Search for reviews and "best of" lists for that recommendation. Once I found the name for the category, however, I could find all kinds of alternatives (some of which are in that article). I didn't know what diagramming software was until I wrote our list of the best diagramming software-I just knew that Lucidchart was pretty neat. I think most of us are like this with at least one app category. My grandmother doesn't know what a web browser is-she just knows she needs to tap a particular button in order to open Facebook on her computer. Note what reviewers are calling the category. I think the Zapier blog is trustworthy, for example, but an "alternatives" list on the AwesomeApp blog that recommends AwesomeApp should probably be taken with a grain of salt. Related: learn how to spot content marketing, so you can avoid obvious scams. Look for results with articles written by actual human people on websites. I'd ignore any sites that simply offer lists, like G2 or Capterra-both of those sites heavily favor software companies that pay to be ranked highly. Just type the name of your current software with the word "alternative" or "vs" and see what comes up. Here's my process:ĭo a broad search for alternatives. It's taught me a lot about finding similar apps in any category and figuring out which ones offer which features. I've been doing research for Zapier's best apps lists for three years, and I wrote similar articles for a decade before that. The first hurdle to overcome, after discovering an app doesn't work for you, is figuring out what alternatives are out there. If any of these things are true, though, you should at least be looking into replacement software. These aren't the only signs, of course, and no one understands your situation better than you. Don't get mad about those jokes-learn from them. Honestly, if an app is truly horrible, your staff will start making fun of it. If another app offers the feature you want at your current price, it's time to consider switching. Some apps lock features behind higher pay tiers. Upgrades for necessary features cost more than you're willing to pay. If you're constantly using workarounds-for example, copying data to a spreadsheet so you can arrange it in a way that's actually useful-you might not be using the right app. This can get fuzzy, sure, but you shouldn't need other software to supplement the core functions of an app. You're using other tools to supplement shortcomings. If you're frequently thinking of things you wish the software could do, only to learn that it can't, it's time to look into alternatives. You're constantly running into limitations. If you suspect a tool isn't working well for you, trust your instincts-you're probably right. This isn't something you need to overthink. How to know an app isn't working for you anymore But in most cases, switching from one tool to another isn't nearly the amount of work you think it will be.ĭon't let the fear of moving keep you in a crappy apartment. Some companies have decades of data, workflows, and habits built around specific tools, and that's going to be a transition. There's a lot of nuance here, and I'm not going to pretend that switching apps is always going to be easy.
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