# GNOME.org We may be able to redesign and deploy a new GNOME.org website soon thanks to conversations had at FOSDEM. However, before just making yet-another-website, I (@cassidyjames) wanted to assess what we have and see if we could use this as an opportunity for our existing web presence to feel more consistent. ## Challenges In discussing web development with the design team, other Foundation members, and Foundation employees, there are a number of challenges: - Ease of updating, e.g. including new information or screenshots, especially for non-technical contributors - Ease of contributing for _new_ contributors - Managing overall brand cohesion - Pointing people to the correct sites - Consistency across sites ## Existing Sites _There are so many! 😱_ By my count, we have over **two dozen** official `*.GNOME.org` websites. Each one has a slightly different design with different headers, footers, fonts, and design styles. A new GNOME.org will not solve this, but we can provide guidelines and set an example. - GNOME.org: overview of what and who GNOME is; the jumping off point - [GNOME Foundation](https://foundation.gnome.org): specifically the non-profit organization's site; think funding, transparency, reports, Foundation news - [Welcome to GNOME](https://welcome.gnome.org): how to contribute to GNOME, especially as a newcomer; jumping off point to get involved - [GNOME Development](https://developer.gnome.org): collection of resources for existing developers, including documentation - [Apps for GNOME](https://apps.gnome.org): advertizes and provides landing pages for GNOME Core, Circle, and Development apps - [GNOME Circle](https://circle.gnome.org): explains the GNOME Circle initiative and showcases the member apps/libraries - [GNOME Events](https://events.gnome.org): Hosts conference and event registration, information, etc. (Indico) - [GNOME Shop](https://shop.gnome.org): merch store - [GNOME Release Notes](https://release.gnome.org): Per-release release notes and release schedule calendar - [GNOME Code of Conduct](https://conduct.gnome.org): code of conduct information and incident reporting ### Product Mini-Sites Small, one-page sites providing information and downloads for a specific sub-project of GNOME. - [GNOME Brand](https://brand.gnome.org): minisite with typography, color, and logo information as well as a downloadable asset kit - [Cantarell](https://cantarell.gnome.org): information about and download for the typeface used by GNOME - [GNOME OS](https://os.gnome.org): reference OS for testing ### News & Blogs - [This Week in GNOME](https://thisweek.gnome.org): community-curated blog collecting what happened across the GNOME project each week - [Planet GNOME](https://planet.gnome.org): firehose feed of blog posts from GNOME contributors and projects; includes non-GNOME posts as well - [GNOME Blogs](https://blogs.gnome.org): Foundation member (and project) blogs hosted by GNOME (Wordpress) ### Docs Documentation websites are not likely to be linked to prominently from GNOME.org itself, but serve as online resources for search and reference. - [GNOME Project Handbook](https://handbook.gnome.org/): information about participating in GNOME itself; not technical documentation, but process and community documentation - [GNOME Help](https://help.gnome.org/): user documentation from each GNOME app/project - [Nightly GNOME Apps](https://nightly.gnome.org/): instructions for how to use in-development versions of apps - [GNOME + GSoC](https://gsoc.gnome.org/): Resources for Google Summer of Code participants ### Tools & Platforms These are specific tools that are used by GNOME, but would not necessarily be considered top-level sites we'd expect people to jump to from the main site. - [GNOME GitLab](https://gitlab.gnome.org/): Where developement, issue tracking, organization happens - [GNOME Element](https://gnome.element.io): realtime chat platform (Matrix) - [GNOME Discourse](https://discourse.gnome.org): forum for GNOME contributors and community; also a mailing list alternative - [GNOME HedgeDoc](https://hedgedoc.gnome.org/): notes, meeting minutes, etc. (like this!) - [GNOME Extensions](https://extensions.gnome.org): online catalog of GNOME Shell extensions - [Damned Lies](https://l10n.gnome.org/): translation platform - [Open Desktop Ratings](https://odrs.gnome.org): back-end that provides ratings and reviews for GNOME Software ### Ecosystem These are not necessarily GNOME sites, but they're important to the ecosystem and maintained by some of the same contributors. - [GTK](https://gtk.org): Toolkit