Ask HN: Looking for feedback on our website (freelance platform))

Here a couple of my first impressions:

- The site is waaayyyy too slow, I would be gone before it even loaded.

- Things on the site don’t match up, Top 1% of freelancers and then show rates between $18 and $40 an hour?!?

- The first person (Evgeniy) you see on the page looks like a dud (should have a more charismatic picture) maybe have one of the others first

- The name is horrible, even if the intention had nothing to do with Cis gender, that is what people will associate it with. Just don’t fight that uphill battle.

The grammar is poor throughout. For example:

> We help companies access top freelancers faster, more cost-effective and risk-free

This is better: "The fast and cost-effective way for companies to access top freelancers."

Cis is slang for cisgender. Cisgender force has a weird connotation. Page load times are slow. Icon set and bootstrap design looks cheap. Lacks differentiation from Toptal. Hope that helps.

That's the worst name of any product I've seen someone share here.

Cisforce sounds like a platform for people to discuss their issues with non-binary and trans people.

Viewing on mobile. What with the business name and swiping on large photos, it feels like a dating app. I’m not immediately interested in what people look like. I want to see their work/info/price.

Note to all who may enter and make the same comment: "CIS" also stands for "CIS region"[0]

So I assume this site is CISForce.com as in "CIS work force".

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Independent_St...

i would also suggest changing the name, force implies power and maybe today this is not such a good thing with a war going on and 2 founding members involved ;)

and yes speed matters. I personally would optimize for speed and then add features, nobody wants to see a spinner if he travels a lot on the page to look for applicants, at least i would not.

also i think your statement will not scale or the amunt of people you get on the site will not increase with a demand you could have "We check personality and overall technical experience"

Why does a website need a loader? There is no excuse with all the optomisation tools available.

> Top 1% of best freelancers > Each specalist goes throwgh rigorous screening process before starting the work > on any important project, and only 1% of all candidates are able to pass it.

I hope they have better attention to detail than you.

You really need to rethink your name. Most people don’t know that CIS stands for a region.

It's extremely slow to load, even before the spinner starts. This should really be a static site.

A lot of copy issues with typos, grammar, etc. throughout. This is compounded by the fact that there's a lot of copy on the page (probably too much).

You only mention the CIS countries thing in one place, that should be more apparent given it's the name of your company.

The dashes on the "What We Cover" cards look really bad.

I think it's particularly damning to be a "top 1%" freelance platform for web dev services when this site is so poorly developed.

The name is bad, the feedback popup should not popup unless you click it, it should also be in the lower right hand corner. Its not very obvious that I should scroll down to learn more.

The feedback is really valuable, so really appreciate everybody taking time to help here. Indeed the website is quite old at this stage, and the reason I'm asking for feedback is that we want to update and renovate it.

Thanks all for the feedback so far, indeed very valuable!

I'm thinking to rename to sysforce to move away from "cisgender" connotations

The website is so slow to load that I just didn't bother to actually explore it.

Looks good overall. A few suggestions though. To note, viewing this in mobile.

Have the fixed header bgcolor fade in before the logo hits the first block of text on scroll.

Change the green text inside the skill tags on the freelancer containers. Black, white, or another dominant text color on the page. Green on red looks too christmas/watermelon-y. They're complementary which can make elements pop, but can also look muddy. Idk just a preference.

Try using a photo of a freelancer looking in the direction of the call to action. Studies show that users are drawn to the eyes of people in images and the direction those eyes are looking in, which results in more signups/carrying out desired action. If you want users to click on the photo of the freelancer looking straight ahead, then that image works great because users will lock into a gaze with that image, but not if you want them to interact with another element on screen. In that case you want to use someone looking towards the element that you want people to interact with.

*Just noticed, after writing this, that the photos are clickable/tappable.

Lower border radius on email input and/or have it be focused on landing. Looks too similar to the button and reduces attention/increases cognitive load because users will perceive it as having to immediately make a choice between two things. Don't Make them think.

Would maybe treat the "As mentioned on" section similar to the "Our freelancers worked for". People seem accustomed to seeing that design treatment for clients/mentioned sections and at a glance could elevate credibility/perception. But it's not a big deal, it visually looks good as it is.

Personal preference, ditch the chatbot or dont make it active/keep it closed on landing (let the user choose to see it/use it). My assumption has been that they likely increase bounce rates (there are plenty of marketing articles that say otherwise), due to the amount of space they take up when active on landing and how distracting/annoying they are when they "pop up" like that. It just gives the same vibe as having audio active and playing on landing. But that's an assumption, what do I know? Analytics / A/B test could prove otherwise.

Just briefly looked at the freelancer profile screen and the inputs at the bottom are confusing and crop/hide information requiring scrolling read everythinf. Displaying information in textareas will make users think that you want them to sign up as freelancers, also gives the impression without reading that a task is being asked of them. Don't make them think or work, guide them to signup.

The information in the textareas also appears to be duplicated from info above. I'm guessing that the top profile section is to appeal to clients and the bottom for freelance talent to signup? If that's the case, maybe give users the option to select whether theyre a freelancer or a customer/client? I know I said don't make them decide on options/think, but this might be necessary for the two use cases. It could be done in a way tho where it doesn't look as much of a task as it would a nav element. Like having a signup container/modal that has a tab for both types of users, but on load have the business's priority user active. Or if you're showing an example screen, maybe tab that screen even to differentiate the multiple uses and provide convenience for comparing (people are likely to be curious to compare).

Edit: To add, agree on the name being a little confusing. Could give the impression that the site is about gender, especially at a glance in search results. Even on load, some may just see "cis" and the profile pics, and think it's a non-binary dating site. Not hating, just pointing out an issue of potential user perception not matching business goals.