A NEW KIND OF SURF REPORT

BY HEATHER HOPKINS
MagicSeaweed, founded in 2002, is a web app which offers accurate and highly regarded surf
forecasts. They provide information such as swell height, surf height, period and direction,
wind speed, as well as a star rating system. They also offer live surf cams as well as
directories of local surf spots and surf-related businesses and a blog which offers
surf-related news, articles of interest, surf culture, surf history, and more.

They are the world’s largest online surf forecasting platform with 2m+
users a month, providing weather and wave forecasts over 5000
beaches around the world. They compile their site data from
offshore weather buoys, web cameras on selected beaches,
and its own long-range forecasting by their in-house
oceanographers.
MSW describes themselves as the oldest, most popular, and most detailed long range surf
forecast on the web. Whether you’re a traveling pro, a big wave aficionado, a local hero or
weekend warrior, you can use their tools to score more of the right waves across the
globe. Every month, 1.5 million surfers all over the world check MSW before they hit
the beach. MSW isn't about telling you where to go or when, instead providing
you with the tools to become your own surf forecasting expert. With a little of
your time and the help they provide you can accurately make the call
wherever you choose to surf.

★ Relied on for accurate, detailed surf forecasts

★ Provides users with the tools to be their own experts
★ Forecasts available around the globe
MagicSeaweed has created an app that is so full of useful information for surfers that they
have made themselves a go-to resource for surfers everywhere to check for all kinds of
information, from useful articles, to surf cams, charts, surf reports, live data, and more.
They have a huge social media following as well, which keeps them in the forefront
of people’s minds. They provide all of this free of charge, however, there is a paid
version of the app which one can obtain the same information ad-free with
unlimited access to webcams and long-range forecasts and charts.

★ Relied-upon source of information for the surf community

★ Solicit goodwill by providing information for free
★ Paid version brings in additional revenue
★ Uses social media heavily to gain audience
MSW is often listed as one of the best surfing apps on the market on blogs and “best of” lists
everywhere. When you search for a surf forecast app in the app store, it appears high in the
search with a very high rating. They have a detailed and accurate surf report, although in
this area they seem to be fairly comparable to competitors. However, their vast array
of content such as articles, photos, videos, etc. sets them apart. They also offer
live webcams, which is a great feature. They also have a huge social media
following, which allows them a level of respect and visibility in the market.

★ Often listed as a “best of” surf app on blogs

★ Highly rated in the app store
★ Detailed and accurate reports
★ Vast array of additional useful content
★ Huge social media following
MagicSeaweed is a news and media organization that has a huge social media following on
Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, etc. They get a lot of traffic through their blog,
where they publish articles about surfing, surf culture, and useful information for surfers.
They write on all sorts of surfing-related topics, such as the history of surfing, great
surf spots around the world, swell alerts, survival guides, etc. Their primary
audience follows their blog and, as a result, they have developed a devoted
following of surfers everywhere.

★ Large audience due to their social media and blog following

★ Considered a leader in the surf report space
★ Source of general information for surfers worldwide
★ Considering one of the best surf reports out there
★ Accurate and reliable surf reports
★ A lot of great content that is interesting to surfers
★ Live webcams
★ Extended forecasts available on the free version
★ Color coding which helps surfers know which waves are good
to surf on
★ Trusted source of surf news
★ Simplifying the interface to make it less overwhelming and
more targeted would help the user with direction
★ An offline version that users could download data to
reference later would be useful
★ More customizations to recommend waves that are useful to
a user’s specific level of surfing and preferred surf style
★ For newer surfers who are just learning about how to read a
surf report, making it easier to understand with simple
explanations of the data would be helpful.

