After ten full years, Wikipedia has finally thought of redesigning its website.
As a matter of fact, the website’s design looks out of place in this century.
But, that’s never stopped visitors from revisiting the page.
We kind of fancy the old look, though.
For us, it’s like visiting the pages of an old, rickety memoir; all of the pages almost falling apart, but you don’t care, and you cherish the book as it is, for all of its rich contents.
They’re keeping the old look after all
Thankfully, Wikipedia wouldn’t be losing its original look.
At least to a large extent.
The major aim of the redesign is to create a better experience for every visitor.
Wikipedia is an arsenal of wide-ranging information.
For over 20 years, the platform has kept – in a comprehensive manner – vital information about a wide range of subjects ranging from people to places and events.
Really, It holds up information about almost everything.
You’d be surprised at the amount of data that Wikipedia divulges when you type in a keyword as lame as “Shit.”
Oh yes, I did type it in, and I found some fascinating information on the subject.
It’s about 15 pages long on my desktop. Wikipedia gives you the etymology of “Shit.”
But what’s more interesting is that it also takes you through the usage of the word in classical poetry, television, radio, and campaigns.
Quite frankly, some of these details might prove to be more valuable than you’d ever imagine.
Or maybe not. But the point is, they’ve stored it up and you can access it.
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Why the remodelling?
According to Wikipedia, they decided to change the website design based on some findings.
First, Wiki’s desktop interface doesn’t fit perfectly with modern web platforms.
Also, the platform is not as transparent as they want it to be.
Many readers are not aware that the contents they read on Wiki are written by volunteers and updated from time-to-time.
As a result, the whole community is bereft of the valuable contribution that these readers can add to the contents too.
Another reason is, they simply want to make things look fancier.
You can see an example of this in the picture below:
Check out the full list of proposed features in this MediaWiki post.
There’s a long list of language options on the page.
You can select whichever suits you while you browse through the page.
Expected features
Wikipedia has already started rolling out some of these new features in selected regions.
The first feature that rolled out was the collapsible sidebar feature.
The collapsible sidebar feature is located at the top left corner of the page.
The hamburger icon represents the feature.
If you don’t know what a hamburger icon looks like, it’s the icon that usually has three lines layered upon each other.
You must have seen it in some popular apps like Instagram or Google Maps.
With the collapse sidebar feature, users will be able to roll out and fold up the side menu at will.
This will serve to limit distractions while on the page.
It might take a while for Wikimedia, Wiki’s parent company, to finish up with the redesign.
However, the company is fully aware of this and has set a realistic date for completing the project.
They will be taking users’ feedbacks and optimizing the designs gradually.
Wikimedia looks forward to completing the project by the end of 2021.
Recent touch-ups
Talking about redesigns, Google also touched up Google Maps last month.
Likewise, the aim was to create a better experience for users.
It’s interesting to see that companies are putting more effort into ensuring that users get the best out of their services.
Who do you see doing a touch up in the coming months? Amazon, Uber, or…?
Let us know in the comment section below.
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