Mashape – API Marketplace for Cloud Services

32 thoughts on “Mashape – API Marketplace for Cloud Services”

1. I have provided feedback on this site before. In lieu of providing a genuine feedback, I jumped directly to the feedback section without reading the description.

   – 15 second scan of your site shows that you provide some kind of service relating to generating, managing and distributing APIs.

   – I really like the overall design of your site. Your user interface is very clean. Design elements are very well placed. Color combinations are awesome (nothing flashy). I like how you don’t have several components in the same page all competing for attention. Overall great presentation.

   – Props to you for including examples / sample work. I was kind of lost for a while trying to figure out how exactly you are genrating/manipulating APIs – however, going through The New York Times example was very helpful. You would be surprised how many startups don’t even bother to clarify what exactly it is that they do.

   – Thanks for keeping it all open source. When is your Ruby source coming out?

   – A couple of suggestions:
   – I could not sign up using the invite code “startuplift”. It kept on giving me “invalid code” error. So I have not been able to sign up yet. Please fix that.
   – On your “Generate API” page, “Upload Picture” does not work. Also, I saw an optional “Add Ons” section but nothing was listed there. Was that intentional?
   – Your category options seem to be very limited. You currently only have six categories and I did not belong to any one of them.

2. Hi Jared,
   thanks for your feedback:

   – I’ll create sample services and link them in the Guide section tomorrow.
   – We were in the middle of a deployment, now the sign-up and the coupon “startuplift” should work perfectly. Sorry for the inconvenience 🙂
   – In the “Add Ons” section there’s just an “Api Limit” feature. It’s intended that there will be more services complementary to the API infrastructure of your component, for example an Analytics add on, etc. The next feature will be the “Billing” add on, so that developers can also sell what they distribute. We will also allow third party developers, like you, to create add ons for the community, that other developers can then use for their components.
   – More categories have been added.

   As soon as we have enough feedbacks on the PHP library, and we end the specification, we’ll release the Ruby library in a week.

   If you have any question or comment feel free to contact me at marco[at]mashape.com

   Thanks again!
   Marco

3. I’ve answered to your feedback below. Thanks.

4. Q: Spend no more than 15 seconds on the home page. What do you think the site is about?
   A: Creating and Sharing APIs. Beside I love Mashape’s simple and clear design, I miss a strong image that allows users to understand what’s the website about without having to read almost all the text.

   Q: What sticks out?
   A: The botton ‘Generate your API’: it holds the action but also the explanation of the whole website…it’s a key button…

   Q: What do you find bothersome?
   A: The focus onb the search, that in my opinion it’s not so important, especially if you are not already registered. Also in this moment it’s not possible to make a search without registration.
   Also, as I told before, I miss a short explanation movie.

   Q: What do you like?
   A:The simplicity of the design, just a little bit of Jquery, a little bit of Facebook colors. Clean and simple. I also like the informal chat on the about section [https://mashape.com/about]…I love that.

   Q: Give us any more feedback you might have.
   A: In ‘Generate your API’ [https://mashape.com/account/components/create] the upload of the logo fails.

5. 15 seconds on mashape.com
   What do I think site is about? It has a lot of references to API/API Services, I’m guessing that is what it is about.
   What sticks out? The green lego shape, the blue cloud, the orange people, and the blue banner stick out.
   What do I find bothersome? Only think I can think of is that API is not defined anywhere. What if someone “stumbles” onto your site but doesn’t know what API means?
   What do I like? I like the soft colors used. Visually appealing.
   Any other feedback? Your homepage looks pretty simple. That is good. I’m guessing your motto or slogan is “apizize yourself”. It may internally mean something to your people but as far as branding goes, will the general public know what that means and be able to relate to that slogan?

6. Thanks Mikrokode! We’re already working on your feedback and:

   have already fixed the upload part.
   making a 1 minute video in how it works

   Cheers,
   Augusto

7. Hey Zeke,
   well you’re right.

   -Thinking about a slogan that everybody can understand. But it need to have a sense of fun.

