February 16 update: this test is being retired - see this post for more info! </p><p>Hey Community! </p><p>One of our current projects is to look into updating the page header area - that is, the area which currently contains the wordmark, local navigation and contribute button. </p> <div class="center"><figure class="article-thumb tnone show-info-icon" style="width: 300px">
<figcaption> <p class="caption">Page header area highlighted</p> </figcaption></figure></div>
<p>We want to make sure the page header area is as useful as it can be - both for the newbie who has never visited your wiki before and for the experienced editors. We're also keen on making the mobile and desktop experience feel a bit more connected.
</p><p>We know that changes can make people nervous, but we want to reach out about our ideas early to foster transparency and allow for lots of feedback early in the process. The possible updates are in flux - the outcome significantly depends a lot on research, tests, and the feedback we receive from you.
</p><p>Please feel free to ask many questions. We may not have immediate answers since the project is still at an early stage, but the fact that you asked us the question is just as important and useful to us.
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<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Our_findings">Our findings</span></h2>
<p>Our first step was to seek a better understanding of how readers interact with the page header. To do this we analyzed usage data of the current page header (see slides 8-15 of this slideshow for data & light analysis) and we performed in-person interviews with people who have never visited our website before. Here is a very brief summary of those interviews:
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- When instructed to move from one page to another (e.g. Luke Skywalker to Chewbacca) nearly everyone's first instinct was to look for a blue link inside the article. If they could not easily find a link they would go to either the browser search bar to search google or the search icon in the global nav.
- Overall, people understood the local nav but their actual usable behavior showed it wasn't the most important feature, relative to search and in-article links.
- None of the six participants fully understood the Fandom // Community // Article information architecture.
- Moving the 'On the Wiki' tab for anonymous users may result in a minor increase in page header engagement. (We feel there is little harm in making this a permanent change so this change has been made on all communities on December 1.)
- The 'new' CSS nav may result in a minor increase in page header engagement, showing a new design may result in more pageviews.
- Relocating search to the local nav area may result in more searches. This idea will be explored further.
- Hiding the nav entirely decreases reader Pageviews/Session.
- The 'scroll to top' feature did not significantly change Pageviews/Session or Page Header engagement
</div></div><div class="lightbox-caption" style="width:250px;">The page header when first viewed</div></div><div class="wikia-gallery-item" style="width:252px; "><div class="thumb" style="height:169px;"><div class="gallery-image-wrapper accent" id="Page_header_-_concept_1_-_read-png" style="position: relative; height:147px; width:250px; top:10px;">
</div></div><div class="lightbox-caption" style="width:250px;">The page header with the 'Read' menu open - with level one headings listed down the left side</div></div><div class="wikia-gallery-item" style="width:252px; "><div class="thumb" style="height:169px;"><div class="gallery-image-wrapper accent" id="Page_header_-_concept_1_-_create-png" style="position: relative; height:137px; width:250px; top:15px;">
</div></div><div class="lightbox-caption" style="width:250px;">The 'Create' menu (we realise the link order is a bit strange at the moment)</div></div><div class="wikia-gallery-item" style="width:252px; "><div class="thumb" style="height:169px;"><div class="gallery-image-wrapper accent" id="Page_header_-_concept_1_-_search-png" style="position: relative; height:137px; width:250px; top:15px;">
</div></div><div class="lightbox-caption" style="width:250px;">The 'Search' option, after click - similar 'expanding' behavior to the global navigation search option</div></div></div>
<p>Though the layout is somewhat different, it retains much of the existing content - the wordmark, navigation and contribution options.
</p><p>We think placing the wordmark top and center will help emphasise your wiki's identity, while the reorganised links should make it easier for a newbie to get to know your wiki. In particular, while the main links are hidden initially, you can quickly browse a wide overview of the wiki's content by clicking 'Read'.
</p><p>As an initial test concept, it is not a final design (indeed, work is still ongoing on this concept right now) and it is subject to significant changes. We could end up going in a very different direction, as other concepts are being explored.
</p><p>We'll be testing it out on a few communities over the holiday break to get feedback on the concept and to obtain data on how it's used. Check out the test concept on Scrubs Wiki!
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<h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Over_to_you">Over to you</span></h2>
<p>While we're sure you'll have plenty of feedback on the above concept, there are two other broad questions we'd love to hear your thoughts on:
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- Are there specific things that you really like about the current, standard page header?
- What do you feel is missing from the current page header area - especially as a <i>reader</i> of a wiki?
