I've been browsing in Web 2.0 Wikiland. Of all the communication formats I've encountered on the Web, wikis are the most difficult to navigate. I have found that most, but not all, wikis are very poorly organized; with what appears to be little attention given to design and screen layout. It’s like the the person who designs the wiki site is just following their personal stream of consciousness to organize. You know . . . they put in one category, their cell phone rings, and by the time they get back to the wiki, they forgot where they were. Then they remember something else that needs to be added; and wherever it's convenient to place it on the screen is where it stays. Oh my gosh! Some wikis don’t even have a content list, or primary tool bar at the top of the screen. What's the hurry? They need to slow down long enough to organize the site! What are they thinking!?
I could give you some examples, but I'd rather provide examples of well-designed wiki sites. I think that the State of California Best Practices wiki does a good job of organizing their site. All the navigation and resource page links are to the left, and their main seven subject areas sections are prominently displayed on the main content area of the main page. Then once you are on the secondary pages there are bread crumbs to help you find your way back through the levels to the main page.
My second example of a well designed wiki is wikiHow. In addition to having a nicely organized and clean look, it is also very entertaining. It is worth a look.
I spent a very long time looking for other good examples, but this is all I could come up with. Help me, have you seen any well designed public wikis? I'm not talking about popular wikis, I'm talking about good visual design and well thought out organization.
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