Docs: identifying and solving UX problems with GitLab Pages (docs only)

Problem to solve

Improve UX for GitLab Pages (based on the docs only, not on the UI).

Further details

  • 1st problem: the user lands on the documentation from the UI, landing on GL's /help. The illustration doesn't render properly, leading to misinterpretation. Solutions:
      1. (doable by docs-only): replace the getting started illustration with smt more informative, like a workflow.
      1. (not doable by docs-only): get rid of /help.
    • Done by !19585 (merged)
  • 2nd problem: the user is trying to deploy an existing website. There's been quite a lot of back-and-forth in the last few years, based on the feedback from multiple people. Some want us to prioritize new sites, others, existing sites. Solution: from the Pages' landing index page, target all the main audiences:
    • Those who want to start a new website from scratch with Pages
    • Those who want to deploy an existing website
    • Both were already documented, but the wording was misleading. Both were referenced as "create a website from scratch", while the user could either start from scratch and upload an existing site.
    • Done by !19436 (merged).

Proposal

  • Improve the docs:
    • Simplify getting started
    • Split docs for better reading flow
    • Remove any redundancies
  • Improve the illustration to show all the different options.

Who can address the issue

@marcia

Other links/references

Edited by Marcia Ramos