   – We can put a short description on GUIDE about what an API is

   Ciao
   A.

8. Hey, I replied below

9. To tell you the truth the page is too plain, it needs more color to attract more people. I think that having a more colorful homepage will make the site more interesting and make people want to stay and learn more about what the site has to offer. What I liked about the site was the easy access to the features it has, it’s easier for people who enter the site for the first time, so they wouldn’t get confused.

10. This submission has been awarded $5.

11. $5 awarded to Jared.

12. Spend no more than 15 seconds on the home page. What do you think the site is about?
    The website allows to access different APIs and is an API marketplace. I could not understand initially whether it allows to generate your own API or simply provides access to other APIs available online.

    What sticks out?
    The website has a nice layout, but for me the immediate and most important element is the New York Times, bit.ly and other APIs floating in the lower part of the site. It immediately provides credibility to the website, and makes me wish to explore more.

    What do you find bothersome?
    I could not understand from the first glance whether the website is an API generation tool, or an easy way to access external APIs. There was a mention of API components which would suggest that this is a website for me as a website owner willing to make my API more visible, while on the other hand New York Times API suggests that it is for someone who is looking to access an API. I guess spending some more time would make it clear, but hey, I only had 15 seconds to figure that out :).

    What do you like?
    Overall feel of the website is easy, uncluttered and nice. I also liked the lower part with the featured APIs.

    Give us any more feedback you might have.
    You might target just one type of the user – either the one who is looking for an API, or the one who wishes to provide an API – and have the other possibility slightly downplayed. I would assume that there will be more users trying to use and find APIs, but of course it depends on your data. In this way you would make it easier to understand what the website is about. Good luck!

13. I like the site. The information was easy to go through without a whole lot of researching to figure out what steps need to be taken. The steps were easy and understandable. Both the color and scenery fit well with the website. The site is a excellent source for all to use.

14. Thanks Dalia! Great feedbacks!

    As every marketplace we’re in the middle of resolving the chicken/egg problem. We need to find developers that want to rise up the supply of our marketplace.

    Yeah we basically provide API to your service and push your API through the marketplace. From a consumer prospective, you can consume every API listed in Mashape with the same interface.

    Thanks
    Augusto

15. Thanks Augusto.
    I will forward that money directly to Wikipedia [https://wikimediafoundation.org/w/index.php?title=WMFJA1/EN&utm_source=2010_JA1_Banner3&utm_medium=sitenotice&utm_campaign=fridayOpening&referrer=http%3A%2F%2Fnl.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FSpeciaal%3AZoeken].
    Keep the good software running!

    gr.
    Giulio
    ___________________
    Mikrocode – Amsterdam

16. Sorry, wrong thread…I apologize 😛

    G.

17. $5 awarded to Dalia.

18. 1)Spend no more than 15 seconds and what do you think its about?
    This site is about API marketing and distributing based on 15 seconds of looking at the website.

    2)What sticks out?
    I like this website because the colors work very well together and their easy on the eyes. It is very organized and simple so people can navigate through it quite easily.

    3)WHat do you find troublesome?
    I found it hard to figure out whether this was a site strictly for generating API’s or what. Other than that this site is set up extremely well. It has three simple steps to follow for everybody to navigate through easily.

    Did you like it?
    Yes i actuualy did like it. The website is clean and very organized. many people would be happy to use this site to do API Marketing

19. 1. What do you think the site is about?

    I like the simplicity of the site. It isn’t too cluttered with information and there isn’t not enough information. I also like how there are links to go to different pages, like the FAQ link. I like how they are not all on the homepage.

    The color scheme that is used it a good one and the layout looks professional.

    2. What sticks out?

    The logo in the upper left hand corner with the a as an exponent sticks out the most along with the tag line. The next thing that sticks out are the three numbers in the middle of the page that you can click on. They are the main focus of the page.

