10
37 Comments

đŸ˜© We have a pretty low conversion rate (<1)

Hi,

I've been working with my teammate Michael Andreuzza on Wicked Templates and lately, I have started to give some attention to our stats because we decided to become an open startup. Studying the data, I have realised that we have a pretty good amount of organic traffic but a low conversion rate.

To give you an example, in August we had 7235 user sessions, but only 11 sales. On the other hand, we had more than 600 free downloads of one of our free products. We don't have an email funnel to drive those users to the paid product, and we are working on that, but I would like to know other people conversion rates, what you did to improve it and any advice you can give me.

Thanks!

  1. 4

    getting 600 people out of 7235 to take your free product is great, inside of the way you handle giving them the free one you aren't working correctly to upsell them. You may be giving away too much functionality at the free level.

    1. 1

      Actually is more than, is around 1300 and those where only the last month, after a PH launch.

      We are giving away 3 templates and one of them has the Next.js version too.

      1. 1

        yes, but those don't come from that landing page. Actually, those 600 free downloads were neither. The right number is 84 free downloads from that landing page.

  2. 3

    @gperales sorry in advance for the long response! tl;dr add more pages and polish the designs more. I purchased not for the current templates, but because of what I hope you will become in the future with more practice (and because it was on sale haha)

    ---

    As a customer, I hesitated to purchase Wicked Templates for a long time—it took a sale to convince me to buy it.

    I am always looking for good TailwindCSS templates. That’s why I found Wicked Templates to begin with.

    However, it’s tough.

    I am a developer with a design background, and I can tell these templates are good, but not perfect. To demonstrate, I picked a random template https://harmony.wickedtemplates.com/ I like that it’s a clean landing page. However, details need improving:

    • Headline leading is way too loose—it should be the opposite
    • Usage of "strait quotes", not “curly quotes”
    • While the pricing section is technically responsive, it doesn’t look great in the 2x2 grid.
    • The spacing feels really off in the stay connected section, and other places
    • The button emphasis doesn’t seem right (needs more pop)

    I could go on and on. The problem for me is that templates are supposed to sweat the small details. If not, then I have to do it myself. You should be spending an hour on a button so I don’t have to—getting the right emphasis, typography, alignment, spacing, shadows, hover effects, states, coding it. I want to emphasize that I know it took a lot of effort to make it look good—I need it to look great.

    Then the second problem is that the pages in the templates aren’t easily discoverable. I thought they were all single pages until I clicked every single nav link. And even then, the page count is small.

    If a template doesn’t have at least 5–15 pages, then it’s hard for me to justify it on a small project. If that already small template also has missing design details, then I’m not even sure it’ll save me time.

    I hope this criticism doesn’t come across as harsh, but Wicked Templates just hasn’t been in the place where I can use it in real projects. I want to like it. I want to use it. The whole reason I purchased is because I think you will improve as you make more.

    Check out your competitors like https://tailwindui.com/ and https://cruip.com/, who have multiple pages that sweat the small details. If you’re wondering, I didn’t purchase https://tailwinduikit.com/ due to the same criticisms. I’d love to find and purchase high quality templates for TailwindCSS. But they are hard to come by.

    1. 2

      Hey, you 100% right here.

      Actually, this is one of the first templates I made and this templates plus some more are going out of the bundle, but it will come new ones. I want to redesign them and include components and so on.

      I have seen this problem myself and I am trying to take care of it. I have tried to fix this issue with nemo.wickedtemplates.com

      It has more pages and it's more thought out. I tried to implement new design skills that I have been learning and also other features I hadn't use before.

      I’d love to find and purchase high quality templates for TailwindCSS. But they are hard to come by.

      We are working on this... and we won't dissapoint you.

      The feedback you have provide here is great and confirms my doubts.

      Really appreciate that you have told us how it isfeels without filters.

      1. 1

        Thanks for your reply and progress—I really think you’re moving in the right direction.

        Right off the bat, I like the multiple pages and the design has certainly improved. I definitely like the curly quotes.

