Improving the user interface

  • Resolved Erik Joling

    (@ejoling)


    2 years, 3 months ago

    Hi,

    I think the simple but intuitive user interface is the strongest point of this plugin. But the amount of settings and utilities keeps growing and it puts a strain on the usability.

    I would like to suggest splitting the UI into tabs. So a tab for “utilities” and for “settings”.

    For example, I like the structure which the Slim SEO plugin (GitHub) offers:

Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
  • Plugin Author room34

    (@room34)

    Thanks for the suggestion. I have been thinking for a while that it is time to update the interface to something like this. Will definitely incorporate it into the next big update.

    Plugin Author room34

    (@room34)

    Well, I liked this idea so much I ended up working on it immediately, and have just rolled out version 3.0.0 which switches the admin interface to this kind of tabbed layout, and also switches the Off/On radio buttons to a visual toggle design. (I’m hopeful the approach I took with this is still fully accessible but I will make changes as needed if there turn out to be any usability issues.)

    Thread Starter Erik Joling

    (@ejoling)

    Ha, great to see you picked it up this quickly. Thank you!

    About the tabs:

    – I definitely like the main tabs.
    – I might need some time to get used to the secondary tabs, they seem to overwhelm me a bit. But at the same time they work as expected.

    I think the toggles are somewhat big and colorful in comparison to the rest of the UI. They draw a lot of attention.

    Just my two cents ?? Thanks for your work!

    • This reply was modified 2 years, 3 months ago by Erik Joling.
    • This reply was modified 2 years, 3 months ago by Erik Joling.
    Plugin Author room34

    (@room34)

    Thanks for this feedback. I have decided that the WordPress-appropriate thing to do here should be to honor the user’s selected admin color palette, rather than using No Nonsense brand colors. I’ve just released version 3.1.0 that makes this switch.

    I’m considering that maybe the secondary tab bar’s text should be a lighter weight, but for now I’ve left it as-is.

    I agree the new toggles are big and colorful and draw a lot of attention — they should! They are the main point of interaction on the page, and I think by switching to these toggles, there’s less visual clutter than the old radio buttons and text labels. It’s easier to see at a glance what is or isn’t turned on. But I think by switching these to the user’s admin color scheme, it helps them to blend into the interface better.

    Thread Starter Erik Joling

    (@ejoling)

    the WordPress-appropriate thing to do here should be to honor the user’s selected admin color palette

    Nicely put ?? And I agree using the admin color scheme is an improvement. Thanks for your work!

Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
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