Quick Wins

High-impact, low-effort improvements you can ship this week.

These are validated improvements extracted from the six design patterns. Each addresses a critical UX problem and can be implemented quickly.

Onboarding Quick Wins

1. Add Guest Browse Mode

Problem: Users abandon during signup without seeing value Solution: Let users browse content before creating account Impact: Increases signup conversion by showing value first Effort: Low (read-only feed without auth)

Implementation:

Show trending feed on landing page
Add “Sign up to post” CTA after 30 seconds of browsing
No account required to view content

Validation: Measure signup conversion rate before/after

2. Reduce Required Fields

Problem: 15-20 minute signup process overwhelms users Solution: Reduce to just username (or auto-generate npub) Impact: Reduces time-to-first-value from 15min to <2min Effort: Low (remove fields, make them optional post-signup)

Implementation:

Required: Username only (or skip and show npub)
Optional: Profile picture, bio, display name
Let users add details later from profile page

Validation: Measure signup completion rate, time-to-first-value

3. Auto-Select Relays

Problem: Relay selection confuses and overwhelms new users Solution: Choose 3-5 reliable relays automatically Impact: Eliminates major friction point Effort: Very low (hardcode good defaults)

Implementation:

Default to: wss://relay.damus.io, wss://relay.nostr.band, wss://nos.lol
Hide relay configuration from onboarding
Let power users change in Settings → Advanced

Validation: Measure signup abandonment rate at relay selection step

Content Discovery Quick Wins

4. Show Trending Content on Empty Feeds

Problem: New users see empty feed, bounce immediately Solution: Show trending/popular content until they follow accounts Impact: Prevents immediate bounce, gives users something to engage with Effort: Low (query popular posts from relays)

Implementation:

Detect empty feed (user follows 0 accounts)
Show trending posts from past 24 hours
Add banner: “You’re seeing trending content. Follow accounts to personalize your feed”
Provide easy “Follow” buttons on trending posts

Validation: Measure bounce rate for new users, follows per session

5. Create Starter Packs

Problem: Users don’t know who to follow Solution: Auto-follow 20-30 active, high-quality accounts Impact: Instant populated feed, demonstrates value Effort: Low (curate list, add on signup)

Implementation:

Curate 20-30 accounts (diverse content, active posters, helpful community members)
Auto-follow on signup (or present as “Suggested follows” with one-click follow-all)
Let users unfollow later

Validation: Measure 7-day retention, engagement rate in first session

6. Add Basic Search

Problem: Users can’t find content or people Solution: Add search bar for posts and profiles Impact: Helps users discover content beyond their feed Effort: Low (query relays for text/npub matches)

Implementation:

Search bar in top nav
Search both posts (text search) and profiles (name/npub search)
Show results in simple list view

Validation: Measure search usage rate, follows from search

Core Interactions Quick Wins

7. Implement Optimistic UI

Problem: Likes/reposts feel slow and unresponsive Solution: Update UI immediately, sync in background Impact: App feels instant and responsive Effort: Low (update state, then make network request)

Implementation:

Like/repost: Update UI immediately
Post: Show in feed immediately with “sending…” indicator
If network fails, rollback and show error
Retry failed actions automatically

Validation: Measure perceived latency (user surveys), interaction rate

8. Show Clear Error Messages

Problem: Technical errors confuse users (“relay wss://… closed connection”) Solution: Use plain language error messages Impact: Users understand what went wrong and how to fix it Effort: Very low (replace error strings)

Implementation:

Replace technical errors:

❌ "relay wss://relay.damus.io closed connection"
✅ "Couldn't post right now. Try again?"

Replace protocol jargon:

❌ "Failed to publish Kind 1 event"
✅ "Post failed. Try again?"

