Call it market research, but in an informal discussion. This can be a good reference for all providers here. I'd like to ignite a discussion about the standards surrounding client panels and general user experience. The real purpose of this is to gain some insight for development purposes, but the big thing here is that this is an opportunity to share where you think providers can improve. This can be a great reference for both clients and providers. Maybe I'm alone in thinking this is so important, but if it interests you, I'd like to hear what you think of the average user experience of VPS providers in relation to their billing and control panels.
To start, I'll share my thoughts and you'll see why I'd like to spark a little discussion and gather some opinions.
In my opinion, the user experience is nearly equal in importance to the product itself. In fact, the user experience can directly impact my opinion of the product. Even if the product is flawless, you will have turned me off by showing little to no attempt at making it appear from the outside as though you care about your product. The standards need to be challenged because I feel that providers in this market are often too complacent or just plain lazy when it comes to presentation. If you don't believe in yourself enough to comb your hair and dress up nice, just what are you planning to do in order that you might make me think that you have something to offer me besides just another bland option?
Here's what bothers me with the "standards" we see too often in this market:
WHMCS default layouts.
We're talking about a default layout that completely misses the needs and trends of the VPS market by default. To put it in perspective, WHMCS has made it abundantly clear in their default templates that they are positive that the number one thing you need to be alerted to is your ability to purchase a new domain. Beyond that, they also feel that you need two steps to reach anything. From the home template you've got menus and links that both take you to the same place, with excessive detail wrapped around. This is not how you impress people. Don't use this.Multiple logins.
Your first login is billing. Your second login is your control panel. Your third login is your VPS. Today we contemplated giving VPS clients cPanel accounts for DNS management. That would be a total of four logins, for one service with one company. Without that, you're still looking at three different logins as an industry standard. For one product. This is not a good way to make people feel as though you're interested in providing them with a clear and streamlined process.
So, what are your thoughts?