[Haskell-cafe] "Search" vs "search" vs "search"

[haskell at kudling.de]

Hi,

I have some usability issues with the Haskell homepage.
What is the best place to discuss them?


1) "Search" vs "search" vs "search"

The front page has 3 search boxes:

* at the top with the buttons "Go" and "Search"
* the third link on the left called "Search"
* the next link below "Search haskell.org"

What is the difference?
Is it really necessary to have 3 search boxes? Most webpages have only one.


2) "Libraries" vs "Packages"

The front pages says "Find a library" and links to Hackages which lists "packages". To reduce confusion, i think we should settle to the usage of only "packages". Opinions?


3) Haskell frontpage in general

I also would like to discuss a general simplification. The Haskell wiki provides a lot of deep information but the front page is overwhelming.

The Haskell front page offers more than 50 links = choices.

Compare that with
http://rubyonrails.org/ (my favorite)
http://www.ruby-lang.org/
http://www.python.org/ (also a bit laden)

Regarding the rule of 7 we should reduce the information we present on the front page.

Who are our visitors and what do they want?

* Beginners. People who have no clue what Haskell is want to find answers to the following questions
** What is Haskell?
** How does Haskell look and "feel"?
** Why should i care?
** Who else i using Haskell?
** How do i get started?

* Intermediates. People who are getting an idea what Haskell is but want to find out more about it, want to find answers to the following questions
** Where can i read some tutorials?
** Where can i read the API documentation?
** What is going on in the Haskell comunity?

* Experts. People who know a lot about Haskell, but come back here, because they want to find answers to the following questions
** What is going on in the Haskell comunity?
** Where can i read about Haskell's future?

I'd propose something like the following grouping:

* About Haskell
** What is Haskell?
** How does Haskell feels like?
** Haskell success stories
** Getting Started
*** Installation guide
*** First steps guides

* Download

* Documentation
** Tutorials
** How to install packages via Cabal/Hackages
** API documentation
*** Static pages
*** Hoogle
** Community
*** Blogs
*** Events
*** Projects

* News

See also
http://www.haskell.org/haskellwiki/Talk:Haskell

bye,
lenny