Showcase "Popular apps" first on site

[deusnovus]

I think showcasing Popular apps > Verified apps > Recently updated > Recently added (ideally in that logical order) on the Flathub website would be far more beneficial than its current layout for the following reasons:

1. “Popular apps” is an introductory portal to the best apps Flathub currently offers, ideal for a Linux newcomer’s starting point, as well as for people who know what they’re looking for, after a fresh Linux install or after migrating from Windows / macOS for the first time. Much like any other distribution platform, the most popular apps are showcased at the very top of a website.

2. “Verified apps”, while not necessarily a testament to its organic popularity within the Flathub user community, should be at least recognized for going through the verification process in order to create an established presence in Flathub.

3. “Recently updated” is a useful companion section to the apps that are committed to frequent development and should be showcased as such.

4. Lastly, I believe “Recently added” lacks polish, curation and aim, as it varies between recently updated apps already found in “Recently updated” (thus making the “Recently updated” section redundant), newer apps that have potential but are still rough around the edges, to one-off gimmick apps that no intention of being regularly maintained. I think reworking this category into “New apps” and only featuring new apps would be far more ideal and helpful to up-and-coming developers, but in any case, I don’t think this category belongs to the top.

I think Flathub and flatpaks alike are the definitive medium for software distribution, so I hope my advice can be of use to you! Thank you for reading ~

[razzeee]

1. That would just make the website stale for every user that’s visiting it regularly. So less exciting.

2. We will likely drop verified apps on the frontpage at some point, if most apps are verified / it becomes more of an expected thing.

3. Should rarely overlap. In theory it can happen, but for example right now, they don’t. We have enough updates coming in to not be obvious.

I still think gimmicky apps are exciting and it’s the best way to find out about them. There is a clear reason, app developers have asked us to show up in that section, it’s exposure.

Curation is kind of being worked on, but I would rather not go to the extreme and filter the whole front page.

[deusnovus]

Thank you for reading! While I agree it’s great to give newer apps exposure, burying the “popular apps” category in the middle of the home page is illogical in a literal sense and could possibly deter people who are new to Linux, checking the Flathub home page for the first time after being referred to.

I just thought of something that could join the best of both worlds: three vertical columns with “Popular apps”, “New apps” and “Recently updated”, with a top 10 list sorted by popularity and date, respectively. I created a quick mockup for reference: