Saeron
Small notes

Advice, freely given.

Short, practical notes for anyone planning a mobile or web product. Choose a topic in the sentence below.

I would like notes on

Write a one-page brief

State the problem, who has it, what they do today and what success would look like in three months. Leave features until last; they usually follow from the rest.

filed under planning

Decide what version one leaves out

List every feature you want, then mark the ones a first user could live without for a month. Those are version two.

filed under planning

Test a prototype with five people

Five short sessions usually reveal the largest usability problems. Give a task, stay quiet, and note where people hesitate.

filed under design

Write error messages that help

Say what happened, why, and what the person can do next. Avoid blaming language and codes on their own.

filed under design

Prepare store privacy declarations early

Both Apple and Google ask what data your app collects and why. Collecting the answers late is a common cause of delay.

filed under release

Keep a rollback plan

Before releasing, write down how to return to the previous version and who decides to do so.

filed under release

Own your domain and accounts

Register domains, hosting and developer accounts in your organisation's name and keep recovery details current.

filed under it

Set up SPF and DKIM for email

These DNS records help receiving servers trust mail sent from your domain. Your hosting provider documents the exact values.

filed under it

Worth bookmarking

Authoritative public guidance: the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) published by the W3C, the Apple App Store Review Guidelines, the Google Play Developer Policy Centre, and the UK Information Commissioner's Office guidance on cookies and similar technologies.