Skip to content

PLAN-IMPROVEMENTS.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
261 lines (175 loc) · 10.5 KB

PLAN-IMPROVEMENTS.md

File metadata and controls

261 lines (175 loc) · 10.5 KB

QuantEcon Website Maintenance Plan

This document outlines maintenance items and improvements identified during a comprehensive review of the QuantEcon website (December 2024).

Table of Contents

  1. Critical Issues
  2. Outdated Content
  3. Dead Links & References
  4. Unused/Archive Candidates
  5. Configuration Improvements
  6. Content Updates Needed
  7. Technical Debt
  8. Suggested New Content

Critical Issues

1. Dead Discourse Forum References

Priority: HIGH ✅ COMPLETED

The Discourse forum (discourse.quantecon.org) was closed in March 2025 (per 2025-03-17-discourse-closure.md), but references still exist in:

Action: Remove or replace all Discourse references with alternative contact methods (email, GitHub Discussions, etc.) DONE

2. Outdated RSE Visitor Application Form

Priority: MEDIUM ✅ COMPLETED

Action: Verify if this page is still needed. If redirect is working, the full form can be removed. DONE

Outdated Content

Workshop Pages (Historical) ✅ UPDATED - Linked to GitHub repos

Updated workshops.md to link directly to GitHub repositories instead of individual pages. These individual workshop pages are now orphaned from main navigation but still accessible via old blog posts and external links:

Changes made:

  • workshops.md now links to GitHub repos instead of local pages
  • Harmonized link format (all say "GitHub repository")
  • Removed redundant "Workshop page" + "GitHub repository" dual links

Future consideration: Could add redirects from old pages to GitHub repos, or delete pages not referenced elsewhere.

Outdated Developer/Wiki Pages

Action: Review and update developer documentation to reflect current practices.

Potentially Outdated About Pages

Dead Links & References

External Links to Verify

  • http://notes.quantecon.org/ - Referenced in menubar CLOSED Feb 2025. Menubar updated to GitHub notebook-gallery
  • http://blog.quantecon.org/ - Referenced in menubar Redirects to Medium. Menubar updated to direct Medium link
  • http://cheatsheets.quantecon.org/ - ✅ WORKING
  • http://store.quantecon.org/ - ✅ Redirects to quantecon.org/store (working)
  • https://jupinx.quantecon.org/ - Historical (Jupinx replaced by Jupyter Book) REMOVED from menubar, marked as historical in infrastructure.html

Internal Navigation Issues

  • pages/nb-contrib.md - References /notebooks page UPDATED to point to notebook-gallery
  • Menubar had "NB Library" link to broken quantecon.org/notebooks - REMOVED, kept only Notebook Gallery link

Unused/Archive Candidates

Archive Folder Review

The /archive folder contains old versions of pages:

  • archive/datascience.md
  • archive/julia.md
  • archive/lectures.md
  • archive/projects.html (commented out content)
  • archive/python.md

Action: These appear to be properly archived. No action needed unless cleaning up git history.

Pages That May Be Redundant

Configuration Improvements

_config.yml Issues ✅ COMPLETED

  • repository: field is empty - should be set to QuantEcon/website
  • Collections news: is defined but _news/ folder doesn't exist (posts are in _posts/) - REMOVED
  • Defaults section has malformed YAML (missing scope dash before second scope) - FIXED

Gemfile Considerations ✅ COMPLETED

  • Jekyll version 4.2.2 is from 2022 - consider updating to latest 4.x (out of scope for this cleanup)
  • Several plugins are commented out (seo-tag, github-pages) - clean up or enable CLEANED UP unused comments

Content Updates Needed

Team Members

Review _team-members/ for:

  • Current roles and positions
  • Active vs former team members
  • Updated photos and links

Current team members listed: 30 profiles

Lecture Series Descriptions

Projects Collection

News Posts Review

Very old posts (2014-2016) reference outdated software versions and practices:

  • Python 3.5, Julia pre-1.0
  • Google Groups (migrated to Discourse, now closed)
  • Old website URLs

Action: Consider adding a "historical" note to old posts, or display them differently.

Technical Debt

CSS/SCSS Cleanup ✅ VERIFIED

  • Review assets/sass/ for unused styles - ALL STYLES USED
  • _misc.scss and _timeline.scss - verified all styles are actively used

JavaScript Review ✅ VERIFIED

  • assets/js/main.js - Single JS file, all code is actively used (preloader, AOS, Swiper, navigation)

Image Assets ✅ CLEANED

Removed unused images:

  • test-qe.png - test file removed
  • qe-logo-discourse.png - Discourse-specific logo removed
  • project-notes.png - notes.quantecon.org discontinued
  • project-notebooks.png - notebooks page discontinued
  • timeline/1.png, 2.png, 3.png, 4.png - unused placeholders removed

Remaining unused images kept for potential future use:

  • Logo variants (qe-logo-*.png) - may be used externally
  • Alternative sponsor logos - may be needed for print/different contexts
  • lectures-*.png variants - may be used in external references

HTML in Markdown Files ✅ REVIEWED

Several pages use raw HTML in markdown files:

Status: No action needed - HTML in markdown is acceptable for complex layouts

Suggested New Content

Missing Pages

  • Privacy Policy - No privacy.md found
  • Terms of Service - No terms.md found
  • Accessibility Statement - Good practice for educational sites

Documentation Gaps

  • How to cite QuantEcon - Currently in about.md but could be expanded
  • FAQ page - Common questions about the project
  • Getting Started Guide - For new users of QuantEcon resources

Content Refresh

  • Update homepage sponsor section if new sponsors exist
  • Add recent accomplishments/milestones
  • Consider a "What's New" summary section

Implementation Priority

Phase 1: Critical Fixes (Do First)

  1. Remove/update Discourse forum references
  2. Fix _config.yml YAML issues
  3. Verify all external links work

Phase 2: Content Cleanup

  1. Archive historical workshop pages
  2. Update developer documentation
  3. Review team member listings

Phase 3: Technical Improvements

  1. Audit and clean up image assets
  2. Review CSS for unused styles
  3. Update Jekyll and dependencies

Phase 4: Enhancements

  1. Add privacy/terms pages
  2. Create FAQ page
  3. Improve contributor documentation

Notes

  • The .github/copilot-instructions.md is already set up and comprehensive
  • Site builds quickly (~1-2 seconds)
  • Overall structure is clean and well-organized
  • Main concern is outdated content and dead references to discontinued services

Document created: December 2025 Last reviewed: December 2025