    3. What do you find bothersome?

    I have no idea what an API is or what exactly a mashape is. I read the the FAQ and I understand the answers but I still don’t know what API is. Since I dont’ know about API or anything, I am not exactly sure how the site would work or benefit me.

    4. What do you like?

    I like the overall appearance. It is very nice and not cluttered at all. It is easy to navigate through the site. I also like how you have the featured API that slides through 3 slides as well as the feedback button on the side of the site that enables you to go to a forum.

    5. Give us any more feedback you might have.

    I wouldn’t change the color scheme or the layout. I like them both. Very nice.

20. After spending 15 senconds on your site, here’s what I have compiled..

    •What sticks out to about the site?
    The big 1, 2, 3 is the first thing I saw when entering the page.
    This makes me feel like your drive is to make the process easier for people who visit the site that want to require or provide an API.

    •What do I find bothersome?
    I find it a little silly that when you click on “search tips” all this does is pre-populates something that could already be there when you enter the site as easily given “tips”. Perhaps you could create a pop up box that would go into greater detail in some better tips for use in the search.

    •What do I like?
    I like the over-all design of the site. In this aspect I would change nothing. I think the colors make you feel comfortable and success driven. I also think that it is quite easy to see everything. There’s not a lot of small text to read through to find where to go.

    •Give us any more feedback you might have
    All around I feel your site will be very successful. I do think you should gear up your marketing. Such a neat web-site and I haven’t seen anything about it!!

21. • The site deals with API marketing and a place you can API’s with others
    • The think that sticks out to me is the searching of the API needed and the generate your API button. The search button is a little bigger than most sites and it sticks out and no need to find it. Some sites have it at the top, but its smaller and sometimes a little hard to find. I also like the featured services. This can help you decide on what you want without have to search for it
    • One problem was how fast the featured services were going. I like the feature, but had to see it a few times to see what they all they all said. I might slow it down or have a button to either speed it up or slow it down, or maybe a button where you push it to advance to the next one. It may just be my computer, but there were flying by! LOL
    • I think that the site was very simple and easy to read. I like the colors, they were not overpowering and it drew the reader in. I also like the FAQ down at the bottom. This gives me all the information needed about your services without have to search and spend time looking for the information
    • I like the fact that you have a blog. This also gives the person additionally information or assistance and you make it a little fun

22. •Spend no more than 15 seconds on the home page. What do you think the site is about?

    Your comapny provides API to the your clients and marketplace.

    •What sticks out?

    I first thing that stuck out was the page layout. I really liked the soft warm colors of the site and the large print. A lot of sites have small print and it’s hard to read if you have eye sight problems.

    •What do you find bothersome?

    The feedback tab is off on the side of the screen and easy to pass up. I feel the feedback tab would do much better at the top of the page with the rest of the links.

    •What do you like?

    I like that it is easy to understand and navigate. I like seeing the FaQ link. I feel FaQ is important for any site to have.

    •Give us any more feedback you might have.

    I think it would help the site if you include testimonies from your clients. Testimonies are good for promoting sites and it gives possible future clients a sense of trust.

23. $5 awarded to Sierra12346.

24. – What do you think the site is about?

    The site is clean and not overcrowded like some sites. It’s easy to see what it is you have to offer without having to look for it. The color scheme is easy on the eyes and the graphics are simple but effective.

    – What sticks out?
    “One API marketplace. One unified way to access services.” That was the first thing that caught my attention. It makes a clear statement about what it is that you do.

    – What do you find bothersome?
    The navigation links at the top are too plain. I didn’t notice them right away. They need to stand out more. When I did find them, their placement just seemed off … they need to be on the left side of the page.

    I don’t really care for the placement of the feedback tab either. It is distracting being on the left and moving as the page scrolls.

    – What do you like?
    Overall the site looks good. It’s not too gawdy, overcrowded or complicated. It’s easy to navigate and understand.

