JAB16 - Free Trial programs - importance, advantages and pitfalls
by Darek Śnieg
In times long ago, every worthwhile PC game had a demo version - a limited piece of the content so that people could check out the content, gameplay and so on. Programs like office suites and so on followed suit. The gaming industry has a long tradition of free demos and free trials, and it is no less important and fair to provide them in our field - with free trials of extensions, support services and hosting services.
CloudAccess.net has been providing a Free Trial program for 6 years now - first as the host of the official Joomla! Demo at http://demo.joomla.org and now with its own Free Site program. I have been with the company through all these years and would like to share my experiences with it - why I believe that a free trial is important, what are the advantages of it and what are the pitfalls of it and, as usual, share the "support guy side" view of it all.
In times long ago, every worthwhile PC game had a demo version - a limited piece of the content so that people could check out the content, gameplay and so on. Programs like office suites and so on followed suit. The gaming industry has a long tradition of free demos and free trials, and it is no less important and fair to provide them in our field - with free trials of extensions, support services and hosting services.
CloudAccess.net has been providing a Free Trial program for 6 years now - first as the host of the official Joomla! Demo at http://demo.joomla.org and now with its own Free Site program. I have been with the company through all these years and would like to share my experiences with it - why I believe that a free trial is important, what are the advantages of it and what are the pitfalls of it and, as usual, share the "support guy side" view of it all.