Visual Website Optimizer: Run A/B Tests On Your Site | Hacker News Reader

Visual Website Optimizer: Run A/B Tests On Your Site

techcrunch.com

63 pointscwan46 comments

Guys, I am happy that TC finally wrote about my startup! Relevant thread where all this started: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1520001

After following up for more than 50 days with NUMEROUS emails, looks like they have finally submitted to my persistence ;)

Any way, this is good. I am happy that they wrote about Visual Website Optimizer and hope this brings exposure.

EDIT: They've corrected the typos in the post.

Congratulations Paras, I'm glad you succeeded in getting the coverage you wanted.

That said, I'm a bit puzzled at why this coverage was important enough for you to work on it for "more than 50 days with NUMEROUS emails"

It seems like you've already accomplished a great deal by signing up companies like Microsoft and Rackspace as customers. To me, those are far more important than getting coverage in TechCrunch. While press-coverage/PR is always great, I'm curious to know what you expect the impact of the TC post to be.

Well, yes, that's the hypothesis. I expect TC to generate awareness about VWO and even a few direct sales. The followups were nothing more than gentle reminders of checking out VWO, so there wasn't a significant investment of time involved in that. But I was persistent in sending multiple reminders, if and when needed.

Could you please post post-TC coverage traffic and conversion rates if you don't mind? That gives a good idea of how TC traffic converts.

You can count on me that I will blog about that. Shall keep HN updated on traffic and conversion rates and other latent effects.

I'm glad for you! Persistence does pay off indeed - now start sending emails to CNN, let's see you slowly break down all the media fortresses.

Also, get a favicon.

I love that second paragraph, btw.

"Napoleon, good job on those conquests, but dude, get a favicon!" :-P

Congrats paras! You have a great product, and you deserve the attention you're getting.

Btw, love the articles that you write on smashing.

meta-question: why does Paras' reply to this appear as link[dead] ?

Actually I had submitted the same response twice. So, deleted one. I'm having some Internet connectively issues today.

The new site looks fantastic! Have you changed the actual app's design too? (can't find an overview screenshot anymore, last time I checked you were using a ThemeForest template but the feature-based screenshots look improved since then).

I don't know how "sexy" the name is but like I said the site looks great and I found you on Google pretty easily (it suggested for me) so SEO is going well too.

Great execution to date and good luck!

No, actual app redesign is in the works. Most of my customers don't care whether I use a ThemeForest template. As long as they get the job done, they are happy.

Though, yes, been talking to lots of designers to redesign the app and the site. We should have a fresh brand identity in a few months.

Yeah, we can't take the risk by changing the name now!

I'm not even sure the site needs it - it looks fantastic to me atm (admittedly on my iPhone) but no doubt your own tests could give you the hard data.

I really admire your pragmatism and "just jump in and start" attitude so as I've said good luck!

Your persistence has finally paid off. Congratulations and good luck.

Interesting that one of the reasons jkincaid didn't like your site was due to the name. I find Visual Website Optimizer a much better name than Optimizely.

Congrats Paras. You have worked hard on this and now you are reaping the rewards. Happy for you buddy. Keep up the good work.

Congrats dude!

Fairly uninspiring Post Title, but enjoy the ride :)

I wish the post was bit more comprehensive than this.

EDIT: Rephrased so that it doesn't look like I'm angry or ranting. I am very happy to get coverage on TC and learnt a lot in the process!

EDIT: Looks like they changed the typos in the post!

And they found a way to try and paint you as a YC knock-off but still all publicity is good and I think this just reflects on TC's integrity. With the new site and momentum I'd seriously consider the benefits vs costs of rebranding (even using your current name as a subtitle? E.g. "CoolApp - The visual website optimizer", only because it might make PR coverage / funding easier later if that's what you want).

This TC comment by "Uhu" says it best though:

" JUST another way to run a/b tests huh? A one-two person startup that has raked in some of the best names as their customer within months of launch with zero funding...is "just another" thing.

When you do finally give this kid some coverage, you frame it in the crappiest, most boring way possible "

John Gruber once described Techcrunch as being in the dirty rotten business of VC funded startups. (I think it's the talk with Merlin Mann a couple of years back). Would love for all the connections between Techcrunch and the VCs to come tumbling out of the closet one day.

I'll ask the same question I did over there: where in the article do you see the phrase "just another"? It's not in there.

I think he was referring to the title: "Visual Website Optimizer: Another Way To Run A/B Tests On Your Site"

I'm happy about the title, as it is factually correct and conveys exactly what the tool does.

That's exactly my point. The word "just" is not in the title, nor the post.

I know that it's very easy to take a review personally, but based on your comments in this thread, your sense of entitlement about getting a writeup and then your criticism of said writeup are the two things I'm going to remember about VWO (which is unfortunate).

The VWO creator is the only one apart from yourself that is not criticising the writeup (except perhaps wishing they'd given it more depth as any creator would) - he seems in fact pretty glad to get it.

I understand the anger, believe me, but I do not understand a media relations strategy which seeks coverage from an outlet and then criticizes them for it. That isn't particularly fair that you have to be the soul of restraint in the face of shabby treatment, but journalism is a power and privilege game to begin with.

There is no anger, of course. I am thankful to TC for covering VWO.

Was just wishing if it could have been a little better. It is a wishlist, not at all a rant. Sorry if it came out to be that way.

Considering the effort that went into getting them to do a post it didn't seem like much more than a rehash of whatever Paras has been sending them. More and more recently it seems that much of the value ycombinator gives a company is in the initial attention that they will always receive upon launch making it that much harder for smaller people wanting to bootstrap without VC money and without great industry contacts.

Oh, finally. Paras Chopra gets the respect he deserves.

I don't know of any startup founder who works as hard as him.

Mubarak ho Paras gee, but, yar, this is long over due.

Shukriya :)

  Website:	visualwebsiteoptimizer.com
  Location:	London, United Kingdom

Paras, you shifted your base from Delhi? :-)

On a serious note, I know you really wanted VWO to be covered on TC. If you find time, please do write a blog post afterwards on what impact this coverage had for your business. (Traffic driven to your site from TC, inquiries, new signups etc )

No, I am still in Delhi. I am getting associated with a partner who is based out of London. Yes, definitely. I will soon blog my experience about getting TC coverage and it effects it had.

Congratulations Paras!!! Its great to see Indian start-up featured in TC.

Congratulations, I am very happy for you, your product is truly great and deserves the coverage.

Congratulations paras! Great to see how persistence pays off in the long run.

Congrats.

A small nitpick...

The A Weber Communications logo is looking jagged, you might want to re-render it or re-size it depending on how you did it.

Yup, tried doing that but still it comes out to be Jagged. Used Photoshop resizing option with default method of resizing. Do you have any recommendation on how to re-render it without making it look jagged?

Use the 'Bicubic-sharper' option to reduce size. Here: http://i.imgur.com/xkHH9.png

Oh wow, this looks beautiful. Mind if I use it?

Hey, I did it for you. Use it already!

Hey mate, do you have Skype (IM) or AIM?

The dude pretty much lives on gmail. Get his email and he is always greened out. Always there when I reach out to him, as a friend, must be heaps more responsive to his clients.

He changed his sleeping habits to accommodate .eu and .us time zones :-|

One day you will get offices in London and San Francisco, Paras, and you will sleep when you damn feel like it. I see success in your immediate future.

Yep: Skype (paraschopra)

What an awful writeup for such an accomplished startup.

Any idea why TC have a 'twttr' style logo at the moment?

http://techcrunch.com/2006/07/15/is-twttr-interesting/

Ahah. http://techcrunch.com/50-days-of-logos/

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