Startup business, help with validation/ website review

[mg84]

Hi guys,

I stumbled onto this site and I think it's a great resource for business. I know i'll be using this heaps.

I'm working with a couple of other people in developing an online business; its an online marketplace for buying and selling adspace.
Media companies will list the spaces they want to sell, and users/buyers can buy online.

I have been doing research on lean startup (mainly reading works by Steve Blank) and at this validation point we need a minimum viable product (MVP) which is our site, to test if we are solving problems that businesses actually care about. To test validation we are measuring website hits and signups for users/customers.
We will validate the seller side by having face to face interviews with them.


I would love ideas and feedback on the following:
1. any additional validation tests I could do.
2. website form and design - we haven't had any signups yet, is this due to site design?
3. Any feedback in general on our concept and idea.

our site is admonger.com.au

Any feedback you guys give is very valuable to me, as this is a form of validation.
I just want to make sure we are doing something that adds value to users and sellers before investing $ in growing the business.

Thanks again for the support.

Michael

[mg84]

Hi Guys,

We had our first customer interview the other day and it was all positive stuff.

I haven't had any feedback from you guys yet; it would be really valuable for me even if a couple of people made some suggestions.

Thanks

[Patrysha]

Maybe try contributing to the forum first...that might get you a better response from the active members...just a thought.

[phowey@talkroute.com]

Hi guys,

I stumbled onto this site and I think it's a great resource for business. I know i'll be using this heaps.

I'm working with a couple of other people in developing an online business; its an online marketplace for buying and selling adspace.
Media companies will list the spaces they want to sell, and users/buyers can buy online.

I have been doing research on lean startup (mainly reading works by Steve Blank) and at this validation point we need a minimum viable product (MVP) which is our site, to test if we are solving problems that businesses actually care about. To test validation we are measuring website hits and signups for users/customers.
We will validate the seller side by having face to face interviews with them.


I would love ideas and feedback on the following:
1. any additional validation tests I could do.
2. website form and design - we haven't had any signups yet, is this due to site design?
3. Any feedback in general on our concept and idea.

our site is admonger.com.au

Any feedback you guys give is very valuable to me, as this is a form of validation.
I just want to make sure we are doing something that adds value to users and sellers before investing $ in growing the business.

Thanks again for the support.

Michael

Michael,

I have been doing web development and UI design for a while now and will attempt to give you my observations.

Upon first looking at your website, I have no idea what you do. Your largest header should be an attention grabbing statement that sets the tone for the rest of the site. You are currently using this space to display "Admonger". This is redundant as you already have the name of your company/site in the top menu bar. "Admonger" doesn't mean anything to your potential clients. Use this space to give an attention grabbing statement. For example, "We Help Your Ad's Find Your Customers". You know your industry better than I do and trust you can come up with a better company summary. At the moment, this is unused space.

The overall design is "decent". It feels a little disconnected. The (3) white blocks on the city background are a little confusing to the eye. White and black are very bold choices for a template and the design has to be very familiar and organic to work. I would personally combine the (2) top white block together into (1) block and separate the space with columns.


Other than that, it looks good. However, I would avoid publishing any section of the site that is not finished. When I navigated through the site, certain sections felt incomplete. Your clients will make the same observations and it will directly affect their perception of your business.