The Republic of Estonia Social Insurance Board has completed its first proactive service and starting from today, parents are able to apply for family allowances without an application, in a self-service manner. The Insurance Board pays 44 million euros in family allowances and parental benefits to 156,000 and 19,000 people, respectively.

In October, Estonian Social Insurance Board opened its online service bureau where people can administer their services and benefits. Initially, people have been given the opportunity to use an application-free family allowance service (receiving childbirth allowance, parental benefits and child allowance). This information system is special for its proactive services.

The impetus of UX (user experience) is stronger than ever, and emerging trends show that brands and organisations have no intention of stopping the development to create more user-friendly solutions. Where is UX design headed? What can we expect to see more of in the coming months and years? Are trends even important or maybe even counter-productive?

Starting with Data Driven decision making seems an insurmountable challenge for many companies. The need for a data lake is often added to the topic. Depending on the company, the effort and investment to deal with it is considered high and considered unnecessary.

Imagine how frustrating it is to land on a website you can’t use. That’s what over 57 million people experience every day when visiting websites that seem to have decent enough user interface and user experience. Mari-Ell Mets is one of the web accessibility experts in Estonia and we asked her why we should invest in website accessibility and what it is in the first place. Mari-Ell Mets is one of the accessibility experts in Estonia. 

An average smartphone user spends 3.5 hours a day on their device. 80% of this time is spent on using applications or apps, and the rest is spent on browsing the web. This data is a good illustration of the potential of mobile platforms in marketing, developing client relationships, and growing your brand. In this blogpost we talk about the reasons why an app can be beneficial and useful.

Did you know that the price of the products you are buying influences the part of your brain that feels pain? Next time you go out to buy a new mobile phone you may analyse yourself—what does it feel like when you are looking at the cheaper phones on the lowest shelf and how does it feel to hold the newest and most expensive device in the store?

We are pleased to announce the achievement of Atlassian Platinum Solution Partner status. We have attained the foremost certification possible as a solution partner and have achieved the highest levels of competency across Atlassian solution offerings.

Going to UX conferences abroad takes time and money and not everyone can afford it. At the same time, it is important to educate oneself with new knowledge, methods and crafts and also to get inspiration of cool things people are working on in different countries. World Usability Day Estonia is a conference that does that all: gives the opportunity to learn, network and get together as a community.

Some people think that a website needs to be beautiful or trendy. Imagine that you are the owner of an online store, for example. Do you want a customer to come to your online store and think "Oh, how beautiful!" Admire a little and then go again? Or do you want him to purchase so that it won't be a hassle and he'll come to your store sometimes?

When it comes to creating a webpage, app or data system, then both the big picture as well as the details are important. On the one hand, all interest groups and final users should have a chance to express their points of view and wishes. On the other hand, it is necessary to ensure that all key aspects are formed into a single vision in the initial phase.

Did you know that when Facebook automatically reposts the picture you uploaded on Instagram, it’s actually an API doing that? Evernote synchronising your notes between the smartphone and laptop? API as well. If you have added YouTube videos to your site or blog, you have used YouTube’s API for that. Web-based APIs are invisible and work “behind the scenes”, yet they have significantly changed the web.