Free Idea Validation Tools to use before Custom App Development
or Low Budget Workbench for Startups
Hi, startupers. Previously, we shared Startup Library and received a lot of positive feedback. This time, we would like to introduce you to Idea Validation Tools that we are suggesting to use.
As you know, we are after the Lean Startup methodology. What is more, our aim is to downgrade the startup failure rate as low as possible. Currently, it is 99.7% π₯Ί. You would probably know, that there are plenty of dev shops that are trying to cut your MVP based on the budget without any business value. Based on these, we would like to share a list of tools where you nearly donβt need a budget to invest. Such a list was sorted out as a cheat sheet that would help you to validate the idea within just $499 π. So, feel free to use our set of idea validation tools.
Prototyping, Mockups, and Wireframes π for Idea Validation
– InVision (prepare design or wireframes and make them clickable) [freemium]
– Balsamiq (desktop app and online version) [from 5$/month]
– Wireframes.cc (minimalistic tool for wire-framing) [from $16/month]
– Draw.io (wireframes, charts, diagrams, and more) [freemium]
– Wapler (prototyping)[from $19/month]
Market Research tools π€
– Consumer Barometer or Think with Google [freemium]
– Google Trends [freemium]
– Facebook Audience Insights [freemium]
– Google Surveys [free]
– TypeForm (designed Google Survey + tree of decisions) [freemium]
Website Chats π¨
– Intercom (A/B testing), [from $53/month]
– Chatra, [freemium]
– Tidio, (chat + chatbot templates) [freemium]
SSL Certificates and Hosting π
– Amazon Web Service (hosting, SSL, and has all modules for cloud server), [pay-as-you-go]
– Digital Ocean (hosting and online computing), [from $5/month]
– Let’s Encrypt (SSL Certificate), [freemium]
– Name.com (domains and hosting) [from $7/month]
Code-less Websites or “Mom, I’m a developer” π
There are a lot of SaaS available on the market that can be used for idea validation. Based on this, we are sorting out them based on easy-to-use and powerful features.
Complex Websites
– Wix (Events, Restaurants, Accommodation, Online Stores, Portfolio, CVs, Photography, and more), [from $5/month]
– Squarespace (online stores, photo-portfolio, sites of musicians, business, and much more), [from $16/month]
– WordPress (the most popular platform), [freemium]
– Sharetribe (online marketplace), [from $99/month]
– LeadPages (A/B testing, FB Ads integrations, and more), [from $37/month]
– Webydo (that’s a Photoshop! for websites), [from $90/month]
– Ucraft (Business, Marketing, Analytics, Design, and more), [freemium]
– Webflow (easy-to-edit templates), [from $15/month]
– Book Like A Boss (Appointment Scheduling platform), [freemium]
– Moonfruit – by SiteMaker Software, [freemium]
Landing Pages
– Readymag (photo stories, presentations, magazines, and more), [freemium]
– About.me (web-business card), [freemium]
– Populr, [freemium]
– Caard (really simple to use web builder), [from $19/month]
– Instapage (web builder with A/B testing, heat maps, and more) [from $79 per month]
Online Stores
– Shopify (the most popular platform)
– Volusion (modern templates)
– BigCommerce (second after Shopify, as for us)
– Shogun (Landing Page builder from Shopify)
– Big Cartel, [freemium]
– Smoolis (multi-currency, multilingual), [from 16$/month]
– OpenCart (eCommerce platform), [freemium]
– LemonStand (they support migration from other services)
– Ecwid (POS support, mobile apps, and more) [freemium]
Portfolio
– AllYou (connect with Vimeo, Issuu, and SoundCloud) [from $12/month]
– Dunked (around 15 templates), [from $12/month]
– Exposure (a lot of integrations + mailing list), [from $5/month]
– Carbonmade (around 7 templates available), [from $6/month]
– Behance (an online platform to discover creative works), [free]
Blogs
– Tumblr (video, audio, and text), [freemium]
– Medium (text articles + Stories), [freemium]
– Blogger (AdSense integration + deep analytics), [freemium]
– Postach.io (Evernote-powered blogging platform), [freemium]
– Svbtle (minimalism), [from $6/month]
– Ghost (open source solution), [from $29/month]
ChatBots π€
– StorytellingBot (mind map-based bots), [freemium]
– ManyChat (messenger), [freemium]
– Chatfuel (messenger), [freemium]
Mobile and Web apps. Or βWhy the hell do I need freelancers if I can validate startup by myself?β π±
– Bubble (web apps)
– Corvid by WIX (web apps)
– Yapp (meetings, training, conferences) [from $399/year]
– ShoutEm (cross-platform)
– BuildFire (PWA, iOS, Android), [from $99/month]
– GoNative (Convert Web Apps into Native Mobile Apps), [from $590]
– Thunkable (iOS, Android), [from 5/month]
Payments πΈ
– Paddle (worldwide) [5%+50Β’/transaction]
– Stripe (25 countries) [2.9%+30Β’/transaction]
– Braintree (45 countries) [2.9%+30Β’/transaction]
– Fondy (Eastern Europe only) [2.7%/transaction]
Email Marketing π
– SendGrid (multipurpose email tool), [freemium]
– MailChimp (you know it, or at least heard), [freemium]
– ConvertKit (a lot of automatizations and integrations), [$29/month]
Extra from Launchers π‘
– Unsplash (free pics), [free]
– Pexels (free pics), [free]
– Zapier (workflow automatization), [freemium]
– Biteable (HD Videos), [freemium]
– Promo (promo videos for your ads), [freemium]
– Canva [logomaker, social pics, banners, and more], [freemium]
– The Noun Project (free icons), [free]
– FlatIcon (more free icons), [free]
– Fleeq (Presentations, demos, and more), [freemium]
– Rocketium (You are a video maker now) [freemium]
– Optimizely (Implement own Experiments) [freemium]
– Upscri.be (Lead Generation Forms), [freemium]
Sure, you would need to invest a lot of time in your Startup Validation process. But thatβs would be a real self-challenge. If you want to have your own Startup and you are ready to work hard, it will work
If you have any tools to be added to the list, feel free to drop us a line with them. And sure, if you liked our idea validation tools, please share them
Don’t want to work on all these by yourself?