WEAKNESSES THREATS

★ When you first visit the app, it’s a bit overwhelming. There is a ★ Surfline (next competitor) is actually a parent company
lot to look at and a lot of information to sift through, and it’s a bit of MagicSeaweed
distracting. ★ WindGuru is also a big competitor in the space, and offers
★ Many surfers have criticised their star rating system as being reports for all kinds of water sports, which may be appealing to
inaccurate. people who surf and engage in other activities as well.
★ Wind predictions and predicted wave heights could be more
accurate.
On both the mobile and desktop versions of the site, users are presented with a lot of information
and articles that aren’t necessarily the surf forecast front and center. Although both versions of
the site are easy to navigate and find the surf forecast information through main site
navigation, if this is the main point of their site, it should be more front and center. On the
mobile version in particular, the forecasts are hidden within a hamburger menu so the
user doesn’t immediately see it when landing on the site. There is, additionally, a
MagicSeaweed app, which I downloaded to my iPhone. The app is a much
cleaner and more direct experience when looking for the surf report. However,
I did notice that the first time you log in, you’re immediately taken to a
‘favorites’ page rather than ‘nearby’. I think ‘nearby’ would be a better
place to start after the first login because it shows real information,
whereas ‘favorites’ is blank. It could show favorites maybe starting
the second visit, or if a user has added any favorites to their list.
The site structure is fairly easy to understand and easy to navigate, however, it seems a bit
cluttered with information. The home page is mainly articles and features that may be of
interest to surfers, but that also might not be the main focus of visiting the site. The
links to surf reports, forecasts, charts, etc. are right there in the main site navigation,
which is good, but arriving on the page, it’s all a bit complicated and although
the data might be easy to interpret for a seasoned surf-report reader, it is very
confusing if you are more of a novice and looking to get into the data.

The app is a bit more straightforward in that it takes you directly to

the surf reports, but, again, the reports themselves are
complicated and harder to interpret for more novice surfers.

I think both could be more clean, streamlined, and

uncluttered to make it a better user experience.
The nav structure on the app is quite good, very straightforward, less distractions Puts the
surf forecast first even though they do have other content, like the articles, etc. on the
app.. On the site, however, on both the mobile and desktop versions, a user needs to
click through a lot of different screens in order to find their favorite surf spot, and
the information is cluttered and text-heavy throughout the site. It’s a little bit of a
confusing user experience and frustrating to have to click through so many
different screens in order to find your local surf spot and see the forecast.
It does have a search and map overview, but these are not front and
center as I believe they should be. If a user chooses to scroll
through and click to their location, it takes way too many clicks
to get there.
The app is available in both the iOS and Google Play app stores, so that covers most of the
market share. I downloaded the app onto my iPhone and the experience was good. As
far as various browsers goes, they seem to work just fine on various browsers. I
checked the site on my MacBook Air laptop on both Safari and Chrome, as well as
on my Desktop PC on Chrome, Firefox, and Internet Explorer. I
did not notice any real differences or deficiencies on any of
these browsers or devices. It seems to be very
compatible on all of the major devices and
browsers in both the Apple and
Microsoft/Google ecosystems.
What makes MagicSeaweed unique is their sheer volume of users and supported beaches
around the world. They have wave forecasts for over 5000 different beaches worldwide!
They compile their site data from offshore weather buoys, web cameras on selected
beaches, and its own long-range forecasting by their in-house oceanographers
working from their headquarters.
Where they are lacking is in clean, simple, straightforward reporting. Their
site is crowded with a lot of different information and the surf reports are
not front-and-center. Additionally, the navigation could improve with
some simplification, and simplification of the report data, at least
on a summary level, would be nice. I would like to see the same
charts and reports available, but with a simplified version as
what the user sees first. Then the user can see the full
breakdown if they wish. I would also like to see an
offline version that can be saved for users to check
later when they are out of cell phone range.
On the website, the login form is very simple and straightforward and located on the top right
in the header, as expected. As far as CTA’s go on the site, most of them are urging you to
upgrade to pro and are located in various places around the site as well as up near the
top in the nav area. There is also a CTA to fill out a survey to help them improve
their site, which is nice from a UX perspective :)

On the app, there are fewer calls to action. There is the CTA to get you to
start adding favorite surf spots, and another CTA to get you to sign up
for the pro version. They are fairly simple and not too intrusive,
easy to understand.
Surfline provides accurate reports for thousands of spots all around the world and is one of
the most comprehensive and progressive for surf forecasting on the internet. It provides
you with all the necessary data for checking your favourite surf spots around the
world with some spots having hourly updates, so you can know exactly what
conditions are awaiting you.

