Does steemit.com have anyone on staff that specializes in UX?
I have asked myself this question many times as I constantly encounter areas of the site that could use some TLC from a professional UX designer.
I know the site is in beta, but if the aim of Steemit is to reach beyond crypto-fanatics, decentralists, and other niche groups that have flocked to the site then UX should be high on the list of priorities.
Today I encountered this small UX bug which I am sure some of you may have also noticed.
What happens when you try to view trending, hot, new, or promoted tags and there are no post results?
The answer is absolutely nothing.
You are left to stare at empty space with no indication that zero results were returned.
This is illustrated in the gif below which was created today.
Trending #chemtrails posts and promoted #steemfest posts are non-existent and the user is left hanging, wondering if results will ever appear.
For many little details like this probably don't mean anything, yet first impressions matter. When added up small UX design flaws can make or break a site and impact whether or not users choose to stick around.
As far as this one goes I'll probably try to take care of it myself (when I have the time) by adding a simple note to the user that no results are available for the query.
Still I would like to know...
Does the steemit.com team have anyone working exclusively on UI/UX?
The dev team is planning to do a GUI update at some point. When they launched, they were basically going for the "minimum viable product" and have been adding to it ever since. I don't have any info on where it falls in the priorities, but based on what I have gathered they plan to add a lot more "functionality" enhancements before they do the 'facelift and user flow' parts. They are planning to add a lot of cool stuff though and turn it into a good user experience before it is out of beta :)
I'm left wondering the same thing most of the time. You're right - the many little details can certainly influence whether or not someone joins or sticks around. It isn't always the big glaring issues. Most people are aware of those and can find out if they are being addressed - but the finer details aren't as easy to recognize, and when there are many issues with them, it can be frustrating for people who are accustomed to having the features mostly problem-free.
it means there's nothing trendy enough. It drive me crazy that every tag I click on tries to jump to trending. I have to use the search function to browse for topics, or through a os that has the tag, or use a steem app. Ive seen this discussed so I think theres someone working on this area....I dunno?
Tags don't just jump to trending, they jump to 24 hour trending!
So if the tag isn't really that popular there is a good chance no results will be returned.
I finally figured that it was just auto jumping to trending from the home tag...after all this time not understanding omg
Exactly! And if there have been no posts during the last 24 hours using the tag you selected you are presented with the white void.
https://steemit.com/trending/aheey
have you posted in github or chat and offered your UX help?
I have not. I plan to but...
I think they do not have any proper UX person but only people specialised in UI. Said that, having seen steemit from the first days I can say it improved a lot. Many UX from communities proposed analysis, new features and so on. Some have been taken while others not. The philosophy is that community will help with that