| Overall: | 18 | 9 |
| Design: | 2 | 6 |
| Navigation: | ||
| Usefulness: | 2 | 5 |
18
9
Shortened URL's are a boon to micro services such as social networks. However there are times when you want to know the full URL of that shortened link you're clicking on - before you click it!
Site design and usability - does it help you get the information you want?
Thanks a lot jmaite! yes definitely, I'm looking at that now. I've also got some suggestions about a desktop AIR piece as well.
The service seems to work nicely but I wonder if we really need this kind of website. Most of the software that I use, like Tweetie or Eventbox, usually allow me to preview the shortened link or automatically expand it.
With regard to the design, I really don't like it. There are too many advertisings and it is really not clear the content of the website.
Aaron basically wrote what I was thinking. This functionality is being built into many existing sites and apps already. So who is going to use this? What would make them remember to go to your site to find the original URL before clicking on it?
I would really strive to figure this out. Is the pain of navigating to this site less than clicking on the link and taking your chances...
I hear you, and thanks for being so blunt Tom.
I think over time, I'm visualizing the site as more of a "web service" layer than an actual visiting destination. I'm currently developing a Windows Gadget piece that interfaces with it, along with an iPhone app doing the same thing.
Right now it's just a matter of organization. *cross fingers*
thanks again, I appreciate the feedback.
I would think long and hard about that iPhone app unless you are just doing it to gain experience creating an iPhone app. A stand-alone iPhone app to expand a shortened URL seems like a non-starter to me. It's not exactly easy to task-switch (since you can't really) on an iPhone so to expect people to do: Program A, copy URL, close, open url expander program, paste, check, open in mobile safari, crap I didn't really want to close Program A - is asking a lot I think.
Like I mentioned originally, I DO use a service like this on launchly (longurl.org). I see the value of what it does. BUT I have NEVER once used their website. Perhaps you should consider just focusing on making a great web-service API and writing some wrappers for it in different languages (e.g. a ruby gem to use it)?
Obviously you would still need/want the website at that point and run the service there as well but the majority of the site could then be geared towards making it easy for people to integrate w/their tooling/sites.
How you would ever make money on that I have no idea. I know I'm not paying for longurl.org so IDK how (or if) they make money.
Some good points there Brian, thanks.
Yeah this is kind of going to be a project I keep plugging away at over a long period of time.
As you say, there's no real "value" in using the website interface because it IS a PITA (and disrupts workflow) by copying a shortened URL, then task switching to the browser to paste it, etc..
I think for a service like this, it would almost rely exclusively on widgets and plugins.
I've been contacting each Twitter client group I can find, to try and leverage / embed my service within their tools..
And yes, I already know the iPhone limitations..mostly it IS just to get xp for building an iPhone app.
Unless Apple provides a way to create system-wide hooks into events (eg. when you "copy" a URL, I hook into that event with another menu option to "check url"..)
My first question/thought is do we really need another one of these services? Are you planning on offering something that, for example, http://longurl.org/ does not already have?
That being said, I assume your landing page is incomplete/unfinished so I'm not sure what to tell you about it. If it IS done then it needs some design work to be visually appealing and attract people to your site versus the competition. I know not all sites need to be pretty (e.g. craigslist) but there's something to be said for a nice looking page.
You seem to have what looks like tabbed navigation but they don't REALLY look like tabs since they are just kinda hanging out. I like that you're loading the other "tabs" with AJAX but I just wish they looked a bit more... connected?
One usability suggestion is to not MAKE people type in the http:// in the shortened URL. That is something you can easily figure out on the backend and add as necessary and it's just nice to not have to worry about it as a user.
Good luck!
Thanks a lot for taking the time to provide some feedback Brian! much appreciated!
To be honest, I've never heard of longurl.org
but I'm using this to really play with web services and challenge myself with running / supporting a service like this.
Yes, you're correct that the UI on the landing page is rough like sandpaper...I was in hyper-focused crunch mode last night, and refused to sleep until that was finished. I've been spending the morning sketching out some (hopefull) improvements
and I'll definitely fix that "http://" requirement...that's definitely annoying. :)
thanks for the well wishes, and nice work with launchly...very slick package / service.
Hey thanks for the kind words!
I actually use longurl.org (well, a Ruby gem that uses it under the covers anyways) on launchly to make sure people can't spam us with the same site by using a shortened URL so that's how I knew about it. Always good to know who your "competitors" are.
Can't wait to see the updates.