Water sport enthusiasts around the world depend on Surfline sites, apps,
and products to enrich their experiences in the ocean. They are
powered by a 35-year data set, proprietary swell, wind and
weather modeling; and an expert team of meteorologists. Their
site features live cameras at over 600 locations around the
world, and their editorial content has won awards and is
a trusted source of information for surfers and water
sport enthusiasts everywhere.
For 35 years, Surfline has prided itself on connecting people with the ocean. They started with
surfers, but since also expanded to other water sports enthusiasts. Their stated mission is
to deliver peak maritime experiences and to provide those who work and play in the
ocean with advanced tools, personalized insights, and immersive content to make
their lives better -- supplying them with the information they need to make
smarter decisions, seek out new experiences and gain valuable knowledge.

★ Started with surfing, but have expanded to other water sports

★ Mission is to deliver advanced information and technology to
water sports enthusiasts to help make smart decisions and
gain valuable knowledge
Surfline has a large social media following as well as extremely heavy traffic to their site.
Although they have visitors from all over the world, 92.26% of their traffic comes from the
United States. 69.14% of their traffic comes from direct visits to the site, with a further
24.96% coming from search results. They are known as one of the most accurate and
trusted surf reports and forecasts and coastal weather. Surfers from around the
world choose surfline for dependable and up to date surfing forecasts and
high quality surf content, live surf cams and features. They provide these
services free of charge, but they have a paid version with ad-free cams
and extended forecasts.

★ Market share mostly in the United States

★ Most traffic direct site visits or search engine results
★ Trusted source of information
★ Free version, but paid version ad-free and more
features
Surfline is one of the biggest names in the surf forecast business, so they are at a distinct
advantage in this space. They have Sean Collins, a renowned surf forecaster, at the helm of
their weather and wave predictions team, so they are a name that surfers trust for
accurate information. As a result, they bring in close to 100,000 visitors to their ste
every day. In addition to checking the surf conditions, there are a myriad of other
useful and interesting features on the site for surfers. There are webcams
from hundreds of surf spots around the world, real-time wave buoys and
models that help to provide a 5-day forecast.

★ One of the biggest names in the business

★ They employ a renowned surf forecaster
★ Large amount of site traffic
★ Many useful and interesting site features
Surfline has created a very cool new feature that surfers are sure to love. It’s called Surfline
Sessions, and basically, premium subscribers can wear a smart watch while they surf. It then
connects to their account when they are out on the waves, and automatically sends the
user a video of themself surfing on any wave that is in front of a surfline-connected
webcam. The surfer can then analyze the data of their session and watch and
share the videos.
Surfline is an industry-leading site who surfers depend on for accurate surf forecasts as well as
surfing-related news and surf-culture articles of interest. They get a lot of traffic through
their website and through search engines, where they provide a lot of very useful
information for surfers as well as publish articles about surfing, surf culture. Their
primary audience visits their site directly or through search engines, and they
have a huge following, particularly in the United States.

★ Large audience due to their site traffic

★ Considered a leader in the surf report space
★ Plenty of interesting content on surfing and surf culture
★ Considered to be an accurate and reliable source of
information for surfers
★ ★ Simplifying the interface and making it a lot cleaner and easier
★ to navigate without distraction would help
★ ★ Make it more clear which waves and spots are best for what
★ level/kind of surfer through very clear messaging and
★
organization, perhaps ability to sort by these aspects
★
★ A guide for newer surfers to learn about the complexities of a
★ Accurate and reliable surf reports
surf report and how to read it
★ Trusted source of surf news

WEAKNESSES THREATS

★ ★ Swell Info, Surf Forecast, and even Surfer.com are also big
★ competitors in the space
★ There are a lot of sites and apps out there that have this kind
★ Huge banner ad at the top of the page on their website takes of functionality, so there is quite a bit of competition
up a large area of the fold, which is not only distracting but a
little difficult to look at on a laptop
The target age demographic for this app is anybody, age 15 + as anybody younger might have
trouble grasping the more complex data presented in a surf report. However, the app is for
anybody of any age who is still healthy and fit, and out there surfing the waves. Some
people continue to surf well into their senior years and we want to make this an app that
is useful and accessible to all.
The mindset of our target user is someone who enjoys surfing and spending time
out on the water, but wants to be able to plan out their surf sessions and keep
track of data, such as how high the waves they rode were, etc. Our user
finds existing surf reports to be presented as a little complex, so they
are looking for something a little cleaner, and simpler to understand.
There are many competitors in the space. Some of the big ones include Surfline and Magic
Seaweed, but other big ones include Wind Guru, Wisuki, and Surf-Forecast. All of these apps
provide surf report and forecast data. Other generalized weather apps such as The
Weather Channel also provide general data in this area which would be useful to
surfers.
The primary risk is that our app will get lost amongst the competition, as there are already many
similar apps in the space, and some already have large followings. This could make it difficult
for us to stand out and shine against the competition.
That being said, there is a chance that we can capture an audience that has been
largely neglected in the surf report space: casual and novice surfers. These are
either beginner surfers, or casual weekend warriors who are interested in surfing
and improving their performance, but they aren’t as confident reading the
complex surf reports that are out on the market today. If we create a
product that is simpler and easier to read and understand than the
competition, we have a chance to offer a useful and compelling
product for this share of the market.
It is possible to offer a competitive application in the surf report space. The key here will be to
create a user-friendly, streamlined user experience that doesn’t get too bogged down in the
heavy details and delivers the information surfers need most to them front and center
without a lot of distractions. The marketing stage will also be extremely important, since
we will need to get eyes on our product in what is a fairly saturated market.
Create a competitive surf report application that has the ability to capture the attention of
novice and “weekend warrior” surfers, an often underrated yet fairly large share of the
market.
Measured by: Initial user tests and the market size estimates.
Deliverable by: 2-3 months from the start date.

Have at least 500 surf spots listed in the app (localized to the U.S. West
Coast and Hawaii to start) by release.
Measured by: Amount of surf spots listed in the app at release.
Delivered by: 3-4 months from the start date.

Gain 2500 signups within the first 30 days of launch.

Measured by: The amount of signups within the first
month of launching the product.
Delivered by: 30 days after the product launch.
The basic pieces of this project are...

THE APPLICATION: The product itself, which includes all design, development,
engineering, etc.

500 + SURF SPOTS AT THE TIME OF RELEASE

Without surf spots listed, the app will not be useful to our users, so we need
to have at least 500 surf spots listed in the localized areas of the U.S.
West Coast and Hawaii at launch. We will release new surf spots by
region at regular intervals after release.

MARKETING PLAN: This is our strategy for acquiring new

users over the first several months.
PRODUCT WEBSITE: The product website will serve as both a marketing piece that shows off
the product and why it’s useful, but it will also contain the surf reports so that users can
check the reports, create their account, access webcams, etc. right there.

THE APP: The app will provide the same information as the product website, minus
the marketing stuff, with the exception of an option to purchase the pro version.

BLOG AND SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILES: As part of our content marketing

strategy, we will be setting up a blog as well as social media channels
on all the major sites (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) where we
will be posting content that is interesting to the surf community
on a minimum of a weekly basis in order to establish
ourselves as an authority in the surfing world. We will
outline this strategy further in our marketing plan.
These are the high-level requirements of the app itself…

★ Login/sign up flow
★ Onboarding process
★ Profile and Edit profile (System for setting your skill level & System for setting
favorite locations)
★ Favoriting a surf spot
★ Downloading a surf report for offline use
★ Browsing surf spots (by location, skill level, and surf style)
★ Ability to check out surf webcams for many spots
★ Ability to save info on surf sessions- “journal”
★ Articles and Videos that are interesting and relevant to
people in the surf community
USER STORY: As a new user, I want to sign up for the app quickly and seamlessly, so that I can
quickly get up and running using the app to plan my surf sessions.

USER STORY: As an existing user, I want to log in to the app quickly and seamlessly,
so that I can get right to the surf reports and plan out my surf sessions.

