today?" and then gives you three options: Web Design, Web Development, or iOS (btw, it should say iOS Development not just iOS). That's enough to make any user realize they're a site that helps you learn these things.

Agreed. Further text would only take away the power of the simplistic, yet describing, design what teamtreehouse.com has going on.

Re: Learn Web Design, Web Development, and iOS Development - Treehouse

#39

Post by scottschulthess » Mon, Nov 07, 2011, 4:30 PM UTC

ryancarson wrote: post #31

robinduckett wrote: post #19

Feedback number deux: 1. From first glance this is an education website 2. No free tier, so you can't actually take any of the quizes without paying at least $25. 3. This is when I closed the tab

We think it's a good idea to charge for products (generally). I know it's not hip, but revenue and profitability allow us to ... 1) Provide very high quality education because we can afford to hire full-time Teachers, instead of crowd-sourcing the curriculum 2) Be profitable, so we can stay in business and continue to grow the service, which benefits our Members

I agree, it's good that you guys are charging from day 1

Re: Learn Web Design, Web Development, and iOS Development - Treehouse

#40

Post by ryancarson » Mon, Nov 07, 2011, 4:32 PM UTC

stupandaus wrote: post #10

Seems really interesting. What differentiates Treehouse from Code Academy?

1. They're just focusing on coding, whereas we're covering the whole landscape: Design and Development (and some Business topics to help people launch startups). We've launched with a large library of topics (HTML, CSS, CSS3, HTML5, iOS 4, Design Foundations, Introduction to Programming, and more), compared to their single topic (JavaScript).

2. They're crowd-sourcing their courses. We've hired full-time Expert Teachers who are carefully crafting courses and editorializing content so Treehouse Members know what order they should learn things in.

3. we're already profitable because we're charging for the product. I think their angle is to sell access to their users for people looking to hire, but I'm not sure.