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Our current version of the Main Page was implemented on 2013-03-26. Discussion of prior versions of the Main Page can be found at Wikivoyage talk:Main Page Old
Help needed with tweaking visual balance of the main page
[edit]It has bothered me for quite a while how the three sections on the main page (Welcome, Featured and Discover/Get Involved) are all different widths, and don't fully take advantage of the entire width of the main page, creating a slightly chaotic whole. Now that Vector 2022 plays with those sections, I figured it was time to fix how these sections get presented to users. What I've worked out isn't exactly a fix to every issue, but it at least rebalances the elements to look less clunky. See lines 1-19 of User:Wauteurz/common.css. These achieve the following:
- Welcome gets widened to use 100% of the width available to it. The satellite imagemap is aligned to the rightmost side of the element.
- The Featured-carousel gets centred in the main page since it can't easily be enlarged or widened, and its menu items are shifted over accordingly.
The only issue that remains, is that Vector 2022 can freely change the font size of all text. Ideally, this is disabled in the JCarousel since the 'large' font size pushes the description out of view most of the time.
Ideally, these tweaks are embedded in the respective elements directly ({{mapbanner}} and the CSS jcarousel-class), but I'm not entirely sure how to go about this, and lack the permission to make changes where I know what to change. These changes are non-destructive and have held up several changes to the main page's content, hence why I've withheld announcing them. If someone with the correct rights (presumably bureaucrats?) and technical know-how can help me out with this, then that'd be much appreciated!
― Wauteurz (talk) 15:00, 23 March 2025 (UTC)
- For the visually inclined, this is how the main page looks in Vector 2022 with the above changes applied. ― Wauteurz (talk) 15:05, 23 March 2025 (UTC)
- I'm not seeing a big difference but I support. Ikan Kekek (talk) 00:46, 6 May 2025 (UTC)
- @Ikan Kekek: It isn't a big difference, no. It's simply widening existing elements and centring them so that the main page gets filled up a bit better. I don't have a solid way to change the JCarousel at present and I would need some assistance from people more knowledgable than me to fix that. For {{Mapbanner}}, I also made more or less the same suggestion here. If supported, I could roll that out first thing tomorrow. ― Wauteurz (talk) 01:13, 6 May 2025 (UTC)
- I'm not seeing a big difference but I support. Ikan Kekek (talk) 00:46, 6 May 2025 (UTC)
- Support changes as per proposal. //shb (t | c | m) 23:04, 5 May 2025 (UTC)
Since my request for input and support on Talk:Main Page went mostly unnoticed, I'm bringing this proposal to the pub to ensure it gets the daylight it should have, as these are proposals to change the look of a rather important page.
Here's the backstory: For longer than Vector 2022 has been around, I've been bothered by the balance of elements on the main page. The new skin only did it injustices, so I've taken it upon myself to mend the shortcomings of the main page in my quest to make Wikivoyage work in Vector 2022. This all so our site looks a bit more appealing in the new skin. I know many regular editors stuck with their old preferred skins when we got the new skin imposed on us, but this still is something that will affect Wikivoyage's appeal to new editors and readers. If the main page looks chaotic and messy, they'll be less likely to stick around. So to each and every editor, regardless of which skin you use: Please chime in!
That being said, these are the changes I have developed, and have ready to deploy:
- Wider {{Mapbanner}}: Some small tweaks to the template which make it use all the page width available to it, and moves the globe image and image map accordingly.
- Centred JCaroussel: For the same reason, to make better use of the width on the main page, I've got some CSS changes to the JCaroussel ready that center the featured articles. Scaling them up to simply be full page width I have found to be too tedious to bother with.
- Overhauled {{Banner}}: Vector 2022's scaleable font plays too much with the banners for featured articles to where sometimes the blurb isn't even entirely visible. In the same process, I've simplified the way in which this template is used for each category, foregoing the need for a 'section' and 'section-link' parameter, replacing them with a 'type' parameter. Its style is mostly in keeping with the existing banners and should simplify the process for featuring articles more than it complicates them.
