Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Dear SUN Community,

I have recently soft-launched an personal Expense Tracking website that has been so valuable to me, I`m afraid I may have lost sight of the greater audience out there.  I ironically remember when I first started working with computer in the early 80`s laughing at why anybody would want to use a computer to balance their checkbook, but after getting married recently, I needed a way to track expenses without making it my second job.  That`s why I created the site, to track money, and to keep my wife informed on how we`re doing financially.

There are many more Software as a Service (SaaS) website I intend to write, a number centric to small business, but I would greatly appreciate your looking at www.mywifesmoney.com and giving me your opinion on how to make it better, convert browsers to subscribers and fulfill other peoples needs in tracking expenses easily.

I am specifically interested in the following;

1.  General impressions?
2.  Does the Landing Page sell the service?  If not, what`s your suggestions?
3.  Is the sign-up process clear?  Does requiring so little information concern or encourage you?
4. What concerns would you have using this site, or other similar service site dealing with financial information?

Signing up to use the site does not require any payment or personal information.  Please feel free to make up any information to evaluate the service.

I look forward to your comments :)

Ronnie aka (EnigmaOne)

Hi Ronnie,
Excellent idea! I like the way it works, saw the tour, and immediately go the point. Here`s the commentary I got from the voices in my head. :-)

1. The title of the site blows. It right away got me thinking chauvanist, turned me off, and I had to work hard to overcome that, through reading a lot of your content.
2. I don`t like seeing categories that mean nothing. "10" tells me nothing, and I`d like a mouse-over that at least tells me it equals "Rent" or "Car" or something. Much better would simply be to have the category name in English.
   
3. I`d also wish there was a small, maybe even only 1-line description memo so I could clarify some of the expenses.

I find that as someone who totally hates keeping track of expenses, I end up doing it for more than one reason. Another reason, aside from fiscal responsibility and pretending to be an adult, is that it acts as a historical account of my life.

I can read my checkbook, see the memos, and remember what I did last year or ten years ago. So having some sort of note area would be really helpful.

Overall, the site is excellent! Right now I happen to be working in a project where a wife is in Key West, and the husband is in Illinois. How they`re married is beyond me, but this type of online financial concordance would be a superb tool for them. They`re just one of many couples, who I suspect are working this way these days.

Just.....change the name of the site. :-) What if it`s my wife who runs the household finances, and I`m the irresponsible one? How come there isn`t a "MyHusbandsMoney," or "MySignificantOthersMoney?"

I do tend to think that business names that explain the business work best, in an awful lot of situations. So why not have something like "HouseholdFinanceOnline" or something like that?

I agree, the title needs some updating.  Something along the lines of "Family Financing", "Family Money Tree".... do some brainstorming.

Site content:

1. It gives the appearance of having been self-created.  I`m not sure if this is the case, but it does not have the professional touch that web users today expect (and inadvertently demand).  You should consider having a professional web designer touch up your site.  Your content is already there, so a reconfiguration won`t cost too much. 

2.  There are too many words on the home page.  There is no directive to the customer of what to look at or read first.  There is no flow to the page.

3. As a reader, I feel that I have to work to understand the purpose of the business.  Most people will turn right around and look elsewhere if they do not understand or become frustrated trying to decipher a bunch of text blocks.

4.  I recommend this to all my website clients:  PEOPLE.  Use pictures of people on your site.  People relate to pictures of people and will take better to your site if they can relate to a picture of a person on the site.  Pictures from istock photo places work wonders.

best,

Thank you both!  I am working on revisions now, a new site name, and more features.  The name was not intended to exclude anyone, but I do see (and many others have commented on) how it can be misleading.  My wife is my inspiration and love, so naturally she understands my humorist intent but that doesn`t jive with the real world intention of the site, which is to help people stay on top of their expenses and budget.

While the name will change, and many features are to come soon, I would very much like to hear from more people.

Ronnie, aka EnigmaOne

.

EnigmaOne, you`re off to an awesome start but I would agree with all the comments above regarding the design, name, etc. You should also be aware of some of the competitive services (like Muffin) out there, including some that automatically download your transactions from your bank (like Mint.com). I`m not suggesting you abandon the idea, I think there`s still room for some good competitors. You`ll want to get to know their offerings though so you can know the best way to differentiate your service.

Also, in your most recent comments you mentioned that you`ll be redesigning and adding "more features". BE CAREFUL. I would suggest first focusing on user experience and making the product simpler.

For anyone designing an online service, "Getting Real" is a must read (and it`s free to read online). The book was written by 37signals, a renowned design/development firm known for their ridiculously easy-to-use online services.



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Ryan J StarPointe Marketing Website Development, Hosting & Marketing Consulting

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Veronika, design therapist
Helping Women Entrepreneurs Succeed is the Best Job I Ever Created!
www.dotcalm.ws
www.dotcalmdomains.com
www.WEBlogMV.com
www.WorldWideWebmistress.com

Y`know, that brings up a good point (from dotcalm). To differentiate the site better from competition, you could have an Articles page, and include lots of advice for young married couples, budgeting tips, and other concepts for managing money.

If you made the site informational, you`d get SEO benefits. Then the actual application could be a sort of free add-on.

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Dana

Hi there,

I love the concept of the site and if there is competition then that means there is a market.  If there were no competition I would worry about it being successful so don`t let the competition scare you  in the least bit.  In regards to the look of the site I have some suggestions. 

1. Too many fonts you should stick to one
2. The page is too busy and I feel like my eyes are jumping all over the place.
3. I suggest creating a logo when you determine the new name if you are going to change the name.
4. Do you have a blog that will generate traffic to the site?
5. Your subscription is way too low you can easily get $29 per year or more!
6. I agree the name is not catchy in the least bit
7. I agree with Veronika the colors green a blue is almost a must for a financial type website.  you can visit my blog for info on colors and meaning for website and logo`s.

Veronika has 2 great domain names that she suggested!

Here is a great resource that can help you determine how a search engine would react to your website: http://tools.summitmedia.co.uk/spider/

The best of luck I think you have a successful concept!

Serena Carcasole
Virtual Business Solutions ON DEMAND
http://www.vbsondemand.com



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Serena Carcasole Internet and Social Media Marketing VA, Web Developer and Business Growth & Success Expert Author of Internet Marketing 101 Self Study Guide and Workbook http://www.vbsondemand.com and http://www.imselfstudy101.com Your 1 STOP Business Service Shop Outsource your way to success!