Home page should not be a search box, should be https://docs.clearlydefined.io/ instead

[jberkus]

The way it is now

https://clearlydefined.io is the home page and the first search result for "ClearlyDefined". If you then proceed to that page, you see a search box and a bunch of controls, with zero context or detail. If anything, it looks like the website has failed and the visitor is being presented with a javascript debugging console.

This is a terrible experience for visitors wanting to learn about Clearly Defined for the first time; their inevitable conclusion would be that the website has broken down and the organization has shut down.

The way it should be

The content at https://docs.clearlydefined.io/ should be the home page, as it provides a neat introduction to what ClearlyDefined is and who it's for. The present homepage should be relocated to a subpage, such as search.clearlydefined.io.

[bduranc]

+1 for @jberkus 's suggestion.

I'll add my two cents below:

Even though the navbar does have "Get Involved" and "Documentation" options that link to docs.clearlydefined.io, perhaps we can do more to explain what ClearlyDefined is about before users start digging into the data. I do believe the current design of the "Browse" home page is well intended, but I also believe (to some extent) that it prioritizes "familiar" users who already know their way around the project, or who are well-versed enough in the FOSS compliance space that they are comfortable digging right into the data and trying to make sense of it all as they go along.

I agree there is an opportunity here to make the home page more informative and inclusive for those new to the project, and that there are probably countless ways we could accomplish this. But regardless of what method we'd choose, I do think the search-centric and minimalist designs of the existing home page are important aspects we should retain.

I also think the docs.clearlydefined.io site, in it's current form, could be equally as overwhelming to users who are new to the project. So, I am hesitant to point users directly there without considering the below first (the first - a potential alternative):

• Update the home page at clearlydefined.io to have a brief summary of the project, along with a couple large buttons linking to other sub-sites that would appeal to different user ambitions - for example: "Want to learn more? Read the docs to get started." (link to docs site), "Looking to integrate? Access the API." (link to Swagger API docs), "Do you just want to dig into the data?" (this can come right before the existing search form - naturally, users with this ambition will probably just go there).

• Update the home page at docs.clearlydefined.io to have a more minimalistic intro similar to what is described above, with similar quick links to key topics. A larger overhaul should probably be done anyway as the docs site is still using the older UI design (that's another topic deserving of it's own issue). We should also include a "dive right in" option as well, similar or identical to the search form currently found on the clearlydefined.io home page.

As a side note: It would be interesting to know if we have any analytics data to determine how many people "skip" directly to the docs site from the homepage and where they go about from there on. This might help us better understand about how the platform might be used by various users, specifically those who may be "new to the project".

I'd be interested to hear others' thoughts.