a new overhaul of the freeheat page - need feedbacks for world domination

The current page is at https://freeheat.info

I spent a huge amount of time working on that page with andres.  And after all these years, i deeply appreciate the images near the top of the red X vs. the green checkmark.  The burly logger dudes vs. the dainty barefoot gal.

But this page isn't about convincing me.  Or about a message that I enjoy.  This is about world domination.  

Andres and experts made a new page.  The idea is that this new page is better.  Better for our world domination goals.  We will try it out and see.  It does look really nice.  If it is better, I guess I will miss the logger dudes and the barefoot gal.


Also ...  from a geeky/technical angle ...   I have never liked wordpress.  And I have never liked aws.  Our current freeheat stuff is on wordpress at aws.  I think static pages are the best for security, bandwidth, reliability, etc.  We went with wordpress stuff because it was a bit more WYSIWIG during changes.  But modern tools seem to offer better tools and you can have static pages again!

We can point https://freeheat.info to any of these three options.  

Here is the new static page https://richsoil.com/free-heat

here is the old page as a static page https://richsoil.com/free-heat-original

Please use the thumbs below to vote on the stuff.  Maybe add some vote stuff or just give your opinion using the mighty power of the english language!

click on the thumbs up for this post if you like the new page best

click on the thumbs up for this post if you like the old page best

click on the thumbs up for this post if you know a thing or two about webby tech and you agree that static pages are better than wordpress+aws

click on the thumbs up for this post if you know a thing or two about webby tech and you think that static pages are not as good as wordpress+aws

I'm no help, I like both pages, they're just different styles, to me.

I think I accidentally clicked that I know webby things. In the grand scheme of things, I don't.

thumb if you likey this image

I voted for the new page. Not that I don't like the old one, but just a case of "when in doubt, try new things." I'd say it's a bit more modern/normal style and less "quirky."

Overall I'd say it probably really depends on whom you're targeting with your "world domination." For one, much of the world doesn't speak English, right? So in practice you probably mean "cold climates in Western, English-speaking countries"-domination.

On a cultural note; independent of the content or arguments for/against any heating method, think of this: imagine you show a gruff logger dude a graphic showing him with a chainsaw and a big pickup truck hacking down tons of trees, vs a barefoot vegan looking hippie girl running a RMH and lacking both a chainsaw and a pickup.

Which method do you think he's gonna pick?

And now think: what is the distribution of your "potential customers" between these groups? I.e. who is in need of heating in a relatively cold climate where building a RMH is pretty easy and they don't just live in an apartment with central/gas/electric heat?

If I had to take a guess, I'd say it's 80% gruff logger dudes. Skinny barefoot vegan chicks tend to live in apartments on University Ave in Berkeley.

So maybe you want to not frame it as "big tough chainsaw pickup logger dudes vs skinny barefoot vegan girls" but "big tough chainsaw pickup logger dudes being cool & creative vs. wasteful and bad stewards of their land" or something.

Just thinking out loud tbh, no "shoulds" as I frankly am merely speculating.

Another shower thought in terms of economic analysis. Not meant to disparage RMHs as I love the idea, but let's just be realistic.

What % of people's annual spend is heating? I don't even know what my heating bill is because my electricity is very cheap. I'm sure it's higher than if I used a RMH, but it's not enough for me to pay attention or wear a sweater. Now I don't live in Montana, maybe it's more there.

But most people's biggest cost by far is housing. Then what, car payments? Food? Medical? I'd expect heating costs to be number 10-15 or so. So it's not irrelevant, but it's also just not top of mind for most people, I'd expect.

So it's just going to be a harder sell vs. "save 2/3 on housing" or "save 2/3 on car payments" or "save 2/3 on food while eating beyond organic."

The new page is not only more modern, but also it is dramatically better at selling (but this is not what you are asking about).

Old one was good, but started to look as old fashioned sales page.

The new one looks like a modern landing page.
Great job in my opinion (not an expert though).

The image above... apologies, but no. It does not fit the new design at all, if that is what you are asking about.

For the new site, you need something between an architectural illustration, a modern magazine illustration and a beautifully simplified technical drawing, not something that is too playful for the subject and looks like children's-book illustration.

It is also not a professional advice, just my personal opinion based on being on the Internet almost since it exists.

I don't like the negativity the first panel associates with masculinity.

paul wheaton wrote:thumb if you likey this image

I think the page https://richsoil.com/free-heat is a HUGE improvement.  Too much space on the old page is used up with images that don't provide any actual information.

I do have an issue with the phrase "Free Heat", particularly as used with the things you're offering. The Free Heat Movie is not free!  The Free Heat 3D plans are not free!  Better to put Free Heat in italics to show that it's a title phrase, not a description of the movie or plans., as you did in the 02 / SEE IT IN ACTION section.

The old version with the red x and green check mark has more of fun, light hearted feel to it.  Though as Victor noted in these current days of identity politics as a super sensitive issue for some it also associates the masculine and white males in particular in a negative light.  I have zero reason to believe there was any hidden agenda to do that, but some will read it this way and be turned off by it.

Even without regard to that whole cultural mess we are looking at the old version with a light hearted feel to it compared to the new version that reads as a much more serious and professional presentation.  The new version conveys through its presentation that this is a serious solution to a serious problem.  I believe the new version will be more successful for promoting the rocket mass heater.

That's my opinion as a professional studio artist who has spent his career striving to learn how to communicate ideas, concepts, and emotions though primarily visual, non-verbal means.

