Full disclosure - nearly two months ago I requested feedback for launchly. That being said I hope you will still take another look.<p>Recap: Launchly is devoted to getting web startups (like the ones that come here with posts like this) the feedback and exposure they need to succeed. Multiple rounds/iterations of feedback are fully supported and encouraged by the system. We also track all aspects of new launches and provide powerful analytics to help the site owner(s) focus on what matters - delivering value to their customers.<p>In the two months since I first released launchly the site has gone through quite a few changes and I'd like to get a feel for what the HN community thinks of the idea/site as it stands now.<p>Some of the biggest changes are a completely new feedback system with support for screenshots, new category and tag navigation, user profile pages, and by far the biggest of all - a reputation system.<p>I added the reputation system to try to enhance and encourage the community aspects of the site a-la StackOverflow. Users build up reputation by providing feedback and voting on launches. They also earn (or lose) reputation by others voting on their feedback quality. As your reputation increases so does your influence on the site (votes weighted more heavily, limited admin powers granted, etc.).<p>Another big change (which necessitated the reputation system) is the addition of a free Basic launch tier. When I first created launchly I had only planned to have paid plans. That hasn't worked out in practice, especially not while trying to build up the community, so I added the new free plan. The free plan leverages the reputation system by requiring users to spend 100 reputation (it's not deducted, just subtracted from what they have available) for a free launch. 100 rep would not take long to earn (4-5 feedbacks + voting) and it hopefully will encourage community participation and keep the spammers at bay.<p>Anyways, please let me know what you think of the updates and the change in direction launchly has taken.<p>I'd also love to hear any ideas anyone may have on other possible ways to monetize something like this. Lets face it, even if I get 100 launches a month (which seems high) and every new site opts to go for a $40 paid plan, that's still only $4,000 in revenue per month.<p>http://www.launchly.com
Please don't get offended. It is an excellent idea, but I think it needs a bit of work still. The front page especially. You need to place the screenshots higher and be more succinct with your message. What you want me to do first? Provide feedback? Pay to have some unknowns provide feedback for me? Earn karma? Message is not clear.<p>People will come to you for two things:<p>(a) Links, yes unfortunatley<p>(b) Real reviews<p>You need to mod submissions. You either narrow it to 'applications' or anything websites go. Based on the former I would not list any web sites selling Bollywood or templates.<p>Go for freemium, free rating and comments, but have some people who are professional to give a professional assessment and charge for tis perhaps on a 50/50 basis.<p>Building a community is hard work, but most of the times you need ten or twenty very active members to provide the catalyst for growth.<p>Ask the same question at <a href="http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.cre8asiteforums.com/</a> also. Here we are all HN groupthinkers you may get some different angles (usability, SEO, community) from some really nice people.<p>Final question to you, would you pay for a review of launchly.com? If yes what would you consider value for money, if not why not!
Clickable link: <a href="http://www.launchly.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.launchly.com</a><p>EDIT: Had a quick poke around. Note, I did not look at your previous iteration. This review reads more as a narrative because I am just flicking between tabs to add comments.<p>It looks good. I must say my personal taste is a little more minimalist and so I find your site a little busy. At the top there are lots of options to choose from. I wonder if you can't cut down on or combine some of those buttons. Oh, I know what those buttons do now, they filter the list. Was a little un-intuitive for me.<p>Following on from my previous paragraph, why not get rid of all that text starting "Iterative feedback..." in the middle and just have a separate 'about' page? It takes up space between the list and the filters you can apply. Oh, you do, have a separate about page ("What's a Launch?"). Hmm, you need to update screenshots there. Oh, sorry there is a third description of what Launchly is in the footer when I press 'About Launchly'. Maybe all of these disparate descriptions can be combined?<p>Hmm, when I hover over vote up/down a pop-up appears which disappears before I can move my mouse pointer back over it. Sometimes I can get it to stay and perform an action - mostly I can't.<p>Additionally, I may be a little slower in this post-lunch state, but it isn't that clear to me at a glance what the site offers. Can I build a site using your tooling? Why do I need you to launch my creation?<p>Other question raised in my head: Why, for example, is 'Ask HN' not the best place to get feedback and exposure for my site?<p>Looking at your pricing - seems a little expensive for me. How can I be assured the reviewers are going to give me good feedback? Could I not better spend my USD 40 independently on specific feedback from my site's targeted usergroup?<p>On the whole, I like the site, it just feels a little disjointed here and there and the message of what you do is a little lost in the clutter.
Interesting idea!<p>The home page is neat and clean. One thing I noticed: "Launchly Blog" text in tab on mouseover becomes hard to read (dark font on dark tab). It renders differently than the other tabs, so perhaps it's an oversight.<p>"Iterative feedback & powerful analytics service for new websites" doesn't quite do it for me as a catch-phrase/title. Maybe something like "Founder roundtable for web-app startups."
When clicking through to a site (I looked at Recipe Puppy), You have a Launchly bar at the top while loading the site in a frame. I don't want to get into the debate about loading pages like that, but you do have a broken back button with that bar. I clicked on several links on Recipe Puppy, and the back button was always grayed out (had started in a new window).