Validation: Measure support tickets about errors, user confusion reports

9. Add Retry Logic

Problem: Failed actions leave users stuck Solution: Automatically retry failed network requests Impact: Increases action success rate, reduces frustration Effort: Low (wrap network calls in retry logic)

Implementation:

Retry failed requests 3 times with exponential backoff
Write to multiple relays (if one fails, others might succeed)
Show clear indicator when retrying
Let users manually retry if auto-retry fails

Validation: Measure action success rate, user-initiated retries

Performance Quick Wins

10. Add Skeleton Screens

Problem: Blank white screens while loading feel broken Solution: Show skeleton UI (loading placeholders) Impact: App feels faster and more responsive Effort: Low (add loading state components)

Implementation:

Replace blank screens with skeleton cards
Animate skeletons (pulse effect)
Load real content in background
Fade from skeleton to real content

Validation: Measure perceived performance (user surveys), bounce rate on load

11. Cache Profile Data

Problem: Re-fetching profile data on every render is slow Solution: Cache profiles locally, refresh in background Impact: Instant profile loads, reduced relay traffic Effort: Low (localStorage or indexedDB)

Implementation:

Cache profile metadata (npub, name, picture, bio) in local storage
Show cached version immediately
Refresh from relays in background
Update UI when fresh data arrives

Validation: Measure profile load time, relay request count

12. Lazy Load Images

Problem: Loading all images at once slows feed rendering Solution: Load images as they scroll into view Impact: Faster initial render, smoother scrolling Effort: Low (use intersection observer or lazy loading library)

Implementation:

Render text immediately
Load images only when they’re about to scroll into view
Show placeholder or blurred preview until loaded
Cancel image loads for off-screen content

Validation: Measure time-to-first-render, scroll performance (FPS)

Progressive Complexity Quick Wins

13. Move Relay Settings to Advanced

Problem: Relay configuration overwhelms new users Solution: Hide in Settings → Advanced Impact: Reduces onboarding complexity Effort: Very low (move menu item)

Implementation:

Remove relays from main settings
Add “Advanced” section in settings
Put relay configuration there
Only show “Advanced” after user has been active for 7+ days (optional)

Validation: Measure settings screen abandonment, support tickets about relays

14. Use Plain Language

Problem: Protocol jargon confuses users Solution: Replace technical terms with user-friendly language Impact: Reduces confusion, increases comprehension Effort: Very low (find/replace strings)

Implementation:

Replace jargon:

❌ “npub1…” → ✅ “Username” (or “Your address”)
❌ “Kind 0 metadata” → ✅ “Profile”
❌ “NIP-46 signer” → ✅ “Separate key manager app”
❌ “Relays” → ✅ “Servers” (in user-facing text)

Validation: Measure user confusion reports, support tickets

15. Hide Signer Setup from Onboarding

Problem: NIP-46 signer configuration is too complex for new users Solution: Offer simple “username + password” option, hide advanced key management Impact: Reduces onboarding time, lowers cognitive load Effort: Low (make signer setup optional, add simple auth)

Implementation:

Default: Simple account creation (username, optional password)
Advanced: “Use separate key manager app” (hidden unless user clicks “Advanced”)
Explain signers in settings, not during onboarding

Validation: Measure onboarding completion rate, time-to-signup

Cross-Client Consistency Quick Wins

16. Write to 3+ Relays

Problem: Writing to one relay causes data loss Solution: Write all critical data to multiple relays Impact: Increases data durability, reduces loss when switching clients Effort: Low (loop through relay list)

Implementation:

Write critical events (posts, profile, follows) to 3-5 relays
Don’t wait for all to confirm (fire and forget)
Log which relays succeeded (for debugging)

Validation: Measure data loss reports, cross-client consistency

17. Verify Successful Writes

Problem: Assuming writes succeeded without verification Solution: Check that relays accepted the event Impact: Prevents silent failures, increases reliability Effort: Low (wait for relay OK message)

Implementation:

Wait for relay “OK” message before confirming to user
If no relays confirm within 5s, show error
Retry failed writes to different relays

Validation: Measure post success rate, user complaints about “disappeared posts”

18. Add Sync Status Indicators

Problem: Users don’t know if their data is saved Solution: Show sync status in UI Impact: Increases trust, reduces anxiety about data loss Effort: Low (add status indicator component)

Implementation: