Ask HN: Review my prelaunch sign-up page | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Review my prelaunch sign-up page

2 pointsig16 comments

http://www.coderstack.co.uk/

There doesn't seem to be very much written about how to best design prelaunch sign-up pages (especially for marketplace type sites where pre-launch momentum is critical to avoid the chicken&egg problem) beyond simple A/B testing guidelines, so it'd be great if I could get some feedback on what works/doesn't work.

I've made an attempt to mimic the "long sales letter" style pages that apparently convert well for ebooks, etc. But I'm not personally convinced that's the right approach for tech-savy users.

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I'm not your target demo either, but here's my 2 cents from a usability & web conversion perspective: I'd keep everything above the fold (or rather, don't make the page scroll at all) and keep the Get Notified, FB, Twitter visible (maybe on the right side, along with the copy. The get notified is your call to action - your goal is to convert people into giving you their email addresses - don't hide it at the bottom.

And yes, your copy can be tightened and be more compelling. good luck! :)

I would suggest moving the 'sign up' form above the two column split. So you get the basic pitch, you see that there's a signup (if you are interested and say "what should I do next?") and if not, you've got text below to get them engaged.

I am not your target demo, but here is my .02

+ Clean, - Too much text, looks daunting when you land on it

Personally, those "long sales letters" = leave immediately for me. Your site does not remind me of them, however.

Clickable: http://www.coderstack.co.uk/

Is your e-mail link functionality active? Been a few minutes and nothing yet...

I hope so, it's powered by mailchimp who I'd assume are fairly reliable.

Edit: I did one of my own email addresses and it took 12 minutes to get an email asking for confim. hmm might be time to switch over wufoo or something similar.

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