Forum:New Look for The Main Page

Lately, a few users have planned a new look for the Main Page. These two users are me (Ardi) and Topher. Since our Main Page has been a little cluttered lately, I think that it is time to vote on what to do with the Main Page, whether you support changing it, if so, which one do you prefer, and if you oppose, give a reasonable explanation why you disagree.—Ardi~ Correspondence ~Talk 03:27, 1 June 2009 (UTC)

I strongly suggest that we let the forum run for another week, mainly because the votes are too similar, and there are many users that haven't voted yet. Here is my suggestion.:


 * 1) We let the vote run for another week.
 * 2) Use Ferbot ( If Toph is fine with this) to tell all those who haven't voted to try to vote.
 * 3) Once they vote ad the week finishes, hopefully the votes will be less tied, we can close the forum and update the main page.—Ardi~(Talk)~( Correspondence ) 00:31, 23 August 2009 (UTC)


 * I agree with Ardi. The Flash  {talk} 01:25, 23 August 2009 (UTC)

Voting re-opened
Voting is now open again. All previous votes have been moved to an archive.

Please cast your vote for only one of the choices. Remember to sign your name with your vote. You may provide a reason with your vote if you like. Both proposed designs incorporate new features implemented by Wikia Entertainment recently, such as Blogs.

Voting will close at 23:59 UTC on August 29, 2009. — RRabbit42 04:53, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Keep the existing Main Page
If you want to keep the Main Page as it is now, cast your vote here.
 * 1) I know its a lost cause, but I see no reason for change.--JOBROSFAN 24  The Jonas Brothers Concert was AWESOME 23:07, 23 August 2009 (UTC)

Ardi's format - collapsible version
If you support Ardi's design, cast your vote here.
 * 1) I perfer Ardi's format better becuase of the way it's textured, designed, and formated. The only problem I have with his sandbox is the naigation part of the main page being in the the middle. Other then that, I think this sandbox main page is better. Phin68   talk to Phin68  18:09, 16 August 2009 (UTC)
 * 2) BigNeerav 01:21, 17 August 2009 (UTC)
 * 3) I prefer this, the main reason being because I made it, although I like it for other reason too, Mainly because I feel that it's easy to use, as BigNeerav has said, although the side by side in Toph's format is good too.—Ardi~(Talk)~( Correspondence ) 01:58, 17 August 2009 (UTC)
 * 4) I like this one better because of pretty much the whole layout, though I wish the news were inside a box like everything else, and it might be good to make the news articles be hidden by default, because they take up a huge space, and there's other, maybe better stuff below, and it could contain spoilers, too. --Zaggy(talk) 13:47, 17 August 2009 (UTC)
 * 5) I like the horizontal Navigation (Around the Wiki) section from Topher's page, but for the rest, Ardi's format gets my vote. — RRabbit42 17:49, 22 August 2009 (UTC)
 * 6) I also agree. Knarrow02 20:03, 23 August 2009 (UTC)

Topher's format
If you support Topher's design, cast your vote here. User:ShelbyPerry I really like this one, I think it will make thigns eaiser to find. The other one is to compact for me, I'm sorry. But this one is better in my opinon. Best of luck on yours, Topher!!
 * 1)  The Flash  {talk} 17:00, 16 August 2009 (UTC)
 * 2)  Perryfan   (TALK)  23:59, 16 August 2009 (UTC)
 * 3) —M a i  02:37, 17 August 2009 (UTC)
 * 4) Lwebdan 16:24, 19 August 2009 (UTC)
 * 5) ""Fadhilpf
 * 6) '''PFI333 17:21, 22 August 2009 (UTC)
 * 7)  "Ferb, I know what we're gonna do today."  - Phineas  Flynn 01:14, 23 August 2009 (UTC)
 * 8) '''-- Kittyfire 01:39, 23 August 2009 (UTC)
 * 9) With a few minor design tweaks (boxes, etc.), the other format would be excellent, too. The only issue I have (other than the aforementioned tweaks) with the other format is that the Featured Article is stuck down at the bottom. How well is it being "featured" if users have to scroll past our news section to get there. Part of the issue is that we've got a lot of content that we want on the page. More content than some of the larger wikis. This is mostly because we're the only resource on the web that is cataloging information from the show, so we want to be as informative as possible and still show off the content we have. —Topher ( Talk ) 20:27, 23 August 2009 (UTC)

