Open VSX webui needs a fresh look

[gnugomez]

Open VSX has reached the incredible milestone of version 1.0.0. Now is an opportune time to consider its future and provide a new UX/UI design.

The current design appears dated, reflecting 2018’s aesthetics. Open VSX has evolved significantly with numerous features added, but https://open-vsx.org currently feels cramped and lacks sufficient space.

Several key issues I have identified:

• The infinite scroll home page necessitates the use of a sticky footer, which is inconvenient and doesn’t provide adequate space for other information.
• The existing UI lacks fundamental functionality as a global search tool [ux] Add a search box to every page #299 .
• There’s limited space for additional information to assist the community in finding relevant information.
• The overall UI design appears outdated.

My recommendations include:

• Implementing a search bar similar to that found at https://npmx.dev.
• Creating a non-infinite scroll home page with single-row sections, mirroring the structure of the official Microsoft Marketplace and allowing us to better utilise the home view.
• Moving the current home search and list of extensions to a new /browse page.
• Modifying global styles by rounding buttons and increasing padding to modernize the UI.
• Move many of the menu items from the the nav bar, where they belong, to the footer.
• Make the registry more keyboard-friendly

[gnugomez]

Here's a UX/UI design illustrating the proposal

`/`

`/browse`