New and Improved API Documentation: The Cloud Elements Redesigned Developer Portal

today, we are very proud to announce the release of our new cloud elements developer portal , which was built to improve, enhance, and simplify the user experience of existing api documentation.

we gathered feedback directly from our customers and developers ( pssst! this is a new feature in the portal) and ultimately they wanted to see a more robust search functionality that is tailored to their needs along with a user-friendly, accessible site navigation to reach their desired destination faster and with fewer clicks.

enhancements to search

we now support full text search. this means developers can quickly search within full-text fields in order to find the most relevant api documentation. before, users could only search for keywords in page headlines or titles rather than across the full body of text across all pages. now, more documentation pages arrive in their search results and the user can pick and choose the most relevant content for them.

also, search now offers an auto-complete function which predicts and pre-populates common search topics, as the user types, to help the developer quickly select and filter.

updated navigation

one of the main goals of this latest version of the developer portal is to revamp and upgrade the overall navigation on the site. from the customer feedback, we learned that some users found it difficult to go back to documentation pages they previously visited and some thought they had to click too many times to find their preferred page.

so, we built a brand new navigation sidebar enabling users to easily see where they are in the site architecture. this helps users navigate back to previous pages and locate their next set of pages quicker which reduces clicks.

sleek and clean ui

we put a huge effort behind the new ui (user interface) based on the feedback from our customers. here are a few of our favorite renovations and redesigns:

• single page application (or ajax) - which is a method of exchanging data with a server, and updating parts of a web page, without reloading the entire page. because the page postback is eliminated, the new doc pages are more responsive, faster, and overall user-friendly.
• easy to read element specific documentation with a step-by-step navigation at the top including endpoint setup, authentication, create instance, transform data, events, error codes, querying, and api docs.
• tool tip definitions - now when a user hovers of a cloud elements or api term, the definition pops up in a bubble.

more new features

just for good measure, here are a few of the other new features we’re excited to share:

• formula steps are now listed - navigate to these steps in just three clicks! guides>formulas>formula step types.
• status page - this page gives users a quick view into the current status of our platform. click the “status” in the top navigation (next to the search bar).
• change log - read through our latest product release notes. click “change log” right next to “status” in the top nav.
• sample code - one great example is creating a formula template. navigate to training>create formula template. you’ll see sample code like this:

lastly, we built a new docs feedback section. users can simply click on “docs feedback” in the main navigation to email feedback directly to the cloud elements team. we place high value on our developer and customer feedback as it shapes and helps us improve the next iterations of the cloud elements developer portal. feel free to check out it and provide your feedback, we’d love to hear from you!

check out the developer portal .