Following the online encyclopedia’s 22nd anniversary last Sunday, the Wikimedia Foundation has redesigned Wikipedia and is currently working to make it available for nearly all available language versions.

The Wikipedia through time

The desktop view redesign is the first major design update in the past 10 years and introduces several feature improvements designed to make Wikipedia content easier to consume, faster to Search, and faster to navigate.

• Improved search function: The search is now much more prominent, placed at the top center of the article view and offers short descriptions and article images as you enter the text. A change that should boost search usage by around 30 percent, as initial tests of the new layout suggest.
• Faster language change: The option to switch between the article languages ​​has been placed more centrally in the new design and should make switching between different country versions of Wikipedia easier. A very useful function, especially for technical terms that you only know in one language.

The new Wikipedia view

• Standard with table of contents: Larger Wikipedia articles now print their table of contents in the top left by default and are intended to speed up navigation to certain article areas.
• The headline remains: If you use Wikipedia with a user account and are logged in, the new design provides permanent access to the so-called search page header, page areas, and other information for instant access.

The previous Wikipedia view

The familiar Wikipedia sidebar is now hidden from the default view and must be manually displayed if desired by clicking the hamburger menu in the top left. The makers emphasize: the new design does not remove any of the previously available functions.