The Session Testnet has been instrumental not only in refining the underlying mechanisms of the Session Network, but in the user experience of staking. The new Session Network will make staking easier than ever through the new Staking Portal. To ensure this, continual UX/UI improvements based on community feedback are essential. Last week, a UI overhaul of the Staking Portal was released as the culmination of valuable ideas, suggestions and bug reports shared by testnet node operators. Here’s a look at the improvements and new features included in this release.
View Your Stake History
Connected wallets will now display a full history of all nodes you’ve ever contributed to, including those that have been deregistered or exited. In the near future, you will also have the option to hide nodes from your My Stakes page. Please note the history does not include any nodes that left the network before October 11, 2024. This data will follow the network, so any future network reboots will also reset the historical state.
Real-Time Timers
Timers for stakes will now update in real-time, showing how long until an exit is available or when deregistration is possible. There’s no need to refresh the page, making it easier to keep track of your progress. Timers showing your node’s last uptime and last rewards received will also update in real-time.
New Address Page
A new feature at stake.getsession.org/address/<0x wallet address> lets you look up staking and rewards data for any address. This page mirrors the My Stakes view, similar to how platforms like Arbiscan and Etherscan provide wallet data.
Clearer Contract Error Messages
Smart contract errors have been made more understandable, with messages now decoded into clear, human-readable explanations, making it easier to identify and resolve any issues.
Font Upgrade for Better Alignment
Switching to the Roboto Flex font has resolved many alignment issues, providing a cleaner and more consistent experience throughout the portal.
Smoother Experience with Fewer Refreshes
Issues with unnecessary page refreshes have been addressed, especially during multi-step actions like the registration process. This fix ensures a much smoother experience when registering or claiming rewards.
Other Minor UI Improvements
Several other small tweaks have been made, such as improved tooltip wrapping and better public key expansion, to enhance the overall interface.
Canary Site for User Testing
To enable better user testing, a canary site for the Staking Portal has been created, allowing testnet node operators to beta test changes and improvements before they go live. If you’re interested in being a beta tester and sharing your UX feedback, visit the Session Token Discord for more information.
An Iterative Process
These enhancements to the Staking Portal mark another significant step towards delivering a smoother, more intuitive staking experience. With each update, the goal is to make staking on the Session Network not just accessible but truly user-friendly. Continued feedback and participation will be key in driving even more improvements as the journey to mainnet progresses. Further community suggestions for enhancements to the Staking Portal that are in the pipeline include:
- Displaying Rewards and Returned Stakes separately
- Finalised node confirmation UI with indicators of joining progress
- Hiding stakes on the My Stakes page
- Hiding node registrations
- Updating My Stakes in real-time when new blocks are created
- An improved address information page
- Easy reuse of node registrations
Keep an eye out for more updates, and as always, thank you for being part of this journey.
Onward.