Proposal: Modernizing the OpenJDK.org Website Design & User Experience

[Magnus Ihse Bursie]

On 2025-04-24 23:25, Wojtek wrote:

> I once again ended up on JEP page on my mobile phone and after a 
> acouple of seconds decided it makes absolutely no sense.
>
> Here is what I saw: 
> https://i.ibb.co/chGWvn0g/Screenshot-20250424-231051-Firefox.png

That does not look pretty. :-(


> Every couple of weeks I end up on JEP site and repeat usual cycle: I 
> would like to make the website better/contribute some changes... 
> search for the sources/how the website is build to tinker and tweak it 
> a bit... realise there is none availalbe, give up... this time I went 
> further and actually decided to sign up for the list and figured a way 
> how to replay to older thread…
>
> At any rate - my idea would not be to do complete revolution of the 
> website, structure could/should stay as is but make it a bit 
> friendlier - adjust fonths here and there and make it usable on mobile 
> (dynamically hide menu?). But in order to do that it would be nice to 
> be able to tinker with it/it's build so one wouldn't dab with the 
> stored html file just to realise that any suggestion would be 
> "incompatible" with the upstream…
>
> tl,dr;
> are the sources of the website and build information public?
> would there be openness for improving it and if yes - what would be 
> the steps?
>
Unfortunately, the source code for the web page is not public. :-( And 
on top of that, the web site has not been a top priority for the handful 
of people who have access to changing it.

I think the ideal way forward would be to migrate the web site source 
code to GitHub, and allow anyone to make PRs (which can then be accepted 
or not), just like on the regular source code. However, getting there is 
likely to be a long process, and I not sure even how to get started.

Community feedback such as this that indicates that the current solution 
is no good and needs to be changed is putting weight behind the argument 
that we need to update the web site, and that the community at large can 
assist in doing that, since Oracle JDK developers tend to neither have 
the time nor expertise needed. So I appreciate if, even if I understand 
how frustrating it must seem that nothing happens, and that offers of 
help are not accepted.

/Magnus