25. •Go to mashape.com.
    step was executed
    •Spend no more than 15 seconds on the home page. What do you think the site is about?
    providing a marketplace for APIs
    I don’t get how anybody is making money with this, but maybe that’s not the point.
    The site doesn’t really make clear what the advantage is using it is, at least to me.
    •What sticks out?
    The examples are very good and they provide critical information on use of site.
    The sit is clean, not cluttered – It’s almost minimal in terms of design.
    The guide page is very complete and it woud appear to have a great deal of useful content.
    •What do you find bothersome?
    The site lacks color, which may not be a bad thing. In terms of eye appeal, it is somewhat plain.
    •What do you like?
    The graphics are good, the featured services are very useful, and the guide section contains much
    useful information.
    •Give us any more feedback you might have
    It might be usefule to put more explanantion on the home page
    so that visitors can appreciate what is being offered. I think you have a good idea, but the site
    could use some beedfing up in terms of simple explanation.
    Thwe navigation is good for the most part.

26. 1. Go to mashape.com. Spend no more than 15 seconds on the home page. What do you think the site is about?

    My initial impression is that this site is geared toward developers and programmers who want to utilize APIs.

    2. What sticks out?

    Working with programmers each day, I know that they don’t like to be bogged down with cumbersome copy and long explanations. The clean navigation and simply explanation of your service makes it extremely easy to determine my interest and know exactly how to proceed. Extremely clear and easy-to-use.

    3. What do you find bothersome?
    This is all preference, but I find your choice of font extremely difficult to read (particularly against the background color), when viewed on my MacBookPro. I know how boring it gets with web-friendly fonts, but I think that with the easy navigation and clear copy, a better font and background color would really help.

    4. What do you like?

    Again, I can’t stress enough how impressed I am with the clear navigation and copy. It’s extremely easy to find what I need and get started. I’m someone who tends to be very verbose and copy-oriented when working with my clients on website projects. For this target audience and project, the balance of copy to navigation is excellent. Extremely user-friendly.

    5. Give us any more feedback you might have.

    Innovative idea and effective use of the site as a sales and communication tool. Except for the design/color feedback noted, this is one of the most effective sites I’ve seen.

27. Spend no more than 15 seconds on the home page. What do you think the site is about?
    This site is about finding and generating API’s with different companies.

    What sticks out?
    The middle portion of the screen stuck out to me the most especially the tagline right about the 1-2-3 steps.

    What do you find bothersome?
    The “apizize yourself” seemed almost seemed to easy forget. You page isn’t to jazzy, which is fine, but a nice slogan would be a nice touch. Also on the contact page you end with give us a ring and it seems like there should be a phone number but there isn’t one. I would suggest adding a phone number of change the end of the tag line.

    What do you like?
    The site was very simple and user friendly. I like the warm colors used and the features area with the scrolling screen. I also liked how the screen wasn’t full of clutter, straight to the point with three easy steps. I clicked on each tab and you keep of the flow of how easy it is to follow the information of the page.

28. Spend no more than 15 seconds on the home page. What do you think the site is about? Just from the brief 15 seconds on the home page, I am assuming the site is some type of website or store front builder.

    What sticks out? To me, the visuals stick out immediately. It’s kind of a building block concept. It appears that you can build an API Marketplace in three easy steps.

    What do you find bothersome? Well, just looking at the website, I am under the assumption that I can build something in three easy steps. I place my cursor over 1, 2 and 3 and they are highlighted, but they do not go anywhere. It’s sort of deceiving to think that I can get somewhere by clicking the numbers, when in actuality, I cannot. In order to generate the API, I have to go back to the right hand corner, which is kind of a funny place to put it. I feel it should be the highlight of the website instead of the 1,2 and 3.

    What do you like? I think the initial impression is the website is visually stimulating. I think it appears inviting. I like the fact that there is an “faq” and a “contact” link on the front page.

    Feedback: Well, if I happened to stumble upon this website or received a link to the website, I would really have no clue what it was about. There is nothing recognizable to the average lay person (me). In order to find out what the site is about, I would need to actually click on Generate API.

