New Magento project marketplace

[husseycoding]

Hi all,

Would really appreciate some feedback on the new service we have just launched. The site is Developer Connection (developerconnection.co.uk) and it would be great if you could give any honest feedback about any aspect of the site whether it's information, usability, concept, look, accessibility whatever!

I'm open to all feedback, good or bad. I guess I want to know the impression you get of the site as a first time user who has never seen it before - do you quickly understand what it's for, does it feel like a service that is useful for UK business owners etc.

Thanks in advance!

 

[fisicx]

Took me a while to work out what it is you do. And that just seems to be job board where I post a project and you find me a developer.

Who are you? Where are you? How can I trust you? How much does it cost (you don't say)? What happens when it all goes wrong? how do I get my money back? Why aren't there any contact details on the site? Why can't I see any developers?

I looked at you 'create a project' page and it goes on and on and on. Half the questions I can't even answer as I don't know how many developers I need or the skills required.

 

[husseycoding]

Thanks fisicx, that kind of feedback is extremely useful - much appreciate you taking the time to look at the site.

 

[fisicx]

The only reason anyone will ever be on your site is because they need help. So bin all the waffle and make it simple. All you need on the homepage is a 'Post a Project' button. This displays a simple form where I can tell prospective developers what I need doing. You can have an advanced section for those with a bit more knowledge if you want.

Imagine a car dealership when you want to book in to get a sproinnnng noise fixed. You land on the site and they spend ages telling you about how great they are and how difficult it is to find a trustworthy mechanic. When you do get to the booking form they ask you how many mechanics you want working on the car and if you need someone with an Flange Adjusting qualification. And if you do manage to fill in the form you have no idea where they are, when they can do the work or even if they have someone to do the work.

This is how your site comes across.

 

[husseycoding]

Thanks for the additional feedback fisicx. Some more useful thoughts there.

 

[Jim Street]

Not sure if this is something limited to me, but the I found the website slow in loading. Using iMac - safari.

 

[husseycoding]

Thanks Jim, I will be to scaling up the current hosting package up to improve speed after working one some changes based on feedback above.

 

[Jim Street]

Great stuff - I am sure this will help bounce rate - was my initial thought (speed) when I clicked on a few pages.

 

[fisicx]

Thanks Jim, I will be to scaling up the current hosting package up to improve speed after working one some changes based on feedback above.

The hosting isn't the problem - it's the site itself.

https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/?url=developerconnection.co.uk
https://tools.pingdom.com/#5b61b5fb3fc00000
https://gtmetrix.com/reports/developerconnection.co.uk/moHp3LWw

250+ server calls!

 

[husseycoding]

Thanks fisicx, but don't worry I'm well versed in performance issues in relation to Magento (I am a Magento developer myself and do tend to specialise in performance). Perhaps surprisingly 'performance' is getting less about the number of requests these days, and more about 'perceived performance' - basically how long until the user can interact with a page with generally quite a bit of content loading after that. If you look at Amazon for example you will see around 300 calls for the loading of the homepage, but the perceived loading speed is quick as you are able to interact with the site soon. This is generally governed by how quick the TTFB is and in turn basically how powerful the server is. At the moment the grade of hosting for the site is fairly basic.