What do these changes look like? In the case of {{Mapbanner}}, I cannot easily give a working demonstration as its stylesheet currently overwrites any changes I make to it. Instead, this image is the best I can offer. You'll have to take my word for its functionality being unchanged. The centred JCaroussel and overhauled {{Banner}} can be seen and interacted with on this page. I've done my best to ensure that these changes are in keeping with Wikivoyage's current main page style. I know that entire overhauls are not that popular, so I hope these proposals are good enough.
I am looking for a broad consensus to roll out at least the first two changes, but ideally all three. I don't feel comfortable rolling some of these changes out with only two people expressing support for them. Please, throw your questions and concerns in my direction, and I hope we can together fix what I consider to be the biggest remaining issue with Vector 2022. Thank you in advance.
― Wauteurz (talk) 14:19, 28 May 2025 (UTC)
- Support as the developer of these changes. Vector 2022 dictates how new readers and editors get presented our site, and with its current chaotic and undependable nature, something has to be done. ― Wauteurz (talk) 14:20, 28 May 2025 (UTC)
- @Wauteurz: Any idea for better responsive design of the Wikivoyage main page, as more people access our pages via phone than PC? Sbb1413 (he) (talk • contribs) 14:47, 28 May 2025 (UTC)
- @Sbb1413 For clarity, these changes only affect the appearance on desktop devices. The changes to JCaroussel also apply in Minerva (mobile), but due to screen size limitations they won't have an effect in most cases. My main goal is overseeing the damage caused by Vector 2022's roll-out on Wikivoyage. Since mobile devices use Minerva, I mostly leave the mobile appearance alone.
- As for my thoughts on mobile, I don't think any of the regular editors have any experience in mobile design, let alone responsive mobile design, so I'm mostly wondering why it's responsive in the first place. I'd personally suggest removing the responsive elements (mostly the feature banners) and replacing them with DotM, OtBP and FTT in simple presentations akin to Picture of the Day and Media of the Day on Commons' main page. The 3:1 banners also are a big problem in my eyes. They're far too short to work on mobile, and I think a square or tall ratio would work leagues better in a mobile format. ― Wauteurz (talk) 15:31, 28 May 2025 (UTC)
- Support very much agree that these changes will be needed sooner than later. //shb (t | c | m) 18:48, 28 May 2025 (UTC)
- Support. Thanks for doing this! As a choosing beggar, I would love to see the mobile front page fixed as well though, the DOTM banner is completely broken at the moment and the padding/spacing of the entire page is wonky at best. Jpatokal (talk) 00:03, 29 May 2025 (UTC)
- Question for all involved: The new banner uses some icons to depict the category that the article is featured in (i.e., DotM, OtBP and FTT). I assume that we wish to keep these instead of the placeholder icons I have used? I'll be working on adapting those into simple white icons, which should be pretty straight-forward. If we wish to change them in future, then that can always be done afterwards. Having the icons consistent between {{Banner}} and {{Pagebanner}} would be for the better, I reckon :)
- I am currently aiming to roll these updates out this weekend (June 7/8), just in time for the next featured article change. ― Wauteurz (talk) 23:55, 1 June 2025 (UTC)
- Update: Making and updating the icons was pretty straight-forward indeed: Diff/5071035 ― Wauteurz (talk) 00:20, 2 June 2025 (UTC)
- Support. Lots of good improvements! Just make sure to fix the "Off the Beaten Path" link to point to a real page. Gerode (talk) 15:10, 2 June 2025 (UTC)
Done. Thanks for spotting that one! ― Wauteurz (talk) 15:19, 2 June 2025 (UTC)
Done! Thank you everyone for your support! I've gone ahead and pushed these changes just now. I've naturally updated the usages of {{banner}} on the Main Page and DOTM-Candidates as well. If there's any issues arising from this roll-out, please let me know. ― Wauteurz (talk) 11:34, 7 June 2025 (UTC)
- Awesome! That looks great to me. //shb (t | c | m) 11:46, 7 June 2025 (UTC)
Main page 'Blue Marble' image is truncated
