Homepage: Design and content

[marcuspollio]

We need a very neat homepage!

Let's get those paintbrushes out!

• What is on the top hero, what is on the content part?
• Blocks structure, columns, frames, how many and what content in each?
• Texts, illustrations, screenshots, photos, animations, videos, galleries, etc?

See the website documentation to get started.

[marcuspollio]

@yorikvanhavre @FreeCAD/design-working-group @FreeCAD/cad-working-group

Hi everyone,

Let's make a great new homepage!
Currently, it is blank. We just need a simple yet great concept, what to present, how to do it, etc.

For the Homepage, I would suggest the content to be quite to the point: introduce and showcase briefly the FreeCAD project as a whole.
Then lead to other more detailed (e.g. Features, News, Community, Docs) or action-focused pages (e.g. Download, Donate).
We could have animations but keep in mind it is probably the first page visitors land onto, so it should stay light and fast to load.

Some not-too-ugly FOSS or CAD references (random and debatable, admittedly):

• Blender
• Godot
• QGIS
• Penpot
• Natron
• Audacity
• Solidworks
• Catia
• Creo
• NX
• Alibre
• Onshape
• Revit
• ArchiCAD

What do you think?
Have a good one.

[Reqrefusion]

Due to the evolution of the human eye, there are 20 times more motion-sensing cells in our eyes than the cells that perceive colors. So movement is very important in the design of something like this, I think. I think this is very noticeable on FOSS sites, but it is possible to see it on every commercial site. This is also used in some way on the current site. I think this is an approach that should be included in the new site.

[marcuspollio]

an approach that should be included in the new site.

Hi! How do you suggest it is integrated? Do you have concrete examples or links in mind to explore it further?

[Reqrefusion]

Hi! How do you suggest it is integrated? Do you have concrete examples or links in mind to explore it further?

I tried to do what I had in mind on the current site. I think it would be more revealing for you to look at them than for me to tell you something.

[Creymore]

Hello,
I had a fun idea.
So to present the modelling capabilities a parametric model is build in the background or in a picture frame. The model changes every time and is picked from a pool.
After the model is made a parmeter is changed and the model just Updates.
This would be awesome.

Edit:
So this would also apply to Assemblies.
A small Assembly coming together in a sadesfing way. Everything clicks, then it moves and does an update after a Parameter change is shown.

[Creymore]

Should the FreeCAD website also promote the lens server and lens addon ?

[marcuspollio]

Hi @Creymore and @Reqrefusion

Thanks for your interest in the website.

I am not sure I exactly get what you mean. Do you suggest to create an illustration for the homepage (e.g. as the top hero cover) that shows the different phases of a parametric model (Sketch, Part, Assembly, CAM, FEM, TechDraw, etc) like the current one but possibility animated?
Do you have some references we could look at?
I have recently improved the support for SVG files as content resources in the theme code, so we can now better take advantage of their features (e.g. styling, subtle animations, etc).

As for Lens, I guess so. Maybe @pieterhijma, @amrit3701, and @prokoudine can help for that?
What kind of info about Lens should be displayed, where to put that (e.g. general features, in addons, community, etc)?

FYI a website meeting is planned for next Tuesday, 14th July 6pm CEST (see the FreeCAD calendar for your local timezone). Everyone is welcome. See the agenda.