Xojo's WebsiteThe bit about anyone listening is NOT about the development team - its about the direction that livecode is taking in zilch marketing , zilch trying to reach out to the bread and butter developers (you and me IMHO - Desktop with mobile options)
The start screen of the website is atrocious - it conveys nothing at all - oh you can write apps - I can do it in a dozen languages - show me the banana!!
Look at the Xojo site - Livecodes Web "master" should look at the testimonials and how the front page tells you what it does - and a picture of Raspberry pi to boot- do a PROPER GOOD classy example app for IOS and Android that doesn't take "only" 3 hours like sheepherder and put that on the appstore but the sourcecode only goes with a paid subscription to either an IOS or Android only version, and indy , business - put as many useful tips and tricks to give people a start. Do a good sidescroller, do a platform game, do a simple monthly savings/expenses home app using sqlite. if it's so quick then they should be able to be knocked out in a month or 2 - without any rough edges.
Presentation: I looked at Xojo's site Everything is right there on the home page. They clearly tell you up front what you can do with their language. "Create powerful, native apps for desktop, web, iOS & Raspberry Pi™. Fast development. Easy deployment."
They back it up with evidence. They have sample apps to download and try. They have links to what they offer: a free textbook, QuickStart, Tutorials, Language Ref., User Guide, articles, forums, etc. They have testimonials. They list all the companies that use Xojo (Disney, AT&T, Xerox, Intel, etc). It is impressive. Their website is clearly designed to promote the product to new users and get them to buy into it. Out of curiosity, I am even tempted to try it.
Pricing: They have many reasonable pricing levels from $99 to $1,999 with good starter licenses - Desktop/Web/iOS at $299 each depending on the platform that you want to start out on. The Pro license is $699. for all platforms. With the 90 day money back guarantee, I could see many people trying it out if they are serious about trying programming.
LiveCode's Website
Presentation: Then look at Livecode's site. The home screen tells you that you can write apps and it shows only an Apple laptop. There is nothing to indicate that it has any other capabilities or features. There is a note that it will increase in price to $999. next year. That is basically the home page
It takes a lot of clicking to find out more, e.g. manual, lessons, etc. Everything is there, somewhere on the site. It is just not quick and easy to find it. It is not a friendly site.
Pricing If you click on "pricing" you see that there are 2 licenses - $599 and $1,999 per year with a note that the $599 license will go up to $999 next year. Nowhere does it mention the free Community Version. That pricing would deter anyone who was casually interested in trying the language or getting into programming
Put yourself in a new user's position. Which would you choose?
Even if I was not aware of Xojo's site, I do not see people trying LiveCode based on their website. I would continue looking for other languages to try. It does not convince me to try it
As for the price increase, it seems that its purpose is to prevent current users from leaving the fold and to coerce future developers to sign up now. The goal is immediate licenses, not necessarily long term growth. Even as a new developer just getting started, it is a hard decision to commit to - Pay now even if you are not ready to publish or pay more later when you are ready. If they are having problems, it forces them to reconsider their decision to use LiveCode vs something else.
Raising the entry price that high is also not a way to attract new users. A starter fee of $999 is a formidable barrier to many people. And there are so many new customers that they can go after. Some people just are curious and want to learn what programming is about and try it. Others may just want to write a simple application for their own use. They have a need and would like to fill it themselves. Finally, there are those users that have an idea for an app and may have interest in making money with it. (I know that most of them would be happy with just the Community Version, but they do not know that - from the website.)
With all the schools jumping on the Computer Science/programming bandwagon, there is going to be a massive audience out there to draw from (all students/new customers). Even adults are expressing an interest in learning to program. These are all the people that the website should address. (if that is LiveCode's goal)
I guess it all comes down to LiveCode's long term goals and strategy. Up to now, it seems they are deriving their income from current developers with upgrades, add ons and license renewals.
It would make sense to find a way to tap into the fast growing numbers of people/students that are wanting to learn programming or just to create programs/apps of their own. There must be a way to make money from them on a yearly basis. A lower entry fee?
If not, then by the shear numbers of new customers trying LiveCode, there should be an increase of serious developers who do go on to be paying customers. (In sales, they say that is is just about numbers. The more people you call on, the more sales you will get. To increase your sales, call on more people). So for LiveCode to increase its paying user base, it needs to increase its new users.
At any rate, the website could be more informative and more user friendly.