Folks are making good points about image association and target audiences, though it's a bit rude to consider some audiences as less "worth" catering to. "Barefoot hippie chicks" have as much to bring to permaculture as big tough lumberjack types.

From a purely site-design standpoint, I associate the old site's style more with independent creators who do things (like making webpages) themselves. I think that this style would appeal to people who are interested in also doing things themselves and are looking for a community to help with that. The new site feels more professional, yes, but also less approachable or personable.

I think both have their good points - The cartoons in the original make me smile, but I think the new one looks smoother and maybe more normie-friendly. The sales bit of the new one is more clear - the old one it's a bit busy for some people - they have to make that extra decision of which option to get, in the new one the $35 combo is more obvious.

The new page is a great improvement over the original in regards to world domination. Good work to everyone who put it together.

Mass AI use the last few years has made images, similar to the original cartoon, one that many will just glance over because everyone and their dog are spamming AI images everywhere. People want real life images - I've seen this trend in various industries the last year. (reference the research article "Customer reactions to generative AI vs. real images in high-involvement and hedonic services")

Ideally, you'd want a video playing in the hero section instead of just the image of the RMH bench: say a 15 second loop of 4-5 clips. Example: A clip of it mid-build, a quick showcasing of a nice house with a RMH in action, a shot of someone stoking it, a scene of a cold winter with a focus on the house from the outside, then finally a shot inside and the thermometer shows room temp (maybe even family gathered around it having fun), etc - story telling in action, tapping into people's emotions. You likely have most of the footage to build something like that already.

Not saying it has to be done exactly that way, but that's the common marketing strategy that grabs people's attention - gotta capture people's interest within a few seconds of landing on the page and give them a compelling reason to keep scrolling.

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I never liked Wordpress either, always felt clunky and high maintenance. For reference, I barely know any html, but Astro + Gitlabs has been easy enough to pick up. All static pages, but they are robust in features, no crazy SaaS price increases or daily news about vulnerable plugins. It's great.

I like a lot of the new one BUT.... it seems just too dry given its origins, and could use a bit of lightening up. I think people would be missing out on part of the charm. Perhaps make that image you're attached to smaller and include it partway down the page, or to address concerns people have expressed here include some kind of currently acceptable humor. I really appreciate the humor here and there on this site, the elist emails, etc. and find it sorely lacking on the new page. That said, the new page has a cleaner crisper look and flow, so I'd start with that as the base.

I don't know webby things, or staticky things.
Or even "what will appeal to the masses" things.
Also, my impressions are from someone who is overstimulated already, at the end of an extremely exhausting day.

I tried to look at each page as if I had only just, or had never been introduced to the RMH concept before. (impossible, but I tried)
I used my laptop.
I visited the old page first for one scroll-through, then the new page for one scroll-through. Then back to the first.
And when I wrote this reply, I considered the hours and hours of tweaking and discussion and effort to get every component and proportion and presentation on both pages juuuuuuust right.

I love the minimalism and flow of information that starts below the logger/hippie graphics. It just.... flows. When scrolling, I mean. My eyes are lead to each new info-bit, naturally. Once I scroll past the older graphics, the old page gets my "just facts, please, I'm too tired to think" first impression vote. It's comfortable, easy to consume.
In fact, it was such a difference in comfort and stimulus level that I found the new page almost overwhelming. Even after going back and forth between them a couple times.
So I pushed the thumbs-up once for the old page. Because I thought I was done.
But I wasn't.

As I explore (i.e., spend more time on) the new page, I realize there's a lot of info here. Good info, different from the old page. The marketing is subtle, but not hidden. There's a delicate balance: I know you're selling something, and you know I know. The tone of the new page kind of acknowledges that. We (the seller and the potential buyer) have an understanding.
On the new page, it seems to me that comfort and ease (of a rocket mass heater) are emphasized, not environmental responsibility. The stakes of my decision (to buy or not buy) don't seem as high or as stark as presented by the old page's graphics and info. It's definitely a different flavor of influence.

Old page gets a + for how the info-bits flow (presentation).
New page gets a + for product info (details of what you're getting), a + for approach (luxurious comfort emphasis), a + for concept-info.
New page wins.

And as far as stimulus level or information overload - in the end there's only going to be one page. There won't be any going back and forth between them.

So the new page got my (final) vote. (I pushed the thumbs up twice to "correct" my first-impression old page vote.)
(I hope I didn't mess up the voting.)

Edited to say I just checked both pages out on my phone. New page still gets my vote. The flow is smoother than on my laptop screen.

The new page is sleek. When it loads on my phone, I see three buttons with prices. Thats a little overwhelming.

Maybe I am a little old fashioned? Is there a way to show me what I am buying first, like to see a RMH Pic or diagram before I see that it's $35 in three places?

The old page is too busy In My Not So Humble Opinion. The newer page is cleaner, and less "sales-y". It feels more professional and less like you're desperate for money. (The sharks smell blood...🦈)

Anyway, just my opinion. Your mileage may vary. 👍

Software engineer here, I think you're on to a much better page with the new design but it also lost much of the personality of the old one. I guess from headers like '03 | the idea' that some of the new page is AI writing. From the world domination perspective, using this very effective technology is great, but it comes with a pitfall, more and more of Internet is starting to look like that, and people will discount AI writing more and more as they get more and more exposed to it. Ironically you can still use AI to get the indie quirk back in, prompt like 'give me 5 ideas to make the content on the new page 5% less AI' after showing the agent both pages.

Great if you can maintain a static page, faster loading and cheaper hosting.