        I still feel like you need somebody to be nitpicky though:

        • Use real content. I don’t want to think that the only reason your design looks pretty is because you used consistent blueish abstract stock photos to match tailwind’s default indigo
        • On the latest announcements with dates, you should be using a thin space or hairline space between the dates and opening / closing parenthesis
        • Be sure all of your shadows should have a slight tint of color to them
        • On the team page, the twitter icons feel like lonely widows on the end of a line
        • The footer email signup shouldn’t be cutoff. Just make it two lines with an input above the button
        • Your sidebar share icons look fine, but the text “share” should be centered above them
        • In the part where it says by subscribing you agree to the terms and conditions to give up your first born child, I think the terms and conditions and privacy policy should be underlined or emphasized in some way
        • In the footer, be sure to include extra tracking in the uppercase titles (hard to tell without higher resolution images)
        • Your pricing and learn more buttons on the homepage compete with each other visually—the first call to action that says pricing should have the focus

        I could go on, but I think you get the point—and hey, it’s probably a draft so you deserve some slack. I do think that you’ve seriously improved on the designs and I really like seeing more pages (I’d love to see triple that amount of pages).

        All this to say that you’re moving in the right direction. As my golf coach always told me, “You’re doing better. I want more better.”

        1. 1

          17 pages into it by now.

          Change the whole concept and added real images.

          feel free to see it here. https://harmony-test.netlify.app/

          1. 1

            Yea, I like more pages 😄 feature pages, products / services, case studies / clients / testimonials, bio pages, search page, legal pages (privacy policy, terms of service), etc. are good too

            The nice thing about a clean template like harmony is that it can be used for many things

            1. 1

              I didn't thought about this actually good one.

              I have also invluded three landing pages.

              this how is going...

        2. 1

          Ok, I got you. Will work on that :-)

          I want someone that is nitpicky actually.

          just one thing, I always use custom colors for the templates and my projects.

          Like this.

          Thank you so much for it, I really appreciate that you took the time to answer, thanks a lot.

          when you mean morepages, you mean different landings, or in general?

          1. 1

            Yep, your designs are good, but they definitely need some nitpicking

            The main points are more pages and more nitpicking 😄 you’re going in the right direction

              1. 1

                It’s getting there! My caution for you is that you have a lot of cool components on the landing pages that are getting overshadowed by the utility pages.

                I think the utility pages are important and it’s great to know the theme has most pages I will need. But, it would be great if the eye candy of the landing components, feature components, and blog components were highlighted. They should still be the main focus.

                I have more nitpicky feedback, but it really takes a while to give that, and I have client work to do 😂 still think you need more of it. Needs polish on the design side.

                E.g. design. Think about solely the /team-member component. You have the necessary elements. But, both the UX and UI need polish.

                • UX. The title feels totally aloof from the page. The name is repeated several times. There are multiple sections on the page vying for my attention. Single columns are best when possible. The “Past: ” feels awkward. Have you considered what other heading elements would look like? Block quotes? I’d be amazed if you added details like this
                • UI. The paragraph text is too light. Most of my clients are older, and they always complain about it. AA+ contrast is not enough (some differentiation in color is good, but err on the sage side). The title should always be closer to the paragraph in it describes—being dead center breaks the hierarchy. Other spacing feels off too. Card corners feel way too rounded.

                Etc. And that’s before I talk about the nav or footer. Again, I cannot stress enough how important these little details are. Typography, spacing, alignment. It’s the culmination of detail-oriented work that makes it look beautiful. That makes me feel the time spent on the design. That makes me feel I couldn’t achieve the same design even if I spent days or weeks on it. That makes me feel purchasing is worth it. Those details are what matter.

                Overall though, it’s starting to feel more like a theme than a landing page—a must for my projects. You’re on the right track. I’m impressed by the work you’ve done, especially your openness for constructive criticism and improvement. You’ve made more pages. Now add the polish.

                P.S.
                Again, add the polish sounds may sound arbitrary and cruel because it doesn’t tell you how to do that. But, I assure you it’s the missing ingredient.

                I made this post about UI design resources for you. If you want applicable design details, you can spend ~$3,500 (not an affiliate!) and a month or two practicing to get 70–80% of the way there. You’ll have built life-long skills and have an amazing product afterwards. Frankly, you need that or another several months of practice. Your designs look better than bootstrap—a challenge in itself. Now you need to look as good as Tailwind UI.

                Of course, another option is to hire a designer to go over what you make and fill in those design gaps. May be good for short-term product validation. But long-term, I encourage you to learn, experiment, and play with design.

                1. 1

                  i just wanted to thank you. You opened my eyes. O am redesigning some parts and I made a new one that sold 4H after launch, is this one.

                  shadow.wickedtemplates.com

                  1. 1

                    Looking good! I didn’t have time to explore the pages, but I like that there’s so many. Nice.

                    My biggest critique is the dark mode colors on the title. Notice the words shadow/welcome/article in the brand color. Rather than standing out with the most with emphasis, the words around them actually attract all the attention—the opposite of the intended effect.

