I'm curious about the comment on API versioning. If it instead had the string "/v1/" embedded in the URL, would this be preferable to you? Which APIs do you feel are in need of updating?
So pointing out the API versioning scheme was disingenuous. It's as good as any other scheme and is probably necessary for backwards compatibility... it just seems old. I'll divide my short feedback into three categories:
API Features that I feel should be there but aren't:
- CRUD operations for Copilot
- Bulk operations for SMS/MMS - seriously one request per?
- CRUD operations and better access for logging and billing in general. The UI does not suffice.
User Interface:
- You did a huge redesign ~2 years ago that was frankly underwhelming. It added some SPA like functionality splattered through out the site, and many of the operations, like adding numbers to a Twilio Copilot service, became slow and buggy.
- Good artists copy and great artists steal. SaaS products at GCP, AWS, Stripe, aren't necessarily perfect but can all be drawn from to create a better product. I honestly feel like most of the innovation at Twilio clocked out ~4 years ago and now its just maintenance work and annual reboots. Though this project shows innovation its far away from the core concerns of customers. We know how to use the platform already...
Generic:
- Better documentation
- More transparency for how carriers handle SMS once Twilio passes it off
- More transparent pricing. I.e. if I send a 1600 character text I'm getting billed ~10 times or whatever - not great.
EDIT: Finally because Twilio is a billion dollar business I hold it to a much higher standard then I did ~5 years ago. I don't mean to discourage hardworking employees who mean well, just as a former employee of a not insignificant customer I have some residual entitlement and frustrations.
>- You did a huge redesign ~2 years ago that was frankly underwhelming. It added some SPA like functionality splattered through out the site, and many of the operations, like adding numbers to a Twilio Copilot service, became slow and buggy.
Not only to the developer portal/backend, but to the documentation as well.
It went from something that was really straightforward and easy to use, to something that feels like you have to fight it to find what you want. I'm really curious what happened, or why this design decision was made.
It's honestly bad enough that imho there is space for somebody with a better UI/documentation to move in and compete on that.
Disclaimer: former Twilio PM.