I literally think that this list/or some version of it is all that should be on the homepage. Take a look at these top websites:
https://www.tumblr.com/https://asana.comhttps://twitter.com/https://www.paypal.com/https://www.netflix.comhttps://www.linkedin.comhttps://www.pinterest.comEach one of the above examples has minimal information on their homepage and one very obvious call to action to download or sign up - all of this above the fold. We should do something similar. You see this pattern with many successful online brands that require account creation. Don't give visitors the option to get side tracked or bored.
We should use the left hand side of the page above the fold for the points. Perhaps the points could appear carousel style as they probably won't all fit on for standard desktop view, or just jquery fade in and out from one set of points to the next. The right hand portion of the screen should be reserved for a very obvious call to action button. A big download/create account button and perhaps a short youtube video taking you through the steps required to set up an account once you've installed the wallet. Seeing the wallet in action will show people it's a real working piece of software. A real distributed bank and exchange. We could auto-detect the platform (OSX, Win, Linux) so there is just one big button and not many. That's it. Everything else can be setup on specific landing pages (e.g. merchant specific stuff, whitepapers etc etc).
Within the format I've suggested above we should then start doing some A/B testing for the copy/order of the points, perhaps the videos (A/B test some of Max's longer BitsharesTV interviews) and A/B the text used on the Wallet button download (e.g. Download Wallet, Open Account, Get Wallet etc...) and compare conversion rates based on these A/B experiments.
Yesterday we got 854 visitors (up from our usual 400-500 visitors):
https://clicky.com/stats/?site_id=100787377&date=2015-01-05In the last 24 hours bitsharesblocks.com is reporting that we have had 40 new accounts created. That is a conversion rate of 4.6% visits to actual accounts - this isn't too shabby, but I'd wager it would be higher if we had a homepage that led people by the hand a little more and put downloading and installing the wallet in order to create an account right there first and front and centre.
Long term I would suggest that some web based sign up would be even better for conversions instead of pushing a download of the full client. I'm assuming some of the tech from the lightweight clients could be leveraged to make this possible on the main site eventually?
I'd be happy to consider working with Cass and Adam to make all this happen if it needs someone to code and project manage it. If BM and the team feel they need my help here then just ask. I'm spending so much time on this forum I may as well put some of my skills to use.
Anyway here's my mashup of all the suggestions, including some of my own. A little longer, but with the right design and optimization of the important one's, via A/B testing, I think we'd start to see better conversions from visitors to actual BitShares accounts. This as Adam mentioned is a very important KPI.
BitShares
The Decentralised Bank & ExchangeSecureDitch fractional reserve banking, risky centralised exchanges & fraudulent accounting.
Your balances are always 100% accountable & secured by an average of 300% collateral that's fully transparent and viewable in real time.
Maximise privacyWith BitShares your account is completely private. No personal details are required.
Low feesOur fixed fee of $0.01 for any transaction or trade is one of the lowest in the world.
Earn Variable InterestBalances earn a variable interest rate. Currently averaging APR X%
FastTransactions & trades execute in less than ten seconds.
Broad SelectionKeep balances in any major national currency or crypto-currency as well as gold, silver, oil & many more.
DecentralizedBitShares is simultaneously located in many countries at once, so it can never be shut down.
No Limits Being decentralized means there are no withdraw limits. You can trade any amount, at any time, from anywhere.
InclusiveAny one can create an account regardless of citizenship and without any identification.
RevolutionaryRemember how peer-to-peer file sharing revolutionized the film & music industry? The world of banking and finance is now evolving too! Get a wallet and see what all the excitement is about.
Any Currency. Any amount. Anywhere. Anytime.