When we launched the redesign of notifications a few years ago, it was one of the only WordPress.com features developed in tandem with all platforms.
Although this exact principle wasn’t stated during development, the core values guided much of the process:
Consistency builds trust. Speed builds trust. Simplicity builds trust.
With these values in mind, we prioritized three things:
- A simultaneous launch on iOS, Android, and web.
- Fast delivery, performance, and syncing across all devices.
- A simple and easy-to-use interface with a consistent experience across all devices.
This enabled us to design a much better experience for our publisher customers. Comments, Likes, and Follows are instantly received across all devices, and the experience is consistent, whether they are on a laptop, phone, or tablet. The information we display, the icons we use, and the functionality is the same, regardless of which device you are using.
We hit some stumbling blocks along the way, but two things kept us on track: listening to our customers’ feedback and keeping our north star vision in focus.
Many years later, I’m happy to see that our notification system has been extended to serve other customers, like small business owners:
Automattic Design 