Our main goal while redesigning the Appwrite console was to improve the user experience in line with the needs and requirements of developers looking for a BaaS (Backend as a Service) solution. While keeping our core values such as simplicity and consistency in mind, we attempted to understand the essential problems developers faced in the previous version of the console.
With the collaboration of our developer community, we gathered feedback and prioritized a few updates to the Auth screens.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the changes we made.
Account session
With Appwrite, developers can implement login and registration logic using the Account API. There are different ways to sign in, meaning not all users will be using email and password authentication. When creating a user in the previous console, developers had to enter three inputs: name, email, and password, which does not reflect our current API. Not only should the name be optional, but a phone number cannot be added to a user account. In the new console, we added input for a phone number, as well as making all inputs optional. Fun fact, if all inputs are left empty, an anonymous user will be created.
Search
One of the most critical patterns for a better user experience is the search feature. In the new console, you can search users by name, email, phone, or ID. Unlike the previous version, a smoother experience is provided by the table updating in real-time as you type.
User preferences
One of the most requested features from our community was the ability to edit user preferences in the console. In the new console, you can update your user preferences by storing information on the user’s objects so they can easily be shared across devices and sessions.
Security
The security settings are now located next to Settings in the tabs navigation. The ‘Users Limit’ option was previously available only in the Settings tab, above the authentication methods. We believe security is too important to be hidden and based on feedback from our developer community that ‘Users Limit’ can be hard to notice, we found it correct to make a distinction between security settings and authentication settings.
Settings
On the Settings tab, you will find authentication methods and an extensive list of OAuth2 providers you can enable for your project. The challenge on this screen was to reduce the visual overload without hiding any of the providers. In order to keep the interface clean from distractions, we gathered all authentication methods on one card. The next step was to move the toggle and documents link from the provider’s card to the modal. Now when the user enables providers, they are shown at the top of the list.
What’s next?
We may have overhauled our console design, but we are far from finished. Design is an iterative process, after all. We are working on further improvements to the Auth screens such as setting a session length in the Security tab, creating a membership for an existing user in a more intuitive way, and improving the flow of enabling an OAuth provider.
Thank you for being a part of our journey as we strive to create the best developer experience. We hope you enjoy these changes to the Appwrite console. As always, we’re more than happy to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment, reach out on Discord, or create a GitHub discussion.
Check out our release on 🚀 Product Hunt or our 💻 GitHub repository
Until next time!
