DApp Directory Deliberations Problem: Low engagement and user drop-off after new wallet installs (esp relevant during expensive onboarding campaigns). Cause: No clear sign posting on where to go next. Onus is user to find a minimal amount of dApps in the ecosystem via google Solution: Directory within the wallet... itself until ecosystem and brand awareness matures. Let’s deep dive this. 🧵show more

The problem was highlighted especially during the recent RadQuest onboarding campaign (this post does not concern the farmer issue just one UX issue). Once users have finished the quests there is little to no signposting on getting people using the actual ecosystem after that. Getting users is one thing, keeping them is another.

A curated directory of some form helps in many ways, here’s just a couple: - Reduces time taken for user to get to a radix dApp (if its longer they are more likely to disappear for good, forever) Increases safety, although not fallible, a curated list provides some safety for the user (even if just imagined) Stop users ending up on dodgy cloned sites etc

"Why in wallet instead of just a link to a webpage with a directory?" You ever had that thing where you have gone on a website to buy something then when you go to checkout to pay and it sends you a different url/site, same logo but with a slightly different look? How did you feel? Bit uneasy. Some might not even complete the transaction. Analogous research shows 1 in 4 people ditch a purchase when they are directed to a different site to process their payment Whenever a user has to swap sites, swap apps (app to browser or vice versa), it can imbue a psychological discomfort. That break in cognitive flow can and does lead to user hesitation or abandonment. If you can keep the user in the same “space” (ie just the wallet) you avoid this.

“Just have the directory in RadQuest” Once they finish RadQuest they may never return to RadQuest. Thus that signposting is lost. They not remember the name of RadQuest, mis-spell, not remember the url. All the information may evaporate after a good nights sleep. They are then left with a wallet and no idea where to go next. Why chance it? The wallet is the only true persistent object here, ergo signposting in the wallet.

“But the wallet should be super clean, one function only! Be a wallet!)” Well I kinda agree with that in the long term. But the short term some user flows are completely broken. We need to get users properly onboarded and familiar with user real eco dapps and currently that just isn’t happened or when it does we ain't making that route as easy as it could be. RDX themselves already put a button on the front page to signpost “RadQuest” and my solution is only replicating this design pattern. To argue this approach is wrong when they have already done it themselves is a little confusing. You could even have the dapp directory button only appear for wallets that have less than say 100tx, arguably I'd keep it on for all wallets for the next year until the ecosystem grows. But all in all a dapp directory button doesn’t impede on established users going about their normal day to day wallet functions (in fact even existing users of radix probably couldn’t name all the dApps currently live on Radix).

“But It’s gonna take a REALLY long time to build that into the wallet” It REALLY shouldn’t, there's no unique functions, it’s just text and code and some images. From my experience at best it’s a 2 weeks work (max) for 5 people if that.

"But curation is hard?" I’d argue with the small number of dApps thats an overstatement. I get it that rdx will worry if a project rugs > put disclaimer on the directory page. But favouritism! > randomise the list from a bigger list. All the curation worries. are pretty moot and solvable.

“But our user research showed that users didn't want an in-wallet directory” A paraphrase from the CPO, full comment here Trouble is with this, from what he says, this was feedback on a bare bones very early prototype with tabbed UI. It’s highly possible the feedback was stemmed more from the reaction to UI than the content itself. Ie if the UI sucked then they will be prolly not like content.

A dApp directory, in wallet, is not an unusual thing (see other wallets). Don’t sacrifice helping the user because of a utopian wallet vision. We simply are not big enough in any respect yet to warrant that level of arrogance. We are still so very early. I could go on.

This isn’t a case of YOU MUST DO IT EXACTLY LIKE THIS. But I’ve not heard any sane reasoning why this shouldn’t exist in this sort of manner. You have designers, you have coders, have a play. Don’t just hark back to stale old user research. There is much more the wallet needs as well (domains integration anyone?, fiat onramp like xportal wallet?) Yes a wallet should be clean as possible but don’t take that to the absurd lengths that it actually punishes new users. Help the user, help the ecosystem.

, @Adam_XRD :)