                    Don’t have time for more feedback today, but keep up the good work!

            1. 1

              yeah, I agree. Is like I don't dare.

  3. 3

    That sounds to me a product problem not a conversion issue. I'm assuming you are requesting emails from the people that download your product so I would start initiating conversations with them and find out why are not willing to pay, and start testing ideas for monetizable products.

    1. 1

      Yes we are Santiago, but we have only made one campaign after a successful launch, then we kept working on the product.

  4. 3

    Hey @gperales! Congratulations for all the launches you both have done this year.

    I believe that 7k sessions in a month is a super cool number. Maybe those users are not starting a new project right now (the point where you could need WickedTemplates) but they will eventually start a new one soon. I guess you need to make sure you are still on top of mind for that day.

    Sending them regular updates may be a good idea.

    Good luck!

    1. 2

      Yeah, but if they are coming organically... it must be because they are interested in that somehow so that's why I was expecting to see a higher conversion rate. I have to research a little bit more about which is a normal conversion rate for this kind of product. I think I heard somebody say that it should be between 2 and 5%

      1. 1

        I’m curious what you find out. I’m in similar situation however with different product. For now I’m trying to bring more traffic. I plan to focus on conversion later.

        1. 1

          Is the product you are talking about https://cliply.co/? I haven't had too much time to research, but I checked another project I had and the conversion rate was 2.66 (639 sessions and 17 sells in 28 days).

          1. 1

            Yes. Conversion rate is <1%. Pricing doesn’t seem to have much impact on it. Could you share helpful research on this topic when you find such i.e. case studies?

            1. 2

              I found this article https://www.invespcro.com/blog/the-average-website-conversion-rate-by-industry/ . Looks like a 2-5% of conversion rate should posible. BTW, In your case I think you are giving too much for free. Maybe you shouldn’t have all your assets for free at 400px and have just a few. Or add a watermark.. not sure. Or sell them in packs. Maybe is expensive $9 each, but it could be a good price $19 for 4 or 5.

  5. 2

    You might add a plan & features grid showing the different options side-by-side, to make evident what users will miss out on by choosing the free product. For example:

    https://slack.com/intl/en-gb/help/articles/115003205446-Slack-plans-and-features-%23enterprise-grid

    Also, from free to $49 with nothing in-between seems like a relatively big step for this type of product. That will drive some users to the free option.

    1. 1

      Well, the $49 tier is there because we have to start charging at some point, we can't sell website templates for 10 dollars. The templates are low priced already with the bundle at $89 so that's why the $49 is there, and it also comes without the Figma files.

      today we are pushing an update where the templates can be purchased individually again.

      they will all cost $29

  6. 2

    Are the free products demos or actually totally free? You may just be stealing your own sales. Possible you don't have a price point that is appealing to the masses.

    1. 2

      They are completely free, and we include the HTML and NEXT.js versions tool

      1. 2

        How well do you feel you differentiate your products? Like, hey this free product is great, but did you know you're not getting features X, Y, and Z? Also, possibly give the option to break the payment into 2 or 4 smaller payments, to see if price is a factor?

        1. 1

          so ypu mean to make them less complete?

          Well, they don't get the Figma file...

          1. 1

            Just saying, I think you need to differentiate why they should upgrade. Make them feel like they are missing out on something. The Figma file is a start.

            1. 1

              yeah, we need to find the what..
              Cheers!

  7. 1

    I don't understand why "Pricing" is your flagship CTA, and not "See all templates". Also, the design of your website makes it hard to "see" the templates in the landing page (I think the black+blue color contrast is very high).

    I think https://cruip.com/ does a wonderful job in that. You should check it out.

    1. 1

      We used to have it like that, but on the redesign we were testing, now that you pointed it out, is going to be changed back tonight.

      Great reminder, thank you!

  8. 1

    You could disable the free option, that'll often cut your paid conversion by a lot. At least worth a test. Also run some pricing tests.
    Change your money back guarantee to 'no questions asked', not sure what you are trying to say with the text there.
    And run a spell checker over your website

    1. 1

      We did that long time before, and there was zero conversions.
      And because, the customers wants to see the product before, so that's why we have it like this.

Trending on Indie Hackers
How I grew a side project to 100k Unique Visitors in 7 days with 0 audience 49 comments Competing with Product Hunt: a month later 33 comments Why do you hate marketing? 29 comments My Top 20 Free Tools That I Use Everyday as an Indie Hacker 15 comments $15k revenues in <4 months as a solopreneur 14 comments Use Your Product 13 comments