Launchpad UX suggested revisions

[james-prysm]

Background

Hi, I'm James from Prysmatic Labs. We have been doing some research into the UX of becoming a validator and have thought about various changes that could improve this experience. I prepared a doc here

Major Points

• currently key actions ( syncing eth 1 and eth2 nodes ) from advisories section 9 (checklist) is easily missed
  • can we provide more warning on the select a client pages to ensure users are fully synced after installation or linked back to the check list
  • possibly even adding more warning on advisories section 9 to include risks for not completing checklist prior to deposit.
• currently mentions "While you can use a third-party service like Infura, we recommend running your own client in order to ensure the network stays as decentralised as possible." is this the case for Test net as well ( reduces hardware requirements for testing)?
• can we add during " choosing client sections " that setup should be for specific network ( launchpad network) that it's for x testnet so users are not accidently syncing on the wrong network, also repeating advisories on setup for the eth2 client?
  • perhaps provide some warning that without prior setup you may be subject to premature penalties ( activated validator without the validator running properly on machine)
• provide more information on how to get initial eth for testnet onboarding
• stretch: change UI design ( like color ) and possibly some of the risks based on network selection to distinguish Mainnet from Testnet pages ( even though url is different it would be more clear to initial users)
• stretch: provide a launchpad for advanced users that would like to skip the checklist warnings ( suggestion detect if user already went through launchpad once somehow )
  • use case for advanced users or ones that have been through the process prior or for users who need to go through this for multiple deposits/system setups

[Buttaa]

Thanks for putting this together @james-prysm

* stretch: provide a launchpad for advanced users that would like to skip the checklist warnings ( suggestion detect if user already went through launchpad once somehow )
  * use case for advanced users or ones that have been through the process prior or for users who need to go through this for multiple deposits/system setups

I strongly support this, as most of the users get familiar with the launchpad-steps on the testnet. It would also improve the UX for existing stakers (adding more validators).

[CarlBeek]

Thanks for the write up @james-prysm, definitely some good suggestions here! The accompanying doc is amazing too.

1. More fully synced warnings - Definitly, I'll look into it
2. Recommendation to run own eth1 client on testnets - I'm reluctant to remove this as I want to encourage users to get used to configuring their own "eth1" node. (It enhanced the 1st point above)
3. "add during choosing client sections that setup should be for specific network" - agree this is beneficial
4. more info on faucets - this seems doable
5. stretch: change UI design ( like color) - I think this sould be easy to implement with a filter/overlay so as not to have to design a new colour pallet.
6. stretch: skip checklist warnings - as a part of our policy of not having any storage/cookies, I don't see how we can make this automatic. Offering a button/page without these checks should be possible tho

[james-prysm]

@CarlBeek Hey carl it's been a while just wanted to follow up on this issue, were there any changes already made or are changes being prioritized? just wanted to follow up.

[james-prysm]

Another thought on this is the UX for someone that wants to top off their eth, perhaps they started with 32 eth, something happened, they'd like to deposit more. would the launch pad still be the appropriate place to do this?

[wackerow]

Hey @james-prysm! Circling back to this, noticing that many of the items you have mentioned have since been addressed.

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provide more information on how to get initial eth for testnet onboarding

We do still appear to be lacking in the faucet department... similar to my comments here I think if we can find a dependable way to provide a faucet for stakers, it would be a great feature to add information about this to the Launchpad. If we want to pursue this at this point, I'd suggest we open a new issue to track separately.

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stretch: provide a launchpad for advanced users that would like to skip the checklist warnings ( suggestion detect if user already went through launchpad once somehow )

I also tend to agree with this, although previous discussions resulted in erring on the side of caution and intentionally keeping some friction here. Would be curious to hear how others feel after some time has passed. If we want to do pursue this, similar I'd suggest we open an independent issue to track progress, and we can reach out for some design help.

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Going to close this issue out in the meantime, but as noted if we still want to pursue the remaining items, it would help to have them split off as independent issues. 🙏 Please feel free to override and re-open if you feel I've missed anything else here.