Forum:CT Archive/Main Page Redesign, Phase I

Hello, Wookieepedia. Our Main Page has long been in need of a makeover. It's been something that's been discussed for many years now, but we've had difficulty finding people with the right ideas coupled with the proper technical proficiency to get it done. Recently, myself and others have put our heads together to try and actually make it happen. This began some time ago with Cade's redesign of the Main Page's navigation, implementing our current, albeit now outdated, drop-down feature.

The biggest issue with our Main Page has always been that it's too text-heavy. For those unaware, our Main Page design is rooted in Wikipedia's Main Page, since that's where Wookieepedia was born. Until our recent revamp of the Status Article box, we've had days, even weeks, where there were no images at all on the page, which just makes for a boring experience. On that basis, I'm proposing several new design changes to the page to create a more engaging experience for our readers, which I will detail below. You can see the proposal's work page here. I would stress the need to view this page in the Wikia skin, and ideally with ads enabled, since that's how 99% of our visitors see Wookieepedia, so that's what we need to cater to in making any changes.

As I detail these changes, I would first like to emphasize that this is an ongoing process and this initial proposal is very basic. We've got lots of ideas and improvements in the works that you will see in future proposals, so focus on the broader overall layout here. We can and will make more minor refinements as we go along. If something on the page hasn't been changed in this proposal, it means we're saving that for the next phase, so please keep that mind. Also, the top of the page will not be changing in this proposal; the drop-down nav box and the social media icons just don't show up on this test wiki. Now for the changes:


 * In the right column, we've pulled out News and eliminated the Word Press feed, replacing it with social media feeds for Facebook and Twitter. This offers a much more engaging look for visitors and does more to attract them to our social media presence than the social media icons alone. I will be the first to admit that this may be slightly redundant with the social media icons still at the top of the page, but I emphasize again that we're going to work with using the icons elsewhere in future proposals. The Facebook and Twitter feeds also add more content to the Main Page, since we often make posts there covering discussion topics and other subject matter not reflected on the MP itself.
 * The News, rebranded as WookieeNews, has been moved into a slider. This gives us a more engaging way to present news items with the addition of images as opposed to the old boring Wikipedia text list. Unlike anything we've ever had on the MP before, our readers are now instantly attracted to the center of the page with these images, which invites them to continue exploring.
 * Below the Featured Article box, we're implementing a second slider for Fandom articles written by Wookieepedia contributors. This effectively replaces the Word Press, which hasn't been updated in a year now and has become totally obsolete. Fandom now basically serves the purpose that I know many of us had hoped the Word Press would be someday, a place for our contributors to write personal pieces, which helps to show the rest of the world that Wookieepedia comprises individual voices and that we're not some monolithic entity. Ideally, this will also encourage others to want to get involved in this process, and it adds more images to the page.

Thanks go out to Brandon Rhea and Cade Calrayn for their work on these design changes. You're welcome to leave ideas in the discussion section below, but I will again stress that this is a very basic foundation for the page's redesign, hence Phase I, so hang tight. More and even better changes are coming.

Support Phase I changes

 * 1) Toprawa and Ralltiir (talk) 18:01, April 21, 2016 (UTC)