Blockchain applications like Decentralized applications (Dapps) and cryptocurrency(Digital Money) has faced several challenges that hinder mainstream adoption.
Since the major Bull Run in 2017 crypto enthusiasts have seen an increase in mass adoption of cryptocurrency, also many blockchain advocates are waiting to see the next blockchain application that solves real-world problem to go mainstream.
Frequently, in most Daaps, the process to sign up is tedious and understanding how to interact with the decentralized applications is technically complicated, arduous, and confusing for new users. But why is this so? The truth is most people don’t understand how cryptocurrency/blockchain works, and when it is related to their money, people fear what they don’t understand.
This was my issue when I first learned about blockchain and cryptocurrency a few years back, I struggled in understanding how to trade cryptocurrency majorly because of how complicated the charts and user interface looks, what I realized in my initial exploration is that most cryptocurrency exchanges were built for sophisticated users and can be very daunting for beginners. I am sure most people have faced similar challenges too.
The need for a better UX in the blockchain space has become so vital, and when we are able to build inclusive, accessible, easy-to-use and intuitive interfaces, it can bring about a high return on investment, increase user loyalty and the mass-market appeal of cryptocurrency and blockchain will become a reality.
BLOCKCHAIN UX CHALLENGES.
Usability: This simply refers to the ease of use of any Product. To measure the usability of any Product, the product must be:
Learnable: This refers to how users are able to accomplish a basic task when they encounter your design for the first time.
Efficient: How can users perform tasks quickly?
Memorable: How quickly can users re-establish proficiency when they return to the design after using it?
Less error: When users encounter errors, how can they recover from them quickly?
Satisfactory: How pleasant is it to use the design.
Blockchain-based applications must be able to possess these attributes in other to successfully penetrate into the market and gain user traction. The early bitcoin pioneers focused on building the infrastructure of blockchain applications and was less innovative about improving the overall user experience of the application. Now as these infrastructures are in place and are being upgraded, the usability of these daaps has now become a barrier in adoption. If we want our grandmothers, Parents and the less/non-technical users to be able to use Dapps then these applications will have to be easy to use. Try explaining what cryptocurrency, blockchain or what a cold wallet is to any of your family members to see if they’ll understand you. The truth is over 90% of users just want to know if it is easy to use, quick to work and is consistent, nobody cares about what infrastructure that works underneath, these days most users don’t care about the infrastructure that works for card payments, all they care about is whether the product can help them make transfers easily, fast and at lower cost.
How UX affects onboarding: In the days of instant gratification, a fast, frictionless onboarding is critical for the user’s experience. Most daaps and cryptocurrency exchange requires a KYC- Know your customer verification before you can use the product. 1 out of 3 new customers drops out of the onboarding process due to the frustration with the volume of information required for KYC.
A simpler and easier onboarding is possible with Decentralized Exchanges, where you can sign in and start trading directly using your blockchain wallets. This goes to show that developing usable software that performs well across blockchain is one example of how UX can facilitate adoption. New users should be able to onboard easily, fast and start using these dapps.
Blockchain Terminologies: Another important factor to consider is users will always gravitate towards what is familiar, The IBM Blockchain team recommends an absolute minimum of jargons when building for blockchain. If you have to talk about nodes, public key, hash rates, how can you be able to reword these attributes for users to understand? The language of Blockchain and Cryptocurrency is new and very unfamiliar for new users, and as such users associate uncertainty and lack of trust for what is unfamiliar, thus it is very important for Daaps to use layman’s terms to be able to drive any information to the user.
UX Inconsistency: Inconsistency across blockchain applications also plays a role in providing UX for users. Ideally depositing, withdrawing, or sending should feel the same irrespective of the token or currency or platform. The vast majority of users will trust any product they find to not just be usable but consistent. This fosters familiarity and ultimately trust from the user.
UX and functionality: A great UX comprises the user interface, the task flow or functionality, credibility, efficiency and ultimately customer satisfaction. For example in an Exchange, the flow of tasks, to make a buy order or sell should be easy and not complex, features should provide a clear and understandable path for users to be able to easily make their decisions and carry out their operations quickly on the Exchange or dapp.
To improve the UX of Blockchain Applications.
Make use of the KISS Principle: The KISS principle states that most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated; therefore, simplicity should be a key goal in design, and unnecessary complexity should be avoided. Even though blockchain products were initially designed for technically advanced users, in other to foster adoption the next generation of products should be simple and intuitive enough for anyone to use.
The Nielsen Norman Group, leading User experience research has come up with four principles that they claim to be paramount in building any great Product.
- Design quality
- Upfront disclosure
- Comprehensive current content
- Connection to the internet at large.
When successfully applied to build any blockchain product can result in the user's trust. An upfront disclosure can be an explanation of how cryptocurrencies differ when users are on board and ready to make transactions on the app. It can make a big difference to a user who makes a transaction but have little knowledge about the transactions prior to making that transaction.
In conclusion as more and more people adopt blockchain and cryptocurrency, the need for a more inclusive and better user experience also increases. Wallet addresses most times are hard to remember and prone to mistakes, managing keys can be complicated and some other problems poses a barrier for adoption. It has therefore been increasingly clear that next to security, blockchain apps need to prioritize UX to increase adoption.