Reading/Web/Desktop Improvements/Updates/2021-08 user menu/en

Desktop improvements. A new change!


Within the next couple of weeks, the Wikimedia Foundation Web team will move all links in the user menu (the username,, , , , , ) into a dropdown menu. In the new menu, links will be paired with icons.

This change will make it more intuitive to find and understand the user links. The change is also a step towards the sticky header.

Currently, the user links are not presented cohesively as a unit. They create confusion for newcomers who do not know what the links are associated with. According to our findings, it has been unclear that these are personal rather than site-wide tools. Icons will make it even easier to understand the links.
 * Why we are changing this

In addition to that, currently, the links take a lot of space on the screen. Together with the sidebar, these contribute to a feeling of a cluttered interface.

We are beginning to work on a sticky header. It will be available at the top of the screen all the time. Without a dropdown menu for the user links, the sticky header would be far less useful.

Some gadgets and user scripts might need to be updated or might become redundant or obsolete. We provide support for users who would like to maintain the compatibility.
 * Gadgets' compatibility


 * Let's work together
 * Subscribe to our newsletter to receive regular updates.
 * Share your ideas and ask questions on our talk page.
 * Create a task on Phabricator and add  tag or write to us if you notice a bug.
 * Translate the documentation on MediaWiki.org.