'API Refresh' Redesign the API user experience to reduce misuse and encourage people onto plans (release plan included)

[JoannaHill]

What problem are we trying to solve?

• Users are misusing and abusing the data they have access to (and getting very creative about it). This is mostly the people who are not on plans
• Kat and Andy have spent 3 months reviewing API activity and manually trying to move users onto plans. The work is manual, high effort and low return

How might we try to address this?
Matthew, Andy and Jo discussed and agreed on a release plan:

• Redesign API landing page to better explain product, it's potential, it's intentions and purpose
• Introduce forms for people wishing to join a plan (instead of them emailing us)
• introduce expiry to new keys (that are not on a plan)
• Introduce expiry to old keys (that are not on a plan)
• Review plans, segments to optomise income
• Review agreements so we are better covered

Work in progress UX designs live here in Figma:
https://www.figma.com/design/GEaOuajueHGvfaFPsOUZ9n/UX-Designs%3A-Website-API-Section-(Jo)?node-id=4732-44

[JoannaHill]

Release plan:

Release 1 COMPLETE

• Redesigned landing page
• New Developer Documentation page
• Move key to My Account area
• Impose a time limit on all NEW keys

UPDATED 18-11-24:

Release 2 'Improve link from the trial experience to moving users to plans'

• Introduce automatic email reminders for trial keys
• Show more prominently that trial has expired

Release 3

• Improve landing page communications
• Introduce custom forms for community grant and custom plan QUESTIONING THIS NOW
• Make sign up for standard plan fully self serve (contract and terms of service fully online) QUESTIONING THIS NOW
• make attribution more manditory, enforce a 6 week cut off else they get charged. Explain better why attribution is important.

Other things that need to be considered for release at some point:

• At some point yet to be decided, we agreed to impose limit to all API keys that were gained prior to the new trial (Release Display information about a local government authority via Freebase Topic Blocks #1). Before we do this we agreed to design and implement some reminder emails and a 'ask for an extended trial' feature (Github issue Request a new trial API key #1543)
• Review pricing
• Feature allowing user to request a trial extension

At some point lets introduce automatic emails to people/orgs who sign up to plans (community or paid).

[JoannaHill]

Release #1 complete and live.
https://www.planningalerts.org.au/api/howto

Beginning work on Release #2.

[JoannaHill]

Option for user to ask for a second trial key.
Adding in reference to github issue #1543 which would weave well into all this new work. Mock ups ready for review.