[pmwiki-users] It's time to change pmwiki default skin!

[Petko Yotov]

On Wednesday 21 September 2011 00:40:16, Carlos AB wrote :
> Or perhaps  just simply a link from <Menu> to the sidebar page.

Or to a larger page like a site map.

> The idea of not having a sidebar displayed togheter with the current
> page, can look simple, attractive, functional and add the possibility
> to use the same skin for more devices, using css media queries as you
> said.

I think wikis with many groups and pages, with teams of writers may really 
need a sidebar navigation. Even, in some cases, a 3 column skin with 2 
sidebars may be needed, with a top "breadcrumbs" navigation and a bottom 
"trail". :-)

A simplistic skin will suit well smaller sites with a very limited number of 
pages, maintained by a single author.

The default skin with a sidebar is neither too much, nor not enough. It is 
easy to understand (Group sidebar or Site sidebar), it has links to the 
documentation and a link "Edit Sidebar". This principle is not too bad for a 
default installation, and for the pmwiki.org website -- one can use PmWiki for 
tiny and for huge sites.

Again, the skin could adapt for a small screen to a simpler layout.

> The template would be very, very simple and easy to customize, all the
> complexity - that wouldn't be much - would be hidden in the css

If the default (or pmwiki.org) skin is too minimalistic, a visitor who needs a 
larger community or intranet wiki, may not immediately notice that PmWiki can 
do large portals -- and visitors don't stay long on any page (10-30 sec):

  http://www.useit.com/alertbox/page-abandonment-time.html (latest Alertbox)

If the default skin is too complex, a person who just needs a small personal 
wiki may also "zap" to elsewhere.

So, when I wrote that the homepage should be well balanced, it should show 
enough of the potential of PmWiki for a visit of 20 seconds.

> There are good examples out there, such as some of the sites Petko made,
> see: http://notamment.fr/

The PmWiki-driven sites listed there are really small sites with only few 
dozens of pages and 1-2 editors. While they are examples of what PmWiki does, 
they don't even use 1/10 of all PmWiki *can* do. 

Petko