Recently I was looking into services to offload my new web-app’s email delivery to. A quick search brought up two appropriate services:
PostageApp
PostageApp go for a cheeky, fun, cute design which makes the product feel very accessible. They use illustration on their central graphic, video demonstration, and wonky heading underlines. It is a great design element but feels misplaced on an email delivery service.
I am a big fan of illustrative design. It adds character and fun and can work brilliantly to soften and simplify complex concepts. A great example is Google’s demonstration video for Google Voice.
On PostageApp though it seems to cheapen the product. My web-app’s email demands are not glamorous, sexy or fun! It is critical to my product’s success. The traits I am after in a provider are reliability and professionalism. I am looking to take away the stress and hassle of delivering email. I don’t want to hand over my email responsibilities to a comedian. The company may be having fun but I don’t need nor want to know!
SendGrid
SendGrid on the other hand go for a corporate design. They have thought hard about what their customers are actually buying; peace of mind and security. A prominent counter proudly displays the number of emails their service has sent and I am informed that 3744 other companies currently use their services. This makes me feel that choosing them is the right decision. Cleverly, rather than saying “Thousands of companies use our service” they give me an exact figure, which adds authenticity.
Which did I end up choose?
Both PostageApp and SendGrid target the same audience. They both claim to solve my problem. In an ideal world I would sign up to both and test the integrations alongside one another over an extended period of time. However the real world with it’s time constraints doesn’t afford me these luxuries. As a new customer I have no experience of the quality of these services so I am forced to make judgements. Fickle as it may be first impressions count. Rightly or wrongly I went for SendGrid.
