Having recently switched to a different operating system, I’ve been in the market for a lot of new software lately – both free and commercial. That means I’ve been visiting the websites of a lot of software developers in the hunt for tools for a lot of different purposes. Finding the right tool for the job often isn’t easy.
FAO: Software Developers
With every software site I hit, there are two things I instantly look for – not as a web developer, but as an end user. The first is a short statement about what the software is and what it is used for. Not what features it has, or what awards it’s won, or even how much it costs, but what it’s used for. When I need to know the specific features I’ll go to the features page, but for my initial glance, I want use-cases.
The second thing I look for is screenshots. They say that a picture paints a thousand words, and never is it more true than in the case of screenshots. These tell me a number of things. They tell me if the tool has a well designed interface – from any screenshot it should be possible to easily grasp what you’re looking at. You also get a feel for the quality of the graphical site of the UI - more important to some than others. You get a good look at the menu bars, the tool bars and all the panels – from these you can very quickly assess whether the functionality you require is provided. A good user interface speaks for itself – so let it speak to your potential customers.
Another tip: unless it’s a major selling point of your software and addresses a real need in comparison to your competitors’ products, don’t tell me that your software is ‘easy to use’. Unless I’m incredibly drunk, I simply will not believe you. The only way I’m going to make that decision is by trying it out for myself. Offer me a trial and show me some screenshots.
The other thing to watch is tone of voice. If you’re not good at writing copy, borrow, beg or hire the services of someone who is. Cold technical facts do not sell software. A warm, positive and honest voice does. Tell me what your software does, let me know how cool it is, but please don’t bore me in a monotone drone.
Consider these simple, common sense suggestions and your customers will thank you.
Comments
good write-up. if i were in the software biz, i’d copy/paste it for later reference. ;)
...and if you find a good mySQL db manager, let me know ;)
Another nice homepage-ready information is the list of operating systems supported.
I’ve been using some pretty straight forward queries, ahem, taken from those built by MS Access from Office 2004 and I keep getting syntax errors that don’t make sense. Mostly because I don’t know sql.
CocoaMySQL fits the bill perfectly for me – except the one major and only drawback is that for a guy like me who needs to generate reports – but doesn’t know sql – it could truly use a query building function.
Our site for review is www.sawmillsoftware.com
K-12 software applications.
Can you give some examples of companies (websites) that sell business software, that you feel have got it “right” with regards to their online website.
Yes, these are great points that so many software vendors (and web developers) miss. These points show that most people who buy software know what they are looking for before they buy. Before they download or buy a product, their decision is based on very simple descriptive information. When I buy online, I also look for a small summary of the product and some screenshots. It’s not complicated, but so many developers miss that. Many software sites Ive been to have a tendency to say too much. And most sites make you dig for the screenshots and summary paragraph that tells you what the software actually does. Strange how so many miss that.
I will take your advice to heart my friend, as I too am starting a small software company. I build small web site applications that allow you to manage images and files online using your exisiting web site. Check it out when you get a chance: www.whitepacificsoftware.com
Any input is welcome!
Great comments on what people look for on software sites. I am in the process of setting up an online software store, (templates for elearning developers). I am trying to sort out how to set up the storefront.
There are complete ASP models. Yahoo Merchant Solutions seems to the be the cheapest but I think that I need to also purchase a 3rd party software for putting in all of the typical features of an online software store (i.e., trial downloads).
Any ideas on the best way to start up a software/media download store? Thanks.
this is great info. just in time for me. m a vb developer. the last 3 years been developing a comprehensive hotel management system covering all the departmenrts/modules (front office, back office, restaurant, bar, stores, healthclub, business centre and accounting/finance). its ok n hav sold quite well locally. i really want to put the systems online n sell. This is great information for me; i will take the first two points (use/purpose and GUI/screenshots) very seriuosly. and the 3rd one Trial Versions. you can check it out at www.cadiff-systems.com in a months time. i use MySQL db n its great DBMS, one secret for success with MySQL avoid queries in db, buid queries in code n call parameters.
better tips and/or advice are wellcome.
thanx guyz.
zedric