Theme Directory UI Update Feedback

[brijeshtejani]

I didn't really know whether to open a ticket for this. But I think I really needed to.

Pulled it from ​https://wordpress.org/support/topic/theme-directory-ui-update-feedback, since no team member or moderator has replied yet. Plus I didn't want to really come here and write this, but the more I came across the new theme directory page the more I felt tempted to just let you guys know that a lot of things have been done wrong, and will impact the UX for folks here very badly.

While all seem to be quite content with the new UI, I am not really happy with it. A lot of things (functionalities or the UX) have been changed without much thought. Let me explain.

1. The author themepage url is missing
2. There should no pop up kind of thing. It adds to load time.
3. The current theme version is missing
4. There should be no scroll (as suggested by jwhittaker99 and BFR)
5. The preview url should directly show the preview and not take to the theme page first
6. Theme preview should be full screen
7. Theme previews should have a unique url for itself
8. When the theme was last updated (now resolved)

2. There should no pop up kind of thing. It adds to load time.

Before:

The old theme page would load in 1 second.

Now:

The new UI has a lightbox pop-up (if I am naming it right) and so, the page takes 1 second to load and that box takes another second to load, which is not at all cool.

3. The current theme version is missing

Before: Oh, that's the current version. Fine. Done.
Now: Go all the way to the download button to check the current theme version. You just added an extra step.

6. Theme preview should be full screen

When I click on preview, it shows the theme preview. But the left sidebar covers 20% (or so) of the screen. I then have to click on the arrow at the bottom. Now comparing this to what it was before:

Aim: Preview a theme

Before:

Step 1: Open the url.
Step 2: Either click on preview or right click and select open in new tab. Easy peasy.

Now:

Step 1: Open the url. Wait (for the pop up box to load).
Step 2: Click on preview.
Step 3: Click on the arrow to see full screen preview.

You just added an extra step, again! Which would not really seem a problem to folks who come here sometimes, but to us, who surf the theme dir everyday, this is not at all cool. You spoiled my UX.

7. Theme previews should have a unique url for itself

I am watching a theme preview right now. When I duplicate this page in my browser (Google Chrome in this case) I don't get the theme preview. I get the theme page instead. Now I need to repeat the steps to see the preview.

Previously I had a link to share. I could easily direct my friends who don't know WP much to a theme's preview url. Now there's no preview url. And I hope you guys aren't going to kill the existing urls (previous wordpress theme preview links on wp-themes.com)

I am sincerely sorry if any of this sounded rude. I am just giving honest feedback.

Unhappy with this update. :(

[Otto42]

Duplicate tickets for most of these items:

• Missing homepage: #908

• "Pop up kind of thing": Not a duplicate, but also not going to change. The entire new directory is API driven. It doesn't generate the page content on the server-side. The popup thing is integral to the design and indeed the basis for it in the first place.

• Missing version: #890

• "should be no scroll" - Infinite scroll may or may not go away at some point, but this is how it is for now. Not really changing it, because core itself uses infinite scroll on theme listings. The design parallels the design of WordPress itself.

• Preview URL: #895

• Theme preview should be full screen: Not a dupe, also not going to happen. The layout mimics the core customizer experience.

• Theme previews should have a unique url for itself: Also #895, more or less

• Last updated: #908

We do hear your feedback, and both me and Konstantin have replied in the thread you linked to and are constantly reading these. You don't need to go to extremes to get our attention.

And making new tickets for problems is perfectly fine, but please make them for specific issues instead of large lists of items, and please search first to see if there's already a ticket for it.

[brijeshtejani]

I am sorry for that. A bit new here. Will take care from now on. Thanks for all your responses Otto. I appreciate them.