True Time Tracker – Personal Time Tracking Application

15 thoughts on “True Time Tracker – Personal Time Tracking Application”

1. The first element of the website that I noticed was the stopwatch.  That is a really nice, eye-catching effect.  I also noticed how clean and unchaotic the site is.  There aren’t competing visuals and/or moving parts, and there is plenty of white space.  I also like that the tabs, when hovered over, enlarge, turn blue and get an orange arrow in front of them.  That is a nice touch which ensures the user is clicking what they intended and in the right place.  The site’s opening page is very informative and gives the user a thorough overview of the software.

   I was drawn to clik on the stopwatch, which was not an option.  I wanted to click on the Time Tracker tab, but when I did it led me to the same opening page.  I thought I would find more information in that tab.  I then went looking for the home button in another attempt to get additional information, but it was very, very small and hard to find.  When I clicked on it, it was linked to the same opening page as well.

   Upon downloading the software, I wasn’t impressed or not impressed.  The software seemed average in the sense that the screens were simplistic and there weren’t many places to which I could navigate.  The concept is a good one and this software would meet the needs expressed by True Time Tracker.  The export to excel feature isnice, although I was unsure at first how to go back (maybe there should be a button besides the “X” to change between pages).  I also looked for a help button, but didn’t find it.  

   I think this tool will be very useful for managers, expecially those that oversee virtual employees.  I wasn’t interested in signing up upon review of the software, and then when I looked at the other sites, especially rescuetime.com, I was definately swayed more towards the other software programs.  Rescuretime.com was more visually appealling and seemed more mature.

   TrueTimeTracker could improve the website by breaking up some of the text.  There is a lot to read on the home page and it is tempting to just skim the information.  Even delineating the information into sections or text boxes would help.  It may also be useful to give reviews its own tab or section rather than having them buried, in a way, at the bottom of the page.  Similarly, the screenshots should be highlighted more (either its own tab or some other way to draw attention to them).  The comments/suggestion area was good to see and conveys a level of transparency that may help users feel more comfortable with the software.    

2. I liked the stopwatch, it’s a cool animation. I wanted to click the watch, but had no idea what would happen, so I didn’t.  The page loaded fast, which I liked. 
   Since I knew you wanted me to download the program and try it out, I had that in mind looking at the page.  But I’m always leary  downloading programs that promise something, and deliver something else.  So I first looked at the screenshots, but they kept taking me off the site and I had to keep looking in all my tabs to find you to see the next screenshot. I kinda wanted to take a real look cuz I am a freelancer, and keeping timesheets, etc. is a real pain.  So automatically I almost clicked right under the stopwatch cuz it said to try out timesheets for free.  I thought it was you, but closer inspection showed it was an ad. Then I looked at all the other pages again, and they all had ads, and the contact page at the bottom said ExtraSpy Software.  So that pretty much ended my adventure.  I was looking for a utility, not spyware.
   Over the years, I have spent a great deal of time fixing mistakes people have made from just clicking buttons.  I warn them about sites like yours because it is unclear what extent the software will be taking over your machine, and clicking on a link that appears valid, may lead them down a bad path.
   Overall the site visually is appealing.  Your basic SEO is fairly good, and there is a good amount of textual content. I was clearly able to understand how your product could help me, and was actually getting excited about trying it out, until I saw references to ExtraSpy Software. Security these days with all the phone apps etc.drive me nuts.  I also saw the program loaded when the computer starts, and was enough for me to not try it out.  I prefer to have control over when a program starts, stops, and know exactly what it will do before I install, and potentially provide information I would prefer not to.  I was unable to see that I could do that, therefore did not install it.
    
    
    

3. The first thing I noticed on the page is the large, colorful stopwatch. I thought I’d be able to click on it to navigate to a different part of the site, but no such luck. The page loaded relatively fast (which is saying something on my archaic, slow PC). I downloaded and tried the product, as I’m a freelance copywriter that charges by the hour, but it didn’t do what I expected. (The reference in small print at the bottom- “ExtraSpy” Software- didn’t do much to instill confidence in me, either). I’ve never used another time management software, so I couldn’t really draw an accurate comparison. There was no big “free trial” come-on, but the software is an evaluation copy. 

