Wp-calypso: Editor: Remove Distractions

[apeatling]

Some of the feedback we've received in user interviews has indicated that folks are still writing in wp-admin because we do not have a distraction free mode.

A chunk of this distraction comes from the masterbar, and almost certainly the notifications menu:

For a first iteration, I think we could actually hide the masterbar on the posting screen. We still have top level navigation in the form of the back button in the top left:

When you hit that back button you go back to the main Calypso navigation with the sidebar on the left, and the masterbar on the top.

[folletto]

Some of the feedback we've received in user interviews has indicated that folks are still writing in wp-admin because we do not have a distraction free mode.

I'm curious: did they know they could close the sidebar?

A chunk of this distraction comes from the masterbar, and almost certainly the notifications menu:

Is this a hypothesis, or one of the issues mentioned?

[lsinger]

We've heard this in user tests as well. People loved it, even though it wasn't the focus of the tests. @shaunandrews has done some design work in that direction already.

[apeatling]

I'm curious: did they know they could close the sidebar?

I don't know, I don't think so. To be totally honest, I didn't realize you could close it either.

Is this a hypothesis, or one of the issues mentioned?

It's a hypothesis, but also based on my own usage. That orange dot is hard to resist. ;)

[mtias]

It's a hypothesis, but also based on my own usage. That orange dot is hard to resist. ;)

The orange dot is also likely to be less pervasive for the vast majority of users.

[mtias]

Another big drawback for me is losing access to quick drafts from the editor.

[lsinger]

Unrelated to Andy's experiences: I think three of our recent six interviewees / user test participants mentioned that they liked how simple and distraction-free it was. We tested something else, however, and never asked them about it (we tested a few navigational ideas, e.g. changing how the "W" / "My Sites" button works). It jumped out at them (positively) so much that they told us without us asking them about it at all.

This is the editor we showed them:

[lsinger]

For if / when we decide to reopen this, the issue that came up in #20214 was that the preview had a top: 47px to account for the masterbar being there. It looked weird because the editor behind it had removed that top and was now not hidden anymore.

[mattmiklic]

For a first iteration, I think we could actually hide the masterbar on the posting screen. We still have top level navigation in the form of the back button in the top left:

For what it's worth, this idea would align Calypso with our native apps. On both iOS and Android, the editor is a full-screen modal where the top-level navigation is not visible.

[mattmiklic]

By the way; we're doing some work on how to make the native editor minimizable to balance between being distraction-free and allowing the user to switch back to another part of the app if they need to. Ref: p77Llu-9uA-p2.

[lancewillett]

Closed with 3401e45.

[gemmagarner]

Passing on a Twitter request for a minimal editor with even fewer distractions (no right sidebar).

[lsinger]

no right sidebar

FWIW, the cog wheel in the top right lets one hide the right sidebar.