JOB STORY: When I’m signing up for a new surf report app, I want to sign up
quickly and seamlessly, so I can start planning my surf sessions right
away.

JOB STORY: When I’m logging in to a surf report app, I want to

log in quickly and seamlessly, so I can get straight to the
surf reports and plan my day.
USER STORY: As a new user, I need a simple and straightforward onboarding process to the
app, so that I can feel confident that I understand how the app functions and how the
reports are set up, allowing me to jump right in and start planning my surf sessions.

JOB STORY: When I’m signing up for a new surf report app, I want a simple and
straightforward onboarding process, so I can be up and running quickly, not
wasting precious time I could be out on the waves.
USER STORY: As a user of a surf report app, I want a system for setting my surfing skill level in
the app, so that I can be matched with breaks that match my abilities and I won’t end up
biting off more than I can chew.

USER STORY: As a user of a surf report app, I want a system for setting my favorite
surf locations, so that I can easily check the surf conditions and forecast in my
favorite spots any time.

JOB STORY: When I’m setting up my profile in the surf report app, I
want to be able to set my surfing skill level, so I can be matched
with surf breaks that match my skills and abilities so I don’t bite
off more than I can chew.

JOB STORY: When I’m setting up my profile in the surf

report app, I want to be able to set my favorite surf
locations, so I can easily check the conditions and
forecast in my favorite spots any time.
USER STORY: As a user of a surf report app, I want to save my favorite surf spots in the app, so
that I can come back later and easily access the information on my most frequently visited
surf spots..

JOB STORY: When I’m checking the surf report for my favorite surf spot, I want to
be able to save it as a favorite, so I can come back later and access it quickly
and easily.
USER STORY: As a surfer on-the-go, I want to download the surf report for offline use, so that I
can access important information for my surf session.

JOB STORY: When I’m planning to surf in a place without adequate WiFi and phone
signals, I want to download the surf report for offline use ahead of time, so I can
access important information for my surf session wherever I happen to be.
USER STORY: As a user of a surf report app, I want to browse surf spots by location, so that I
can find good places to surf near me, or near where I’m planning to travel soon.

USER STORY: As a user of a surf report app, I want to browse surf spots by skill level,
so that I can find good places to surf that match my current skills and abilities,
so I can have a fun and safe day out on the water.
.
USER STORY: As a user of a surf report app, I want to browse surf spots
by surf style, so that I can find places that are best for
longboarding, short boarding, SUP, or whatever kind of surfing I
feel like doing today.
JOB STORY: When I’m choosing where I want to surf today, I want to browse surf spots by
location, so I can easily find the best spots in my area to catch a wave.

JOB STORY: When I’m choosing where I want to surf today, I want to browse surf
spots by skill level, so I can find the best spot in my area that has waves
matching my skill level.

JOB STORY: When I’m choosing where I want to surf today, I want to
browse surf spots by surf style, so I can find a perfect place to bring
my longboard, my short board, or my SUP and enjoy my time
out on the water.
USER STORY: As a surfer, I want to check out webcams of my favorite surf spots in the app, so
that I can see what the conditions look like before I load everything up in the car and head
to the beach.

JOB STORY: When I’m checking the surf report, I want to see webcams of my
favorite surf spots in the app, so I can decide if the waves look good before I
go to the trouble of packing up the car and driving to the water.
USER STORY: As a user of a surf report app, I want to save information on my surf sessions in
the app, so that I can track data over time of the kind of waves I caught and the conditions
I surfed in that day..

JOB STORY: When I’m using a surf report app to track my surf data, I want to save
information on my surf sessions in the app, so I can keep a record of my
surfing accomplishments and identify areas of improvement..
USER STORY: As a surfer, I want to view articles and videos that are interesting and relevant to
people in the surf community, so that I can stay up-to-date on what’s new in the surfing
world, learn about new innovations or interesting surf spots, and stay entertained with
content that is relevant and interesting to me. .

JOB STORY: When I’m browsing a surf app, I want to view articles and videos
that are interesting and relevant to people in the surf community, so I can
learn about what’s happening in the surf world and stay educated and
informed on all the surf-related news out there..