   The site’s SEO is actually pretty good, but it is loaded with ads. I understand that webmasters sell ad space in order to make a profit, but too many ads clutters up the site, makes the real information harder to find, and could make the site load slower. That was not a problem for me, but what WAS an issue was the fact that the program started automatically when I rebooted my PC. I like having control over my startup programs and I couldn’t change the settings, so I uninstalled the program. 

4. Upon visiting the site, I thought that it was rather well laid out, meaning it was easy to read and find the information I was looking for. However, the only button I was drawn to click on was the download now button. All others do not really seem as if they are buttons that can be clicked on. They do not draw attention to themselves. If they had, I may have been tempted to click on them.

   I do not feel that I was encouraged to sign up for a free trial or account because the minute I opened the program I got a reminder stating that it was a limited evaluation version and to use it beyond the 30 day trial I would have to purchase a license. I find that to be very off-putting. Potential users do not like to feel as if they are being commanded to do something, and will be less likely to pay to use the product beyond the trial period.

   I think this program is really not any different from any other time tracking programs. All in all, I would not use this program. I was very put off by the upfront demand to purchase this product and if I was in the market for a time tracker I would probably use one of the competitor’s versions.  

5. After visiting the site, I felt it was nicely laid out and loaded rather quick, the only thing I was drawn to click on was the stop watch, which was well animated and use of flash for the buttons was a very nice touch.
    
   The screenshots were very clear and the listing of the product was very well organized and the use of the colors too seems to draw the eye of the viewer (or, in this case, myself). The use of sound to know when the person was over the link is a very good touch.
    
   Having to sign up for a trail to keep the product for 30 days was off putting, namely due to having to pay for it to use instead of possibly having a limited use for a free version and a paid version of the product.
    
   The program in question looks good, though there are quite a few other products like it out there that function the same way, namely if they’re free and not have a trial for their use.

6. 1)      Visit https://www.truetimetracker.com/. What is your initial impression of what you see? Are you immediately drawn to click any of the buttons? Why or why not?
   My initial of this website was that it looks boring and that it’s too much white space on the page. Visually there is nothing drawing me in to stay on your website no matter what the content is. I think that if your going to border off the layout then it needs to be a smaller border and the coloring needs to pop or have something alluring. The font on the page is too small, I want to be able to clearly see what’s on the homepage. I don’t mind that you have an featured on your homepage but it looks quit distracting smack dab in the middle of your sites content. You have to much space on the sides it would work better there. I feel like the content right under your blue header is a run-on question sentence. I think a double column of question allowing the user to ponder over each question would be more effective in getting the user to think over each one. I screen shots are so small that there just frustrating to look at even though a user is able to click on them, that just one extra unneeded step. I would suggest creating a new page for them and pushing up the user reviews and awards but it adds more creditably to your site. I think because you only have one awards it would be highlighted closer towards the top of the screen where your mention it in the first place. Leaving it at the bottom make is look offsetting and just adds more space to the homepage. The article too needs to be moved and integrated into another space until more articles are added. I wasn’t really drawn towards much but I guess I was most intrigued by the price of your product.
   2)      Download and install a time tracking software: https://www.truetimetracker.com/TimeTracker.exe
   Done.
   3)      Evaluate it for free.
   Software in and of itself was nothing to jump up and down about but I think that it does exactly what you said it would do. I think that your software needs better navigation for users with switching between screens.
   4)      Are you encouraged to sign up for a free trial/free account? If not, why?
   I would not like to sign up for either one. Your site stated that I would have a 30 day limited evaluation. How can a user fully appreciate your software and how it works under a limited scope? That’s like saying I want you to give me your opinion of this ice cream but you can only have one scoop. When it comes to intricate software limiting it to only 30 days might not be long enough for a company to get a feel of how it’s working for them. You might want to extend it to 45 days, those extra two weeks and one day might give people users what they need to make a better decision.
    
