2022:Submissions/Discussing improvements to the desktop Wikipedia experience (Vector 2022)
- Language: English
- Status: Live
Speaker(s)
[edit source]Abstract
[edit source]Since 2019, the Web team at the Wikimedia Foundation has been working to create a better desktop experience for readers of Wikimedia wikis and community members, regardless of their language or location. It is the first major change to the design in more than 10 years.
Our focus is on creating a more welcoming experience, ensuring that anyone who comes to our sites can easily find the knowledge they need, and for those interested, the tools they need to begin their journey towards contributing. Currently, the new desktop experience is the default on a large number of our wikis - large and small.
Read more about the project: Reading/Web/Desktop Improvements.
Our goals are:
- Present some of the changes we've made
- Discuss the experience the communities have had with the new experience so far, and
- Together draft some ideas on how we can continue improving our interfaces in the future.
Learning Outcomes
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- An understanding of the ways the design and tools of our wikis can be more welcoming to our global audience, regardless of size and location
- And understanding of the motivation for the new changes to the desktop experience
- The ability to discuss and shape our design in the future
Contact
- user talk:SGrabarczuk (WMF)
- olgawikimedia.org + sgrabarczukwikimedia.org
Get involved
- Use Vector 2022: in Preferences, check the option Vector (2022). You can also enable our changes on all wikis using the Global preferences.
- Promote: Inform your community. Share our updates and blog posts.
- Join the future online meetings with us. Directly after the official Wikimania session, we'll have a follow-up meeting just for questions and answers.
Biography
[edit source]We are members of the Web team within the Wikimedia Foundation. Our focus has been on improving our experiences for our readers and ensuring that all readers, especially those from historically marginalized and underrepresented communities, feel welcome within our wikis, know how to use them intuitively, and are able to access the knowledge they need.
- Olga - I am the Lead Product Manager. I've been working with the Foundation and the web team for over six years, focusing on the experience of readers on the desktop and mobile websites.
- Alex - I am the designer and user researcher on our team. I've been a Wikimedian since 2011, and have been working at the Foundation for almost five years.
- Szymon - I'm the Senior Community Relations Specialist. I became a Wikipedian in 2010. I've been working with the Foundation for over five years. Before I joined Web, I collaborated with the movement strategy teams.