[edit]This is my first visit to Wikivoyage and the first thing that struck me is that the main page banner includes a truncated map of the world, specifically parts of Russia, a number of pacific nations and most of New Zealand have been chopped off the righthand side. This appears to be due to the choice of the original image used, I see there is a 'corrected', full version at https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Bluemarble_banner_RTL.jpg. Sorry if this has been discussed before, but it does seem to be an issue that would be straight forward to correct. --Tony Wills (talk) 10:26, 31 August 2025 (UTC) (I'm generally only active on Wikimedia commons)
- Thanks for the note, @Tony Wills. Can you tell us what kind of device/operating system and web browser you're using (for example, Windows 10 and Microsoft Edge on a laptop)? WhatamIdoing (talk) 19:25, 31 August 2025 (UTC)
- That's not really relevant, seen as how the image used in {{Mapbanner}}, File:Bluemarble banner WV.jpg, is cut off like that - it has been since it was added. It would probably be the best procedure to replace it with another version of Blue Marble (for example File:Blue Marble 2002.png), but this involves creating a new imagemap for that specific image. I'd have to look into how that's done before I can replace it. File:Bluemarble banner RTL.jpg isn't a suitable alternative since it's right-to-left aligned for Wikivoyage projects where the banner is mirrored to accommodate for that project's language's script direction.
― Wauteurz (talk) 19:44, 31 August 2025 (UTC)- Thanks, the RTL version has the end of the map going down through Bering Strait, so doesn't leave a bit of Russia (Chukotka Peninsula) stuck on the other end of the map. If I was going to do it, I would just edit a copy of the RTL one to put the blue banner space on the left. That would also have the advantage that the different Wikivoyage language versions using basically the same image still. --Tony Wills (talk) 20:58, 31 August 2025 (UTC)
- That's not really relevant, seen as how the image used in {{Mapbanner}}, File:Bluemarble banner WV.jpg, is cut off like that - it has been since it was added. It would probably be the best procedure to replace it with another version of Blue Marble (for example File:Blue Marble 2002.png), but this involves creating a new imagemap for that specific image. I'd have to look into how that's done before I can replace it. File:Bluemarble banner RTL.jpg isn't a suitable alternative since it's right-to-left aligned for Wikivoyage projects where the banner is mirrored to accommodate for that project's language's script direction.
7:1 Blue Marble banner - @Tony Wills, WhatamIdoing, Wauteurz: I have created a pure 7:1 version of the existing banner at File:Blue Marble 2002 WV banner.png, based on the Blue Marble 2002 satellite image. I have cropped the top and bottom parts to keep the blue banner space as small as possible while showing all seven continents. Sbb1413 (he) (talk • contribs) 15:14, 1 September 2025 (UTC)
- It's not even necessary to have the massive lot of blue on the left. {{Mapbanner}} has been changed since the original banner was created, to where it now aligns that image to the far-right. The old one had the added blue space just so that it would force the globe to be on the right side of the template. I'll see if I can implement a fix.
― Wauteurz (talk) 17:03, 1 September 2025 (UTC)- Et voilà: a fixed version. Since it's a main page template, I'd like some consensus before I overwrite {{Mapbanner}} with this version. The top and bottom of the globe aren't cut off on this version either. I could crop it if that's problematic. Let me know :)
― Wauteurz (talk) 17:27, 1 September 2025 (UTC)- That looks far better to me; great work, Wauteurz! //shb (t | c | m) 07:17, 2 September 2025 (UTC)
- Fantastic, a great improvement, but it would be even better if we moved the end of the Russian Chukotka Peninsula from the left of the maps to the right end where it belongs (ie the right end of the map passes through the Berring Strait rather than the end of Russia) --Tony Wills (talk) 10:49, 2 September 2025 (UTC)
- You may consider that Done. I extended the image canvas a bit to the right, and cut and pasted the peninsula there, filling the remaining voids with the blue background. I've also re-cropped the image a bit to show less of Antarctica and the north pole, to better match {{Mapbanner}}'s current version.
