The New Wikipedia – Wikimedia Foundation Is Getting Ready To Roll Out Design Changes
Wikipedia, the world’s most popular encyclopedia is getting ready for some big design changes, as stated in the latest WikiMedia blog post.
The plan is to change the default look to a new theme called “Vector” which makes essential functions easier to find and improves navigation and usability. The changes would be rolled out from April 5th ‘10 starting with WikiMedia Commons, and then gradually to the Wikipedia. Registered users are already trying out the beta design and actively providing feedback.
Changes that the Wikipedia Vector Theme would bring in:
Enhanced Toolbar:
The enhanced toolbar makes it easier to edit articles. New and improved icons make it clearer what action each tool performs. Expanded sections reduce clutter while keeping infrequently used tools just a click away.
Dialog:
When creating links or tables, clicking the tool icon now opens a dialog box which helps you to create links and tables by filling out a simple form.
Also a number of other improvements such as enhanced navigation, cascading tabs, improved search etc would be implemented. To get involved in the improvement of Wikipedia design you can check the Usability Initiative homepage.
Comparison between Old and New Wikipedia design:
Old Design:
New Design:
As seen in the images the changes in the sidebar and the top navigation are visible. If you wish to try out the new design you can click on the “try beta” link at the top to try out the new design. You just need to have a registered username with Wikipedia to try out the beta.
The Wikimedia blog post outlining the changes says,
Our overarching objective is to make it easier to find and contribute knowledge in Wikipedia and its sister projects. Volunteer participation is the essence of everything we do; our job is to facilitate and support that volunteer work. Continually improving the experience our projects is now a core mandate of the Wikimedia Foundation. Software developers are invited to review this under-the-hood explanation in our technical blog that describes the impact of these changes on bots, scripts, and gadgets interfacing with Wikimedia projects. You can use the Q&A ‘talk’ page to propose other questions.
For a detailed overview about the changes in the design check out this detailed post by Web Designer Depot.