   5)      How do you think the time tracker compares to other similar time tracking software like manictime.com, rescuetime.com, toggl?
   These sites seem more together with well executed layout. Rescue time seemed to definitely have their stuff together. They have a quick setup featured (2 minutes), big names trusting their product, android market ready, sign in with social networks, video and large easy to read screen shots. They have not only made the content simple to understand they backed it up with great visual presentations.  
   6)      Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.
   You have a nice basic about page and contact us page as well. When I read the contact us page and you said your available 24 hours a day I wasn’t expecting an e-mail but a phone number for quicker access. There definitely needs to be a video attached to your site and or a how to guide because simply reading your site doesn’t show me the excitement of why I should purchase your product at all I really like the stop watch on the site but I think “time” should be more visually played up on your site.
    
   

7. 1)    The stop watch does catch my eye as well as the sharp graphics.  All of the buttons are big and fancy except for the 3 small buttons at the top right side of the main page.   Buttons might need to be a little bit bigger.
    
   2)     Download and installation took no time at all.  It was described very well that this is a 30 day trial and if I wanted the full version, I need to sign up for the service before the 30 day free trial expired.   Very well explained and very easy to understand.
    
   3)     Checked out the program and it ran very well and it was very easy to understand and operate.    The screen that popped up describing the free trial and use of the program was very small.  It should be a little bit bigger.  
    
   4)     I would probably use one of the other sites like rescuetime.com  or manictime.com because the sites look more professional.  There is more information on the main page that explains what the website and program is all about.
    
   5)     There was  a lack of a “Help” button in case someone needed help working the program.    Also after checking out the program, I tried to uninstall the program and was told to close all of the programs that I was working on.   This should be changed.  The screenshots were extremely small and I had to look for them.  They should be on the top part of the page and slightly bigger.  The “User Reviews” were OK, but there should be more testimonials from companies rather than regular Joe Blow.  Also at the top right of the main screen, the home button works fine.  But the two other buttons do nothing if you click on them.   I tried the website on Google Chome.  It took over a minute for the website to load.  Also on the “User Reviews” section,  someone misspelled the word”Anonimus”.  Other than that, it’s not a great site, but it is OK

8. 1) Visit https://www.truetimetracker.com/. What is your initial impression of what you see? Are you immediately drawn to click any of the buttons? Why or why not?

   My immediate impression on visiting the home page is that it seems like some content is missing: the left side of the page is blank, and the content is pushed to the right. That seems strange to me. 

   On first glance I don’t see anything that appears to be a button or a link, although after several seconds of investigation I find that the large main image on the home page contains links to the various pages of the site, but they are not outlined or shaded to indicate that they are links until I hover over them.

   2) Download and install a time tracking software: https://www.truetimetracker.com/TimeTracker.exe

   Done.

   3) Evaluate it for free.

   Done.

   3) Are you encouraged to sign up for a free trial/free account? If not, why?

   Yes, when I start the program I am prompted to sign up for an account or continue with the free trial.

   4) How do you think the time tracker compares to other similar time tracking software like manictime.com, rescuetime.com, toggl?

   I have used Toggl extensively, and I appreciate this program because it is hosted on my computer instead of online, like Toggl, which in my experience is prone to crashing or malfunctioning. 

   I’m impressed by this program’s many tools, although my primary purpose for using it would be to track my time spent working, and for that purpose the program seems somewhat poor. I like the large “Start” and “Stop” button, but it’s a little confusing that the program shows my status as “Paused” when I hit Stop. Also, the Time display on the program is shown in small print, and the total/active/inactive numbers shown all togther are confusing. Would it be possible to show the time in larger numbers, with the total, active and inactive times displayed on separate lines? It would make the program much more useful.

   I like the Project Manager in the program, and the fact that I can create invoices. The Project Manager is somewhat difficult to learn, however, as are all the tools in the program. The program’s interface is somewhat difficult to navigate. Is there a way to make the program more user-friendly, with larger, brighter buttons? Some sort of tutorial or help section with the program would be useful. I’ve had to play around with quite a bit to understand how it works, and after several minutes, I still don’t think I know everything the program can actually do.

