Enhancing the OCaml.org Community Page: Boosting UX and UI Based on User Research

In March, the OCaml.org team at Tarides embarked on a mission to enhance the OCaml.org community pages. After engaging with the OCaml community, we identified several areas for improvement. Our goal was to boost the community's usability and visibility, ensuring it supported a wider audience and promoted more active engagement.

The OCaml community covers various domains, helping the language grow and supporting developers in their careers. To better serve our users, we decided to redesign the community area's concept pages. We conducted surveys, online discussions, and video calls to gather feedback and insights for this project.

Our redesign targets key UX priorities. The navigation has been reorganised for easy content access, and the landing page now highlights essential community features. Additionally, we have revamped other pages, including events and job listings, to enhance engagement and activation within the OCaml community.

Navigation

Consistency is a fundamental aspect of our navigation design. As discussed in a previous post, we have implemented a main navigation bar that provides subnavigation options for user consistency. This approach allows users to easily access events, blogs, job resources, and more with a single click, avoiding the need to scroll through a lengthy landing page with too many options.

For experienced users, this streamlined navigation meets their clear objectives when visiting the community area. Beginners, on the other hand, can benefit from an overview of what OCaml.org offers with highlighted subsections that showcase real-life community activities. This intuitive navigation ensures all users, whether newcomers or advanced users, can find what they need efficiently and effectively.

By focussing on these improvements, we aim to create a more engaging and user-friendly community page that supports the growth and development of the OCaml community.

Landing Page

We rearranged the landing page to retain important key elements from the current design, such as the community channel. We reorganised the rest of the page and added new features to boost user engagement and provide valuable resources.

Key Updates

• Social Media Channels: The existing list of social media channels remains a focal point due to its critical role in user interaction and collaboration.

• Upcoming Events: We introduced a section for upcoming events, encouraging users to participate in retreats, conferences, and meetups. This addition aims to foster greater community involvement and real-world interaction.

• Job Opportunities and Resources: Featuring job listings, internships, and essential documents for newcomers helps users find career opportunities and resources to aid their professional development.

• Code of Conduct: We prominently displayed the community's code of conduct to remind users of the importance of respect and quality. This ensures a positive and collaborative environment, emphasising that the community is built by and for its members.

By implementing these changes, our goal is to create a more engaging, informative, and user-friendly landing page that supports the OCaml community's growth and development.

Inner Pages

Behind the community landing page, we've enriched the content with more detailed offerings to enhance user engagement and information accessibility.

The Events page now lists all upcoming events, which users can filter by location and event type. Additionally, it features recurring events that happen at least once a year in various locations, bringing the global community together and fostering real-life interactions and discussions.

The Job Board page is a valuable resource for newcomers, showcasing the types of companies that use OCaml. Job offers are displayed by location, making it easy for users to find relevant opportunities. Companies can also add their job offers to the board, promoting their roles and increasing visibility within the OCaml community.

The Outreachy Program section highlights real-life collaboration opportunities for newcomers, helping them discover and engage with the OCaml language. We maintain a record of past internships, offering resources and blog posts that can capture the interest of specific users. This provides valuable insights and inspiration for those looking to get involved.

The OCaml Conferences and Workshops pages showcase both upcoming and past conferences and workshops, providing a comprehensive record that includes valuable documentation such as videos and slides. Speakers can submit talks, and all sessions are recorded and made accessible anytime, which makes this page an excellent resource for deep diving into specific subjects. This extensive archive allows developers to learn from expert discussions and presentations to enhance their knowledge and engagement with the OCaml community.

The Resources section on the community page is a new addition. It serves as a comprehensive directory of OCaml tools and resources created by the community. This section is designed to help users easily find and access a wide range of resources that include learning resources such as OCamlverse, Learn OCaml, and materials from workshops and lectures. You will also find utilities like Sherlodoc / Sherlocode that allow you to search opam-repository and more. This page highlights the collaborative efforts of the OCaml community, making it an essential stop for both new and experienced developers looking to enhance their projects and deepen their understanding of OCaml.

By revising these pages, we hope to provide a more informative and engaging experience for all users, from experienced developers to newcomers exploring the OCaml community.