111 options on the first screen was the most expensive thing we shipped
We put all 111 one click apps on the first screen. It felt like the whole point of the thing, everything in one place, look how much you get.
People opened it, scrolled, and left. Not confused. Just done deciding before they'd made a single one.
We cut the first screen down to 6 and put the other 105 behind search. Same product, nothing removed. People started actually finishing pieces of work.
What I got wrong wasn't the number, it was assuming breadth reads as capability. It reads as work. Every option on that first screen is a decision you're asking someone to make before you've given them any reason to trust that any of it is good.
The uncomfortable part is that the 105 are still the reason people stay. They're just the wrong thing to lead with.
If you're building something with a lot of surface area, what's on your first screen and how did you pick it?
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The finish-before-deciding point is the real one. I'd rather ship one path that works than six that all look equally right on day one.
@irahimiam One path is the braver version of what we did. We kept six because we were still hedging, and if I'm honest the analytics say five of them barely get touched on the first visit anyway.
One push on this. You said the 105 are still the reason people stay. I'd say they are the reason people stay after the first one works, which is a different job. The first screen does not have to represent the product. It has to get someone to a finished thing before they spend any trust deciding. So the pick is not the 6 most important. It is the 6 someone can finish without asking anyone what to choose. Different list. I keep landing on one path rather than six for the same reason. What did your 6 have in common once you cut it?
@rabnoor_s All six finish without a second decision. One input, no settings screen, and something you'd actually send to someone inside a minute. Two of my original six failed that test because they asked for a style choice before anything happened, so they got swapped out for duller ones. Your framing is sharper than what I wrote, the first screen's job is trust, not representation.