The UX of Good Release Notes

Sketch — the app we use for user interface work — just posted a release. They did a great job with the user experience on their release notes.

Release notes are just part of running a software or SaaS business — but they don’t have to be just a boring list. Release notes can be as much of a marketing tool as a well crafted email.

Let’s look at what they did well:

Featured Highlights

Sketch did a great job of highlighting their new and improved features. You are immediately drawn to the larger type and colorful icons.

Dealing with Long Lists

They did a great job with the enhancement lists and bug fix list. Instead of showing it all, there is a ‘View All’ link to see more.

This helps corral an overload of information (and conveniently hides that there were bugs that needed to be fixed).

Previous Versions

Previous version history is important — but it’s far less important than the newest release. These are made smaller, less colorful, and shorter.

Call to Action

Pages that inform are necessary — but focus on bringing it on home with a call to action. Here Sketch has done a nice big button to get you to update.

Always remember to add a call to action.

Check out the Sketch Release Notes page for yourself. If you have release notes that need some love, contact us (see how I took my own advice about a call to action?).

Originally published at Sawaya Consulting, Inc..