Yeah, I'm not a big fan of the bait-and-switch input box there. It'd be better to put the signup form on the front page and be up-front about it, than have someone put their site's address in and get their wrist slapped.

Agreed. The problem isn't requiring registration, it is that the requirement isn't disclosed until after someone submits a link. Since link submit sites are common (HTML validators, etc) the resulting error page/requirement on this site is pretty jarring to the user.

I noticed that too but in their defense the signup was ridiculously painless. Only required a login and password. Email was optional. No confirmation required.

I agree that it's not too hard, but if I weren't an HN member I would have bounced at that point.

I think having the search bar on the homepage is a great idea since it tells me exactly what to do right when I get there. Maybe put a URL in there explicitly (like http://www.mysite.com ) that auto-clears onfocus so it's ridiculously obvious.

Some quick thoughts:

* Provide a "top tip" that is the #1 thing someone should do to improve their page. The tips offered are good, but aren't ranked, even though some are obviously more important than others. * Give the option to have the report emailed to you. I'd like to pass mine off to my business partners. * Possible premium upgrade: Live chat/advice on how to improve your site. People pay for SEO, right?

Final verdict: I liked it, but I don't think I'll come back a lot. There's already a lot of DIY SEO advice out there and I didn't find anything here I didn't already know. I'm a wannabe expert, though, so maybe it's vitally helpful for others.

Awesome feature suggestions. Thanks. I really like the live/chat deal. The email a report feature is already on our list. For the time being you can just export it as CSV or PDF.

People reuse usernames and passwords, so even though it is painless, now they will have a database of usernames and passwords which can probably be used in a lot of places. Thus, I only sign up for new things rarely and only for things in which I suspect I will need to use frequently.

Hmm... I guess you have a point there. It's frustrating a bit as a developer because in all likelihood if they've done their jobs as developers they DON'T have access to your password at all. The problem is how do you trust a new site when there are obviously some (many?) out there that still use plaintext for passwords? Anyone have a solution for that? Some type of security audit w/a badge that your site can display saying "Hey, we DON'T store your password or have access to it!"

What would you say if they instead used some form of OpenID system (RPX Now or something) so you didn't have to give them your password? Would that help?

We PHP CRYPT() those passwords and never see them. I am disappointed you think we'd store passwords in plaintext.

I closed the window as soon as I saw that. I don't feel the need to give out my info to an unknown service.

Well, they are trying to charge for the application. If they allowed anonymous use, who would ever pay for it?

You don't have to give them your email address to try it out - you could easily make a throwaway username and password.

As you just noted, the account is still anonymous, so there doesn't seem to be a point in requiring it.

Hmmm... Okay, you're right.

It's just funny that if they said "please tell us a name you'd like to use to come back to these results later" then it probably wouldn't have been a big deal at all.

They could offer a free one time snapshot and then require registration/fees to see changes over time or to get recommendations or something.

The feedback on this has been great. We'll figure something out so that it doesn't feel like a bait-and-switch. Maybe we'll change the button to say "log in and run report" or something for logged out users.

One idea would be to give some preliminary/basic info for free so the customer "gets" something. Then a "login or create an account to see more".

I suppose the tricky part about doing that would be giving the customer something that they would value while leaving them compelled to want more.

Yup, it is super irritating