Proposal: Update and refresh the documentation website (materialdesigninxaml.net)
Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe. Yes, the current documentation website, https://materialdesigninxaml.net/, appears to be significantly outdated. As a developer using the library, this creates several challenges:
- It doesn't showcase many of the new controls, features, and packages that have been added in recent versions.
- This can lead to confusion, as users might not be aware of the full capabilities of the toolkit and may spend time trying to create solutions that already exist.
- New users may have a difficult time getting started, as the information they find on the official site doesn't align with the latest NuGet packages and best practices.
- It can give the incorrect impression that the project is not actively maintained, which is far from the truth given the great work done in the repository.
Describe the solution you'd like I propose a comprehensive update to the website to bring it in line with the current state of the library. This would ideally include:
- Updating the "Getting Started" guide to reflect the latest installation and setup procedures.
- Adding documentation and live demos for newer controls and features that are currently missing.
- Updating information about the available NuGet packages (like the color tool, transitions, etc.) and their specific functionalities.
- Ensuring all code snippets and examples are up-to-date with the latest API and best practices.
Describe alternatives you've considered The main alternative is for users to rely solely on the GitHub repository, the Wiki, and release notes to understand new features. While this is possible for experienced users, it presents a high barrier to entry for newcomers and is less efficient than having a centralized, user-friendly documentation site that serves as the project's "front door".
Additional context First of all, thank you for this fantastic library! It's an invaluable tool for WPF developers. An updated website would greatly improve the user experience, help with adoption, and better showcase the incredible progress the project has made. I believe this would be a significant enhancement for the entire community.
@CassioJhones every release comes with a demo app which showcases the breath of what is possible with this library. But I totally agree with you, having a website lowers the barrier to entry for newcomers.
I think the current website is open source, but nobody has bothered to keep it up to date. In my opinion - if we were to build up proper docs - we should go with documentation tools like Docusaurus. Docusaurus can even be hosted on github pages as far as I know.
The page is not working. You'll get redirected to another page (not related to this project)
@jcvegan When this issue was opened (2 days ago) the website was still up and running. I don't know if the current maintainer (@Keboo) or the original author have done anything to it?
Unfortunately, the web site deployment and domain are owned by the original author. So keeping it updated is not really possible. In the past we have investigated migrating over to something like a GitHub pages. At some point we probably want to just make sure we have removed references to the web site, as out of date docs are almost worse than none at all.
I agree that documentation is sorely needed for this project (ideally in the form of a website). The path forward might have to involve a new website, since @Keboo mentioned no longer having access to the one currently advertised.
I would enjoy contributing to new docs :)