Wjxhuang's comment
Hi guys, I've noticed that you guys want a change for the main page. The sandboxes look great, but they could definitely be improved. I just wanted to give a few tips in this regard, and places where the main page on this wiki need improvement. Thanks, and I hope these help. Wjxhuang, the 888th Avatar  {Talk} 02:09, 3 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Content needs to be cut from the main page. The main page is most effective when people can quickly scan for the latest updates without scrolling too much. Two glaring examples are the community news and the "What's new" section.
 * To save space, the episode progression template should be in a column to make it smaller. You can see more that way.
 * The header needs some work. It's more effective for it to stand out, it establishes an "identity" as soon as a new reader steps onto the wiki. The top areas in general should look consistent with the ones further below i.e. all in boxes or none in boxes.
 * Perhaps you can try avoiding using the wider left column and narrower right column. Take advantage of the fact that the wiki doesn't have two ads on the main page (ah, what I would give for that to be the case on Avatar Wiki.
 * Use new boxes for each section, it helps divide the sections and make them stand out.

Perryfan's Comment
I really loved both, but I think Topher's is more organized. Ardi, yours is great, but I'm going with Topher's.  Perryfan   (TALK)  23:59, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

BigNeerav's Commment
This format (Ardi's format) is DEFINITELY easier to use. I think the "Navigation" in the middle is a great idea. I am not sure whether it should be vertical or horizontal. What I don't see here, which is on the "Contents" section, which, in my opinion, is a repeat of what can be found in the different buttons of the "Navigation" section. In addition, many of the members (or even non-members) check the latest news on what is coming up with the show, "Phineas and Ferb", such as previously aired or future episodes, and they don't have to search for the news, which is pretty convenient. In fact, I think that the "News" section is more important, or should have more importance than the "Featured Articles" or "Features Pictures", etc... Overall though, this new format, as proposed by Ardi, will greatly increase user friendliness and will make it easier for people to easily find the information that they are looking for, and also makes the main page less cluttered. I wholeheartedly endorse this page as the future page for "Phineas and Ferb Wikia". BigNeerav 01:18, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Ardi's Comment
I'm glad to see that this forum is being recognized and people are giving reviews about the sandboxes. Also, for Phin68's concern, the navigation was once on the right, but I moved it to the middle, you can check out the history, if you want to see past versions of the page, that's all for now.—Ardi~(Talk)~( Correspondence ) 01:58, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Flash's comment
I supported Toph's mainly for aesthetic reasons - Ardi's is fine, but it gets clumped at the top and a bit...spaced near the bottom, especially in the huge space for the news blogs, which really shouldn't be that huge even if it's one of the most important things there. Toph's seems more spaced, free to move, etc. I like it better. The Flash  {talk} 02:56, 17 August 2009 (UTC)

Response to Zaggy
With just a couple of small updates, both the News and Features sections could be made hidden. I'll look at it later tonight. — RRabbit42 14:53, 17 August 2009 (UTC)
 * Yeah, I know it can easily be done, that's why I suggested it. =D It should, obviously, be made to show the author and title. --Zaggy (talk) 03:18, 19 August 2009 (UTC)
 * Oh, and it might work better to put the borders around the articles themselves, instead of the whole section. --Zaggy (talk) 12:36, 19 August 2009 (UTC)

I've added the link to the collapsible version. — RRabbit42 14:26, 19 August 2009 (UTC)
 * Actually, I meant to put the collapsible things only around the news articles, not the whole sections. --Zaggy (talk) 00:21, 20 August 2009 (UTC)


 * Unfortunately, it's kind of all or nothing. The news and its format is automatically generated from the blogs. We can't have it show the title only and have the hide/show toggle for the body of the blog. We can specify how many characters to show in the body of each blog, and how many blog items to list. We have it currently set for 4 blog items, and 300 characters of the body. — RRabbit42 17:49, 22 August 2009 (UTC)


 * I thought so. --Zaggy (talk) 23:33, 22 August 2009 (UTC)

Pirakafreak24's Comment
I don't see much of a difference between the main page and the two candidates. Except for a few minor details, they are pretty much the same. I'm all for keeping the main page.--JOBROSFAN 24 The Jonas Brothers Concert was AWESOME 23:09, 23 August 2009 (UTC)
 * First off the bat, there's a huge difference between the two in the basic structure, formula, coding, etc. Second, the current main page is in shambles, as most everyone has agreed on, that's why we're changing it. You see, the current set up is clumped a bit, way too long, unorderly, and like I said, long. There's a huge reason why we're doing this and there's actually a huge different between the too. Maybe you should look again? I don't know, just responding to clarify things for you. The Flash  {talk} 23:24, 23 August 2009 (UTC)