By leveraging the web in creation of rapid prototypes for testing business model assumptions, and using customer feedback to develop them, companies will be able to advance in its’ search for a repeatable business model and reduce risk in new-product introduction.
In creation of such rapid prototypes the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) idea is key. Neverthless, open source platforms such as WordPress are key enablers to the Lean Startup. As my previous post on 9 Minimum Viable Product WordPress Themes received pretty good interest among aspiring enterpreneurs, I decided to share some more recent WordPress themes that can help you in quickly launching your minimum viable product.
Inspire, a clean-cut theme from the rockstars at Woothemes. The theme leverages a clear value proposition and call-to-action alongside usable design. We are working on this for EasyPeasy’s tablet OS, and I must say it feels good (is that a disclaimer?).
SaaS Web App. This one I liked so much that I kept it in my browser tab for days. The makers knows all about sizing and positioning elements for increased conversion. The Plans & Pricing is simply right-out-the-box.
Apz, also by Woothemes, is a simple theme aimed at iPhone application developers. Simple and landing page-ish, perfect for that Minimum Viable Product version zero-point-something.
Coming Soon is a dead-simple landing page theme. Change the picture and do some copywriting, and you’ll be up and running.
SaaS Web App II is based on the same ideas as the SaaS Web App above, but with some modifications. Myself, I like the 1-2-3 description at the bottom.
AppPress by ChimeraThemes, has crafted a promising framework. AppPress really makes use of call to actions and conversion mechanisms as well as a good pricing page.
Fullside is AppPress’ brother theme, having some different design options. Have a look at the 37 Signals inspired decleration module at the bottom of the page. Get ready for ramping your conversion funnel.
What I love about WordPress is its take on simplicity and modularity. It allows you to do rapid testing of features, design and value propositions, and easily integrate third party forms and survey modules for getting customer feedback critical to customer development.
Going forward I would really want to see one Lean Startup-specific theme that leverages the back-end dashboard with consumer-focused metrics for testing business model hypothesis.
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The Methodologist 