Static Screen Captures Suck

I’m very interested in the results. Thanks for sharing things like this, there’s lots to learn from A/B testing.

I’m interested in the results as well. As someone allergic to online video, I just personally much prefer static screens. Video doesn’t move at my pace like images and content does, it moves at it’s on pace, which is usually much to slow and occasionally too fast. I’m happy to admit that I’m the unusual oddball though if your A/B testing backs that up.

About your video in particular, I don’t like that it takes 13 seconds to get to a screen in the video. I’ve already dismissed it as empty marketing blabber by that point.

slick video, then i realized my sound was off – i think it would be more eye catching if there wasn’t a voiceover (or music) and it started playing automatically on page load. $0.02

I really don’t like videos that demonstrate the features of an app or help sections based on video responses. I prefer static screens that highlight the benefits of the app/interface.

But, the important part is testing so I am curious to know what you find.

Edgardo you prove my theory, you’re an early adopter. I’m writing another blog post on this.

I would agree that a minute of video demonstrating the application is a good thing, preferably with complementary large, annotated screenshots (e.g. “Learn More”).

But I don’t think this video is effective. It’s more of a pitch than a demo and I think that’s a waste of an opportunity. The first fifteen seconds tell me nothing about the application, and the remainder is simply too vague. A lot of tasks are automated. Great. But what about the things I still have to do? How do they work?

“There’s plenty of other features in Less Accounting, but you’ll need to see those in action to be wowed and impressed.” Okay, fine. Show them to me!

@John Holdun – who wants a video showing every single feature that an app might have? I mean, apart from you.

I was searching for an accounting app very recently and there were 3 things I was looking for in this order:

1. An idea of the quality of the app – if the site looks like crap, I doubt the app will work well
2. Get a decent idea of the way the app works
3. A free trial – this is how they “Show them to me!”

So, I completely disagree with you, I think the video looks very polished and professional, which hits number 1.

Also, you’re talking about people searching for a business app here, one that they will turn to for years to come. I doubt that these customers are as fickle as your average consumer.

Hi Kelvin, to defend John he’s probably not looking for an accounting app, he’s just looking at the site. It’s hard for people NOT looking for an accounting application to imagine the thought process of someone that IS looking for one and then cater a video towards that target. It’s great having your opinion of the video.

Kelvin, I don’t need to see every single feature, but seeing SOME, with a reasonable amount of detail, would be nice.

Here, look at Backpack’s animated demo (http://backpackit.com). It’s not exactly a video, but it shows me everything I want to know up front in about thirty seconds.

As you say, the ultimate demonstration is a free trial. I don’t know about you, but my process in test-driving a new application usually boils down to first clicking around to see all the screens and then probably adding some bogus data. It takes ten minutes at most. If I like what I’ve done I’ll keep going, but that first phase is inevitable and almost always the same.

37signals gets that, which is why those exact steps are what’s show on their front page. Suddenly I have a very clear idea of what I can do with this thing and I’ve saved the time and effort required in signing up for a trial account and poking around. As I’m sure you know, that registration form is a HUGE barrier to conversion.

Compare that approach to this video. When the 1:07 are over, I still don’t really have a good idea of what I’m in for. There are some nice bullet points but they’d be just as effective, if not MORE effective, as a simple bulleted list.

The difference is subtle, but I think it’s an extremely important distinction. Video, the way I see it, is for demonstrating interaction.

And in case those 250 words weren’t enough, I’d also recommend taking a look at Pulse’s tour page:

http://pulseapp.com/tour

It’s pretty weighty—probably too comprehensive for a first look—but the detail is fantastic. Plus, all of the screenshots are full of data, which not only looks nicer than the blank slate of a fresh account but it’s also a much better representation of how my work would look once I’ve been using the app for a little while—that is to say, a vast majority of my time spent with it.

And regarding your point, Allan, someone looking at Less Accounting as a customer would likely also be interested in Pulse.

John, you’re looking for tutorial. I’d argue that most people aren’t and a tutorial of our app would be about 30 minutes long.

http://grasshopper.com/how-it-works/

Well, perhaps, Allan. But I think there’s still another category in there; something between a pitch and a tutorial. A gist? I don’t get a gist from this video.

It seems to me that Grasshopper is primarily a service, rather than an application. Disregarding that, their “How it Works” page is similar to what you have here at first glance, except that I’d say their list is active, while the list provided by the Less Accounting video is passive.

LA says, “Here’s what’s going to happen.”
Grasshopper says, “Here’s what you’re going to do.”

Again, rather subtle, but more than negligible. A lot of it lies in the copywriting.

Finally, if I can get snarky for a second: if a tutorial for your app would take thirty minutes, then maybe the problem isn’t in the video. :)

Josh, accounting unlike say, a to do list is complex. While you can make the interface of an accounting app simple the feature do require explanation of when you use them. It’s the nature of the beast. It’s how you can major in Accounting in college. I would consider LessAccounting a smashing success if I could explain accounting and how to use LessAccounting in just 30 minutes.

Love the video.

I totally agree with you. I think a massive screenshot is a big waste of space. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t include a series of gorgeous screenshots elsewhere on the site. I just think your primary selling tool in the first few seconds could be video.

However, it needs to be done really, really well. Your video nails it, but it’s so rare to find this in an overview video. When the tour starts with “Hello. My name is X and I want to tell you about my great application for blah blah blah” I just want to scream and close my browser.

So my take? Hard to do, but when you polish and polish and finally get it right, I think it’ll draw customers in. I put up a video on my site for the Beta signup and I’ve got some pretty good conversion rates from it – about 20% who’ve seen the video have signed up.

I’ve also had some really nice comments from potential customers saying that I nail the problem. Check it out for yourself at http://lapsusapp.co.uk

Thanks Allan and Steve for saying what needs to be said. There’s so much untapped potential for businesses in video.

Great post and very relevant to our situation, since we also have a webapp.
Most people in the comments state there personal preference, but I think this is totally irelevant. It’s important what your visitors think and where they click. So I would be really interested in the result of your A vs B test.

These are similar questions I have in my mind which require clear answers. Whether screen capture really help sell the web page etc. Thanks for sharing this video. It surely is very slick.

Well, these are similar questions I have in my mind which require clear answers. Whether screen capture really help sell the web page etc. Thanks for sharing this video. It surely is very slick.