[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #23119: UX Improvements to nav-menus.php

[WordPress Trac]

#23119: UX Improvements to nav-menus.php
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 Reporter:  lessbloat                          |       Owner:
     Type:  enhancement                        |      Status:  new
 Priority:  normal                             |   Milestone:  3.6
Component:  Menus                              |     Version:
 Severity:  normal                             |  Resolution:
 Keywords:  has-patch needs-testing 3.6-menus  |
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Comment (by DrewAPicture):

 I also took some time over the weekend to sort of hone in on what exactly
 the problem is that we're solving. Having not watched the initial tests, I
 came to the conclusion that we're really trying to relieve two main pain
 points:

 * Managing multiple menus in an easily discoverable way
 * Cramming the workflow into a single screen

 At the devchat last week, @nacin made a pretty valid point that the
 proposed two-tab workflow feels "heavy". I think that if we step back a
 little bit at look at both the pain points we're trying to address and the
 ideas we've come up with thus far, we can take it from a new, educated
 approach.

 If you look at, for instance, the way @lessbloat was able to direct the
 focus on the "New Menu" screen by using an overlay to disable anything but
 the new menu creation form, that's something that works really well to
 promote visual hierarchy.

 What if we do something like this:

 '''Menus overall workflow''':

 * Return to the original idea of a single-screen menus workflow

 '''Menu location metabox & multiple menu management''':

 * Move the idea of assigning a menu to a location into the menu editor
 itself, therefore tying it more to the workflow of, "I'm editing this
 menu, I want it to be used in 'this place'"
 * Drop using the tabbed navigation system for switching between menus. In
 my experience, users seem confused by this most of the time.
 * Leverage the "location" metabox/area to instead act as the primary
 launchpad for toggling between menus and use the overlay effect to
 highlight this area when you first hit the page.

 I can do a mockup of this once I get to the airport but that's the gist of
 it. It's the equivalent of a UI refresh but not a complete overhaul.

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Ticket URL: <http://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/23119#comment:125>
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