I am Sejal from DaoLens. I am happy to share that we have been approved as a grantee to work on a really interesting challenge that many of us have faced when we started our Defi journey - complicated terminologies and not so easy to understand how to get started on a defi platform. Hence, we are building an alternative UI for non-defi users for Aave. I would love your feedback on these mockups which we have designed -
Problem - Currently when the user lands on app.aave.com - it is overwhelming and doesnât give clarity on what to do as per our user research. As per Hickâs law, the time taken by a user to make a decision increases with the number and complexity of choices.
Solution - Hence, we have broken things down which you will see in the following screens.
In the first screen, we have reduced the options to just what the user is supposed to do and we have clearly explained what it means to lend and what it means to borrow and asking the user what they want to do - Lend or borrow? Also, we have used Aaveâs friendly mascot to welcome the user and handhold the user in every step so they donât feel lost in the world of defi jargons.
In the second step, we gave the users a curated list of tokens based on factors like interest, the popularity of the asset and LTV for them to choose from.
Asset detail Page - Here, we have a pop-up on all terminologies with a video explaining what all terms means so that it becomes easy for user to understand immediately without leaving the platform.
We even plan to make a chrome plugin of âAave helpâ which can be integrated in the main (advanced UI) as well.
We would love your feedback on the following parameters
Understandability
Accessibility
Confidence level as a beginner
Please note that this is for a complete beginner in defi. I request the community to provide feedback by the end of this week as it will really help us and I will also be posting the next iterations in a couple of days.
More secure interfaces into the protocol can help onboard more users into DeFi. From more simple to more advanced I am in favour of building out something like this.
I really like the idea. Besides screenshots look nice, great start!
In terms of accessibility and confidence level:
Does âComplete beginner in DeFiâ also mean âa Beginner in Trad-Fiâ? If no, how do you see the difference between them?
IMHO borrow & liquidation concept can sound very difficult and risky for a beginner. It takes time to research and learn. And sounds more like ânow you are ready for the next level in your de-fi journeyâ. Meanwhile lending concept is more easy to understand, but requires some security reassurance. Thus, first step looks to me more like a handy quick action for an advanced user, not a beginner.
âEthereum mainnetâ â is it a market switch, or network switch? Wonder if itâs easier for a new user to get started with Aave using L2 (lower gas fees). I see now and then in the discord channel that some new users are confused with gas prices, especially when they want to experiment with small amounts, and then gas fee for withdrawal can reach the same amount of a supplied asset. Might be a huge bottleneck on the last step, even when properly explained.
Also, it would be interesting to learn more about curated list of tokens (what if user doesnât happen to have it in his/her wallet?). :)
Thank you for the comments and the questions @web3local. Please find below some of my thoughts around what you mentioned. Do let me know what you think.
Beginner in Defi but not in Trad-Fi would be someone who knows about lending and borrowing but does not know how that works without a middleman. The UI should also help beginners in Trad-Fi who are curious about Defi. Once someone has purchased some tokens, this should be a good starting point for them to start using them, as far as DeFi-related use cases go.
Lending is definitely a better default use case for first-timers and beginners. We believe borrowing will be something new users attempt after getting a little more comfortable and after going through some of the guides included in the UI. (e.g. when and how does liquidation happen). We think itâs a reasonable assumption that users who come across Aave will at least be a little curious and interested in Defi. We just hope to make the concepts around borrowing look a little less intimidating.
This is a great point. L2s will be more accessible due to lower gas fees. We would still like to provide the option to switch between different markets as the user get more comfortable. But Polygon would be the default recommendation.
We are still working on the curated list of tokens. The list would include both curated tokens as well as some of the tokens from the userâs wallet. The comparisons between curated tokens and ânon-curatedâ tokens should at least give the users a better picture.
We will probably be making some tweaks in the design along the lines of points 2 and 3 above and will keep everyone updated over here.
Hope this helps. Thank you so much once again for your comments.
Assets should be auto populated from the userâs connected wallet IMO. Then you could have another (less prominent) section that shows other assets with links to purchase/swap
With the insights, iâm not sure if this is even needed. If it is for defi newbie, then why even present that information? You could do something as simple as âYouâve deposited X amount, you can borrow Y amount safelyâ, showing a health factor bar or similar.
Governance might also be an interesting feature for defi newbies. It is low risk, they just need some AAVE tokens, and they can participate in voting.
I really like the walkthrough. LTV can be tough to understand. It could be useful to speak to why one asset has this LTV vs. the others (highlighting volatile assets vs. less volatile ones). And I think the liquidation process should also have an explanation so that users can be fully aware of the risks theyâre taking on before depositing.
Iâd also be curious to see how youâd help users understand gas, TX fees, and the differences when participating on one network vs. another. That seems like a big blocker also.
Hey @AndrewA - 100% with you on highlighting the volatility of assets as it really can be helpful. We are internally also bouncing off a lot of ideas on how to make all these terminologies super simple - I think you will love our final version of designs.
Helping users with the difference between participating on one network and another is an excellent idea. I love that. Let me get back on these pointers. Till then - please feel free to also mention anything else that you have seen as a challenge for users.
