Just curious about the thinking behind “Latest” being default home page? Is it well established that this increases engagement? I would have thought people would be coming to the forum looking for something in particular, and therefore “Categories” would be more useful. Do the majority or Discourse forums use “Latest” for home page?
I quite like “Categories” because it shows “Latest” as well. However, it shows “Categories” on left column and “Latest” on right, which is annoying because on mobile I’d rather users see “Latest” first. Is there a way to swap the two around, and show “Latest” on the left and “Categories” on the right?
Hey Marty,
It really depends on the type and the maturity of the community. In a well established community of practice or interest it makes sense to have Latest as the homepage because people can browse through topics quickly and easily. Latest is also good for engagement – people see the newest content each time they visit.
In a new or quiet community that’s not ideal because very little content isn’t appealing. In a support community where people need to find product specific information quickly, a category homepage may make more sense.
Generally I’d go with latest because when someone arrives at your site, it makes more sense to show them what is interesting and popular, than to present them with an immediate list of choices requiring further drill-down.