― Wauteurz (talk) 11:29, 2 September 2025 (UTC)- Should I go ahead updating {{Mapbanner}} with Wauteurz's version if there's a consensus to do so? Sbb1413 (he) (talk • contribs) 11:49, 2 September 2025 (UTC)
- I can do that myself, thank you very much. I just tend to wait a couple of days with rolling out things that need some consensus, just so that everyone that wants can get an opportunity to comment. We don't all live in the same timezone, after all. Aside from the support above, I've also been thanked for related edits by some, so I'll push the update to {{Mapbanner}} before I go to bed tonight :)
― Wauteurz (talk) 12:32, 2 September 2025 (UTC)- Great stuff (I assume that the residents of the South Pole went there to be off grid anyway :-) --Tony Wills (talk) 20:02, 2 September 2025 (UTC)
- Done - The userspace draft version's changes have been swept into the template and its CSS.
― Wauteurz (talk) 20:38, 2 September 2025 (UTC)- Nice work, Wauteurz. //shb (t | c | m) 01:12, 3 September 2025 (UTC)
- Another problem I see is that the blue background disappears in dark mode at Main Page, but appears at {{Mapbanner}}. Sbb1413 (he) (talk • contribs) 07:14, 3 September 2025 (UTC)
- Thanks for the heads-up @Sbb1413, it should now be resolved. ― Wauteurz (talk) 16:09, 3 September 2025 (UTC)
- Another problem is that the link to Tourist office lies on top of the links to Destinations, Phrasebooks etc. so that the links into main features of WV can't be used. Mrkstvns (talk) 12:53, 4 September 2025 (UTC)
- So, I previously messed with {{Mapbanner}} to make it play nice with its scaling properties, and I have fixed all the overlap issues I could emulate on my devices. @Mrkstvns, do you mind providing me with a screenshot of the Main Page you see? If you use Vector 2022 as your skin, please also let me know which appearance settings you are using.
― Wauteurz (talk) 14:09, 4 September 2025 (UTC)
- So, I previously messed with {{Mapbanner}} to make it play nice with its scaling properties, and I have fixed all the overlap issues I could emulate on my devices. @Mrkstvns, do you mind providing me with a screenshot of the Main Page you see? If you use Vector 2022 as your skin, please also let me know which appearance settings you are using.
- Another problem is that the link to Tourist office lies on top of the links to Destinations, Phrasebooks etc. so that the links into main features of WV can't be used. Mrkstvns (talk) 12:53, 4 September 2025 (UTC)
- Thanks for the heads-up @Sbb1413, it should now be resolved. ― Wauteurz (talk) 16:09, 3 September 2025 (UTC)
- I can do that myself, thank you very much. I just tend to wait a couple of days with rolling out things that need some consensus, just so that everyone that wants can get an opportunity to comment. We don't all live in the same timezone, after all. Aside from the support above, I've also been thanked for related edits by some, so I'll push the update to {{Mapbanner}} before I go to bed tonight :)
- Should I go ahead updating {{Mapbanner}} with Wauteurz's version if there's a consensus to do so? Sbb1413 (he) (talk • contribs) 11:49, 2 September 2025 (UTC)
- You may consider that
- Et voilà: a fixed version. Since it's a main page template, I'd like some consensus before I overwrite {{Mapbanner}} with this version. The top and bottom of the globe aren't cut off on this version either. I could crop it if that's problematic. Let me know :)
- It's not even necessary to have the massive lot of blue on the left. {{Mapbanner}} has been changed since the original banner was created, to where it now aligns that image to the far-right. The old one had the added blue space just so that it would force the globe to be on the right side of the template. I'll see if I can implement a fix.