for GNOME (and other platforms) - [Flathub](https://flatub.org): app store for Linux, including GNOME ## Information Architecture for GNOME.org Given the above, it seems the community prefers (or has found it easist) to create smaller, more narrowly-scoped mini-sites rather than having a ton of content at GNOME.org itself. This is good, actually, as it means a new home page can be simpler and more focused. The greatest challenge I see is how to properly link out to the dozens of related sites in a way that makes sense. To do so, I propose covering two primary uses: - High level information about GNOME itself (what the project is), not necessarily in this order - The community - The desktop - The ecosystem - Link out to other sites based on intent It would also be helpful to align on what the most important/visible sub-sites are, and consistently link to them from a unified navigation bar as much as possible. Given GNOME.org's primary purpose for existing would be to explain what GNOME is, we would not need "Get GNOME" or "About Us" links in the header; that content would live on the home page. **Target audience**: a random potential user will not likely come to GNOME.org; they're more likely to be introduced to GNOME from a Linux-based OS. Consequently, our primary audiences should be: - Existing users who want to learn more about GNOME - Potential partners or distributors who want to ship GNOME - Potential funders who want to help sustain GNOME ### Example text-based mockup for GNOME.org **See cassidyjames.com/gnome.org for an interactive mockup!** >--- > >`👣 GNOME` `Get Involved` `Events` `Shop` `Donate` > >--- > >## World-Class Computing Experience > > > >We build products that create one cohesive vision and experience: > >- **Shell**: desktop environment for PC and mobile operating systems. Designed based on user testing and research with input from industry stakeholders to be intuitive and efficient. > > Shell provides everything you could need from the "system" UI of an operating system: window management, workspaces, app launching, notifications, clock and calendar, quick settings, permissions prompts, system-wide search, and more. > >- **Core apps**: apps we consider part of the core computing experience including a file manager, image viewer, text editor, web browser, settings, and many more. > > [See All Core Apps](https://apps.gnome.org/#core) > >**Get GNOME**: GNOME is used as the default experience across Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, openSUSE, Vanila OS, Endless OS, and more. > > GNOME is available for most other Linux distributions such as Arch Linux. > > We also provide a [reference OS](https://os.gnome.org) for testing and development. > >GNOME Releases > >## Growing Ecosystem > > > >GNOME works with the larger free and open source community on shared technologies, interoperability, specifications, best practices, and standards. > >- **[GNOME Circle](https://circle.gnome.org)**: community-developed apps that follow GNOME best practices and guidelines for a cohesive experience > >- **[Flathub](https://flathub.org)**: the app store for Linux where you can find most GNOME Core apps, GNOME Circle apps, and thousands of third-party apps you can use with GNOME > >- **[FreeDesktop](https://www.freedesktop.org)**: software and specifications for free and open source desktops > >## Exceptional Community > > > >Above all, GNOME is people. A diverse community of largely-volunteer contributors from around the world make up the GNOME project. > >We're not one monolithic entity—we may not always agree on everything!—but we work together to build what we believe is the best experience and direction for computing. > >Contributors to GNOME can apply for [GNOME Foundation Membership](https://foundation.gnome.org/membership/) which comes with voting rights, the ability to run for election to the Board of Directors, and other privileges. > >[Get Involved](https://welcome.gnome.org) | [Community Discussions](https://discourse.gnome.org) | [Code of Conduct](https://conduct.gnome.org) > >## Non-Profit Foundation > >The GNOME project is supported by the non-profit [GNOME Foundation](https://foundation.gnome.org) which provides guidance, logistics, legal support, and more. They're funded **entirely by donations and sponsorships**—if you want to help GNOME, consider [donating](https://gnome.org/donate)! > >[Donate](https://gnome.org/donate) | [Explore Events](https://events.gnome.org/) | [Learn More](https://foundation.gnome.org/) > >--- > >`👣 GNOME` `Get Involved` `Events` `Shop` `Donate` > >---