29. After going to mashape.com and spending no more than 15 seconds on the home page.
    What do you think the site is about?
    I thought the site was a little plain in all honesty. while it is nicely laid out I really don’t know what it is about.
    •What sticks out?
    Not much at all.
    •What do you find bothersome?
    The lack of information on the website.
    •What do you like?
    I like that it is a clean site. No flashing things that make no sense
    •Give us any more feedback you might have.
    Like a mentioned before I find the site very nicely set up but if someone where to give me the site without telling me what it was about 15 seconds is just not enough time to realize what the website offers me.

30. •Spend no more than 15 seconds on the home page. What do you think the site is about?

    The site allows you to generate APIs (Application programming interface). It is generally an API marketplace. There is also a search tool to find API components. I think the site is user friendly and very efficent.

    What sticks out?
    There are a few things that stick out. At the top it says apizize yourself. At first glance it is a little confusing, atleast it was to me. That being said, due to it being a bit confusing it caused me think about it a few times. This led to being stuck in my mind. It is a catchy catch phrase. Also at the bottom it says featured services and under it there is a scrolling bar that describes different services. This lets the consumer get a feel for the company and to me this makes it stick out.

    What do you find bothersome?
    Overall I do not find anything about the site bothersome. That being said I do think that maybe it could give the viewer a little more insight to what an API is and why it is beneficial for them to use the services. Most people would not be on the site unless they know what it is, but what if someone comes across it on accident? Maybe it could fufill a need that the individual was not even sure he/she had. That being said, most people do not like to feel inadequate or ignorant. They would rather just close the page then do research on what it is for.

    What do you like?
    I really like how user friendly the site is. It is easy on the eyes and it is appealing. I also like that it is not over run with ads. Ads are ok on sites, but when there are so many that you cannot find what the site actually is or its intent then it becomes too much. I also think that too many ads make the site seem less legit.

    Give us any more feedback you might have.
    Like I stated before in the bothersome question I do think that there some sort of explanation of what an API is used for and how the services the site provides can be beneficial to the viewer (the site does list benefits, but It goes under the assumption that the viewer understands exactly what an API is. If you feel like the majority of the sites visitors will already know then just make it a section on the site that one would have to click on. Make it easy to find (right in front of their face is the best bet) but not in the way of the experienced user.

31. 1) Spend no more than 15 seconds on the home page. What do you think the site is about?

    Finding APIs and generating APIs. The minimalist design works although the colors are a bit dull and a bit too soft. The first I see is the seach form and the “generate api” button. My eyes are drawn to the three big graphics at the bottom. I can’t see the text that explain what each button does… because they look as buttons to me.

    I would like to see the “generate api” a bit more highlighted. The shade of blue is so close to the background color that it is easy to miss it at first.

    2) What sticks out?

    The three big graphics at the bottom. They’re so big that your eyes are drawn to them. Also, the orange color of the third graphic, so different from the rest of the page, atracks your attention and that makes your eyes to go right to that point.

    3) What do you find bothersome?

    I like the design but I think that it needs a bit more contrast.

    I also expected that the graphics at the bottom to be links and drive me somewhere, or do something… but the graphic only gets a white background when I place the mouse on it… and nothing else.

    It is not bothersome but it is a bit of a surprise.

    I also would love to be able to see what apis are available without having to sign up. Then I would know if I’m interested in using the service or not.

    4) What do you like?

    I like the idea, and the clean, simple design. I would say that the download mashapi file should be highlighted a bit more…. but it seems easy to be able to upload your own api.

    It also seems to have a good documentation area. I only read a few pages, not much, but the language seems to be clear and easy to understand.

    5) Give us any more feedback you might have.

    I think that being able to browse and find which apis are in the system without loging in would be a plus.

    Will those apis have any documentation? It would be nice to be able to access the documentation without having to download the api. Being able to read the documentation gives you an idea if the api will be easy to integrate or not.

32. $5 awarded to melaniestuber.

Comments are closed.