This is a Subsquare mirror of the main Polkadot Forum pre-proposal discussion:
https://forum.polkadot.network/t/pre-proposal-discussion-polkavision-a-live-visual-explorer-for-the-polkadot-ecosystem/18081

Hi everyone,

I’m building PolkaVision, a live visual explorer for the Polkadot ecosystem:

Click here to visit PolkaVision.com

The current prototype is already live. It indexes Polkadot mainnet data hourly and shows the relay chain and parachains in one interactive visual interface.

I’m considering submitting a small Phase 1 Treasury proposal, but before doing that I’d like to get community feedback on whether this is useful, what should be prioritized, and what scope/funding level would feel reasonable.

Why PolkaVision?

Polkadot is technically powerful, but the ecosystem can still be difficult to understand at a glance. Information is spread across explorers, parachain websites, governance platforms, documentation, dashboards, social channels, and community posts.

PolkaVision aims to make the ecosystem easier to see, explore, and understand by giving users a visual entry point into Polkadot, parachains, and related ecosystem information.

Current prototype

The live prototype already provides:

• A visual graph of the Polkadot relay chain and parachains
• Hourly indexing of Polkadot mainnet data
• A simple way to explore the ecosystem visually
• An early foundation for future governance and ecosystem intelligence features

After sharing the prototype on Reddit, I received encouraging feedback and feature suggestions, including better mobile UX, parachain logos/branding, explorer links, referendum summaries, activity indicators, and clearer ecosystem discovery.

Possible Phase 1 scope

For a first Treasury proposal, I do not want to request a large long-term budget upfront. I’m considering a focused 6–8 week Phase 1 pilot to improve the current prototype and make it more useful and reliable.

Possible Phase 1 deliverables:

1. Data reliability and backend improvements

   • Improve hourly indexing, caching, error handling, performance, and visible data freshness indicators
   • Document data sources and refresh cadence

2. Visual explorer improvements

   • Improve graph readability, node spacing, labels, hover/click interactions, and first-time user explanations

3. Mobile and responsive UX

   • Improve mobile graph layout, tap interactions, readability, and loading across desktop, tablet, and mobile

4. Parachain discovery links and metadata

   • Add official parachain websites, explorer links, docs/GitHub links, and basic categories/descriptions where reliable

5. Public documentation and reporting

   • Publish a roadmap, data-source documentation, progress update, and final Phase 1 delivery report

The tentative funding range is $15k–$20k USDC/USDT for a 6–8 week build. This is not final; I’m sharing it here to get feedback before deciding whether to submit anything on-chain.

Out of scope for Phase 1

To keep the first phase focused, I would likely defer larger features such as full governance intelligence, historical activity charts, advanced ecosystem momentum signals, app-level project discovery, news aggregation, developer resources, and advanced analytics dashboards.

These could be considered later only if Phase 1 is delivered successfully and the community sees value in continuing.

Questions for the community

I’d appreciate feedback on:

1. Is PolkaVision useful enough to justify a small Treasury-funded Phase 1?
2. Which Phase 1 features would be most valuable?
3. Which features should be removed or deferred?
4. Does a $15k–$20k range feel reasonable for this scope?
5. Should this remain a small Phase 1 proposal rather than a larger v2 proposal?
6. What data sources should be used for parachain metadata, links, and activity?
7. Should parts of the project be open source? If yes, which parts matter most?
8. What success metrics would make this easy to evaluate?
9. Are there existing tools or teams I should integrate with rather than duplicate?
10. What would make you comfortable voting for or against this if it became a formal proposal?

Current thinking

My current preference is to start small: focus on reliability, usability, mobile UX, parachain discovery, public documentation, and transparent reporting.

The broader vision for PolkaVision is to become a visual intelligence layer for the Polkadot ecosystem, but the immediate goal is simpler:

Make the existing live prototype more reliable, useful, and transparent for the Polkadot community.

Feedback is very welcome.