AL #004: Your Dapp Needs Too Many Steps

Fight against web3 complexity for the sake of your users

While in many cases it helps to be the end-user of an app, in web3 it can work against you.

You have:

• Installed Metamask

• Set up a hardware wallet

• Set up a bank account that permits crypto transfers

• Funded your wallet with fiat

• Met some friends who can help due diligence new projects

• Figured out how to interact with protocols through trial & error

• Lost some money by being stupid

• Made some money by being stupid

• Learned about hacks and what to look out for

• Learned how to file your crypto taxes

• And so on.

If you want to onboard 1M users to your dapp, it needs to work for people who haven't done any of these things.

If you want a roadmap for your Dapp to grow, here are the steps you should work to remove.

Token-gating

As if the following steps aren't difficult enough, some projects put up additional hurdles in the form of token-gating.

There is a time & place for token-gating:

• community-curation for specific drops/experiences

• rewarding early users/contributors

• alpha launches

• user research.

In the above situations, every person that comes across your protocol should still be retained in some way rather than sent home because they didn't participate in a mint.

This relates to Nikita Bier’s notion of “exhausting an audience’s attention”.

E-mail address

E-mail addresses and wallets are two completely different authentication mechanisms. By asking for both, you are not only asking to break privacy conventions in web3 but also effectively asking the user to provide their details twice.

If in doubt: don't ask for the user's e-mail unless you are a fiat/crypto exchange.

Wallet Requirements

The core principle here is that you want to minimize the number of actions a user needs to take from their wallet app to use your product.

Most importantly, don't ask for a wallet where it’s not needed.

Uniswap allows viewing pool info without requiring a wallet connection. Many apps violate this by requiring a wallet connection not just to take action but also to view analytics.

The second principle is supporting as many wallets as possible. Meet the user where they are whether they are logging in from a mobile Coinbase wallet or via a Gnosis Safe.

The third principle is getting rid of wallets altogether. While this is more applicable to gaming in the short-term, it should be a UX aspiration for the entire industry. To read more, I recommend reading Wallets must be invisible by Sylve Chevet.

New concepts

Consider this overview of the Curve Tri-Pool:

There are immediate questions that an uneducated observer will have:

• What is the Tri Pool and what is its strategy?

• What is a gauge?

• What is the difference between depositing & staking?

• What are LP tokens?

The lack of clarity for each of these is introducing unnecessary friction for a user who could benefit from Curve.

Think some concepts are just too difficult to explain? Watch how Robinhood explains options concepts through their own app.

Of course, with making complex vehicles easier to understand comes increased responsibility – you should avoid pushing products to customers that won't achieve the intended outcomes with them (make money, diversify their holdings, etc.).

Escape Hatch

Once you've made it easier for users to interact with your product. Don't forget to give them an exit route.

Offering a staking product with permanent lockup? Point your users to exchanges where they could sell the shares.

Building an NFT collection? Give users some tips on how to safely use Opensea or help them find the right buyer.

Your goal is to complete the value loop for users and you'd rather see them enter/exit positions multiple times than quitting your ecosystem in anger.

Do this well you will stand out.

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