Wikipedia gets new features in first desktop update after a decade

Wikipedia, the most popular free encyclopaedia in the world, has been updated. The foundation behind Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects, Wikimedia, unveiled on Wednesday the first significant upgrade to its desktop interface in a decade. The new desktop interface is available at a time when English Wikipedia is celebrating its 22nd anniversary.

The new and improved interface places an emphasis on usability and ease of knowledge sharing. The most recent update has been made available on English Wikipedia, and the platform says that 94% of the 318 language versions of the portal are working for all desktop users.

The new desktop interface, according to Wikimedia, was created to meet the needs of the next generation of internet users. The platform's primary focus has been on making it simple and accessible to everyone, regardless of their previous experience with the internet. The new update was developed after consulting with volunteer editors and readers of Wikipedia.


According to Selena Deckelmann, Chief Product and Technology Officer at the Wikimedia Foundation, "These features were created with feedback from readers and volunteers from all over the world with the goal of meeting the needs of our increasingly diverse audience while maintaining the simple and straightforward feel that millions of people have come to trust over the course of the last 22 years."

What is new?

1. A new search experience that combines images and descriptions will now be available to users, making it simpler for them to locate articles on the platform.

2. To assist editors and readers, who speak more than one language, the platform has increased the prominence of language-switching tools. More than 300 languages are available, and users can quickly access their preferred language.

3. Additionally, users will receive an updated sticky header that has links to search, the page name, and sections that will move as they scroll. The modification has been incorporated into the portal to reduce scrolling fatigue.

4. A table of contents that lets readers know where they are in the article and gives them a sense of its context.

FAQs:

1. Which company runs Wikipedia?
   The Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organisation based in the United States that is primarily supported by donations, hosts it.
2. Is Wikipedia truly accurate?
   Although many of the entries are well-documented, checked for quality, and frequently up-to-date, the online encyclopaedia is not 100% reliable twenty years after it was created because information can be manipulated, sometimes almost undetectably.