Launchly provides a venue for people to find out about the latest websites and have their opinions truly heard. It works with website owners to get them the feedback and attention they need to succeed. The application tracks all aspects of a new launch so the owner can stay focused on what matters - providing value to their customers.
July 2, 2009 -- A new web application, Launchly, has just been released this weekend with the intention of showcasing the latest websites to help them get feedback and exposure. Launchly pairs up users that are interested in and passionate about new website launches (designers, developers, anyone interested in technology) with the people that are creating them. Its goal is to provide a community where new websites can be confident they will get the exposure and the feedback that they need to have a successful launch and to help its users find the latest and greatest new sites.
It can be very difficult for new websites to get the attention and feedback they deserve. It is sometimes hard to answer basic questions such as "Is this a good idea?" and "Does anyone but myself like my design?" because the team working on the site is too invested in it. Founder, Brian McManus, experienced this exact problem when he was trying to launch another website.
"I was working on another website at the time and had poured tons of energy into getting it ready to launch. Lots of sleepless nights leading up to launch. When the day came I did the typical submissions and SEO [search engine optimization] stuff but still found myself wondering what people thought of the idea and site in general. I turned to HackerNews and requested feedback there. I got some amazing feedback from them and immediately made all the changes they suggested."
"That's when I hit a problem. My post had fallen way down to where nobody would ever see it again. I tried re-requesting feedback but was met with somewhat harsh resistance. It was frustrating to have had such good feedback, made all the changes, and then not be given another shot. I said to myself, 'This shouldn't be so hard.' That's when I decided to create Launchly."
Launchly understands the needs of today's web developers. Websites are created using agile methodologies and released iteratively. The standard motto is "release early, release often" these days. Launchly fundamentally supports that methodology by building iterations right into the system.
Iterations must be at least a week apart to prevent site owners from spamming Launchly. They also automatically fall off as stale after a month. Any time after that first week a site owner can create a new iteration for their site which bumps their new launch back to the top of the newest launches and gives them a fresh round of feedback and metrics.
An important part of creating a new iteration at Launchly is answering the question, "What have you changed since your last iteration and how did the Launchly community influence those changes?" Answering that question serves two basic purposes. It reinforces to the community that the owners are listening to their suggestions and it lets the community know what needs attention in the new release.
While Launchly makes no claims to be in the search-engine optimization business, launching with them does help new websites get the exposure they need to get the ball rolling. Launchly actively promotes new websites through all available channels including social media sites like Twitter, Digg, Delicious, and StumbleUpon as well as via their RSS feed. The purpose of this is to drive people to Launchly and get the site the feedback they need but a side-effect is increased traffic to the site in question as people review it.
In addition to the feedback and conversation they foster, Launchly also collects data on all aspects of each launch. Traffic patterns for each launch are tracked as are votes, tweets, diggs, and feedback for each day. The data is presented in several graphs that the launch owner can view in their dashboard. This helps give the sites an overview of how their launch is progressing and determine if the changes they are making as a result of their feedback is having an impact. Each iteration is also archived so it is also possible to compare one release to another.
Launchly values and respects its users' time. Because Launchly is a paid service and goes to great lengths to fight spam, its users can be confident that the launches they see will be interesting and worthy of their attention. "It's been very cool to see some of the latest sites that are just being launched. Some of them look really amazing and potentially very useful. I have already started using a couple of them. I think there is a lot of value in Launchly for the public. It's a great way for people to discover new tools that they may end up using in their day-to-day lives. Web designers also get to see new design ideas and help each other out."
Launchly currently offers one standard tier for their launches but they have plans to provide two additional tiers with expanded services such as polls, guaranteed feedback, in-depth user-testing, and custom sub-domains.
About Launchly:
Launchly was founded in June 2009 by Brian McManus. Launchly is the second company that Brian has launched. Previously Brian has worked at IBM in Rochester, MN.
Contact:
Brian McManus, Founder
Launchly
(507) 216-4681
brian.mcmanus@launchly.com
http://www.launchly.com/
