RapidAPI

RapidAPI is the world's largest API Marketplace. On RapidAPI developers can upload, use, and test APIs.

I was responsible for the design and research of the API Marketplace and team management. I worked with another designer to refine the administrative area and API creation.

Marketplace - Retention

The Challenge

Most of RapidAPI's userbase would create an account, add or subscribe to an API, and leave. They might return once a month to check usage statistics and immediately leave. API creators might come back more if they received a message on the platform. We wanted to increase user returns to encourage more subscriptions and API updates.

My Role

I worked with the PM and development team to ideate, research, and create new ways to keep users engaged. I created high fidelity prototypes and interviewed users to validate the designs. In the process new needs surfaced and were documented.

Process

I worked with the Product Manager and Development team through some brainstorming sessions. After consolidating ideas I put together some wireframes. After a few reviews with other colleagues I refined them into mock ups. These were then turned into a prototype and reviewed by our users. 

Discovery

Through discussions with our users we learned they had their own workarounds. Users that had created APIs would skip the landing page and go to the Provider Dashboard. These users were looking for overuse, payouts, and any incoming messages.

Users that subscribed to APIs would also skip the landing page to go to the Developer Dashboard. They were looking for their own quota usage and for API updates.

In the prototype we included other existing features, some users were not aware of them at all. They noted some could be useful if implemented properly. 

In these discussions we collected other issues and recorded them for future reference.

Results

Through the rounds of feedback we created a vision of where the marketplace should go. As an interim we created a version that worked with the existing design system. Both of these have been provided to development.

Next Steps

• Information architecture testing is ongoing to evaluate both structure and labels.

• Features such as "follow" are being refined to support new designs.

• Search updates are being proposed.