Developer Portal

Overview

• Problem: developers were struggling to integrate with Sensedia’s APIs due to scattered and unintuitive documentation.

• Goal: create a centralized Developer Portal that offers a seamless experience, reduces integration time, and increases API adoption.

• Expected impact: accelerate integration processes, decrease support tickets, and drive wider usage of the company’s APIs.

Note: some metrics and sensitive information were altered or omitted due to a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA).

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The problem

Sensedia offered a broad set of APIs to clients and partners, but the integration process was a major pain point. Developers reported that:

• Documentation was fragmented, with no logical flow.

• Information lacked clarity, leading to frequent confusion.

• The support team received high volumes of tickets regarding basic issues that could be resolved with better documentation.

Hypothesis: if we created an intuitive and well-structured Developer Portal, we could reduce friction and enhance the overall developer experience.

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Discovery and research

We conducted both qualitative and quantitative research:

• Developer interviews helped identify key pain points in navigation and understanding.

• Suport ticket analysis revealed that most questions were about authentication and API calls.

• Benchmarking with leading Developer Portals uncovered industry best practices.

Key insights:

• 60% of developers struggled to find authentication information..

• More complex APIs had lower adoption due to a lack of practical examples.

• Developers preferred structured documentation with copyable code and interactive playgrounds.

Ideation and solution

Clear, hierarchical navigation:

• Created a structured sidebar menu to streamline content discovery.

• Improved information architecture by grouping APIs by context of use.

Interactive documentation with practical examples:

• We added copy-paste-ready code snippets and real-world use cases for each API.

• An interactive sandbox was implemented, allowing developers to test API calls directly within the platform, no external tools required.

Design and prototyping

UI Guidelines:

• Used monospaced fonts for better code readability..

• Highlighted code examples, separating theory from practice.

Usability testing:

• Ran sessions with internal developers.e.

• Gathered feedback on clarity and navigation.

• Iterated based on real usability insights, making small but impactful changes.

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Results and impact

After launch, we observed a significant positive shift in developer experience:

• Navigation became more fluid and task-focused.

• Integration processes were faster, with fewer support needs.

• Onboarding was smoother, developers reported a shorter learning curve.

Key learnings:

• The interactive sandbox feature stood out and should be expanded in future iterations.

• Continuous user testing was critical to building a truly helpful product.

• Clear, well-structured documentation directly reduces operational support costs.

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Manager panel

The Manager is the admin panel behind the Developer Portal. It allows API teams to manage integrations, organize APIs and apps, control user access, and customize the portal UI. Key feature include:

01. Gateways

Enables the integration of external gateways with Sensedia's platform, allowing the import of existing APIs and APPs from other environments.

02. Catalog

Manage API documentation, auto-import content, and edit or remove information as needed.

03. Products

Structure API content by product features for easier navigation.

04. Portal

Customize the portal’s look and feel: logos, templates, fonts, background colors, and button styles.

05. Guides

Open platform for publishing public documentation and technical references.

06. Developers

Manage all users consuming API content. Admins can invite, track, and control access levels.

Portal

The Portal is the developer-facing interface, where all structured content is presented.

01. Homepage

Serves as the main entry point, guiding users to catalogs, guides, and apps.

02. Authentication screens

Login, registration, and password recovery screens were designed for simplicity and security.

03. Catalog

Displays APIs and apps with filtering options, detailed documentation, and testing tools.

04. APPs

Allows users to create and manage apps, view associated APIs, and manage authentication tokens.

Conclusion

This was more than a documentation redesign, it was the creation of a complete platform to simplify API adoption.

Main takeaways:

• Developer UX must be straightforward, clean, and purposeful.

• Well-structured information architecture boosts engagement and reduces friction.

• Close collaboration across design, product, and engineering ensures impactful outcomes.

Next steps:

• Monitor adoption metrics and continuously refine the experience.

• Expand the interactive sandbox with advanced guides and real-world examples.

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