   5) Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.

   On the home page of the Web site, there are several elements that bother me. The content on the home page below the main image could use a little proofreading, and is written somewhat like the low quality text found on some Spam sites. The text on the home page is somewhat small and the lines are very close together, which makes it difficult to read. 

   The sponsored link ad inserted into the text makes the site look somewhat like Spam as well, and I would probably trust your site more if there were regular banner ads on the top or sides. Also, the fake “Download” ad beneath the “Screenshots and Reports” section is larger than the actual download link on the page. I accidently clicked this ad, and was not happy when I was redirected to a completely different site.

   The image thumbnails in the Screenshots and Reports section on the home page are too small to be helpful, and there is no indication that clicking on them will produce a larger image. Also, when I click on these images I’m just taken directly to the image file hosted on the site’s server, which seems very sloppy and poor quality. Lower on the home page, the “Articles” section seems pointless, and the article it links to is not very good quality or very informative. 

   Also on the home page, the “PDF to Word Converter” at the bottom is very confusing: is that a partner site? If so, wouldn’t it be better to put that link closer to the top of the page?

   Also, the most recent copyright date on the site is 2011. Any site that doesn’t have the current year in its copyright date seems suspicious to me.

   On the download page of the site, the 2 download links are somewhat difficult to see beneath the text ad, and the option to download the setup file or the zipped setup file seems redundant and unnecessary. Wouldn’t one download link be sufficient? I also find it strange that I can’t click on the “True Time Tracker” text at the top of every page and be redirected to the home page. The tiny icons on the top right of the page are very difficult to find and click on, and only the home icon seems to work.

   Overall, the product offered on this site is fairly decent, although it could use some improvement to make it more user friendly. If I was visiting the site for the first time, I would probably not download the program based on viewing the Web site alone because it appears low quality, uninformative, and somewhat suspicious.

9. The website is good. I feel more of flash could have been used. The information is clear on the home page an makes you want to use the software.
   It makes us use the software for trial basis on the first visit!! This is excellent.
   This is very useful for entrepreneurs just starting out.
    

10. My first impression of the website was that the print in the blue space should be larger.  As I read on, there is a misspelling in the word “anonymous.” Also, I’m sure that there are people out there named Lisa Simpson, but perhaps the name could be changed so that the website might be taken more seriously by first-time visitors. 

    Stylistically, the words “TRUE TIME TRACKER” should be larger, centered, maybe underlined or in a different font.

    The pictures of “Screenshots and Reports” should also be bigger, and maybe there should be a bit more use of Flash or background, as most of the page is black and white. It looks as though it was made by an unexperienced Web Designer, or from a web template.

    All in all, though, it seems user friendly, it’s an easy download, and I can already think of several people who can use this.  It’s not a huge file, so it won’t take a lot of space on the hard drive.

    As for  how it compares with similar sites, there really isn’t that much difference. I think it would be a matter of personal preference; although the billing and invoice system on TTT is much easier.

    On the top right, there are three very tiny icons in black, but if you hover your mouse over them, it doesn’t say what they are. This website is also not accessible to persons with disabilities, which, if it’s going to be widely used for business, it’s going to have to be.        

11. 1) Visit https://www.truetimetracker.com/. What is your initial impression of what you see? Are you immediately drawn to click any of the buttons? Why or why not?
    No great design and call to action is below fold. Visually there is nothing drawing me in to stay on your website no matter what the content is.

    2) Download and install a time tracking software: https://www.truetimetracker.com/TimeTracker.exe
    Downloaded no issues encountered.

    3) Are you encouraged to sign up for a free trial/free account? If not, why?
    The popup describing the free trial and use of the program was very small. It could be larger.

    4) How do you think the time tracker compares to other similar time tracking software like manictime.com, rescuetime.com, toggl?
    I like this software and will try use it more in future for Freelance work

    5) Please share any additional feedback/comments you may have.
    I think there needs to be a video attached to your site and or a how to guide because simply reading your site doesn’t show me the excitement of why I should purchase your product.

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