Get Started should not be the place to put everything.

[CarlosLopezDeLara]

@katomm @0xBora

I agree the website was a mess and a rework was deeply needed. I'm glad someone finally did it. Thank you!

However, there was a clear reason for having the cardano-node and cardano-cli guides inside "Get Started": Installing the node and using the CLI on a testnet is the most direct path from knowing nothing to understanding the fundamentals.

Also, there were good reasons to have "Get Started" be relatively small: It's just the starting point.

With the current changes, "Get Started" contains everything (almost), so the initial path is gone. And not a single word about cardano-node in "Get Started". A new developer now has to explore the entire website to figure out where to begin. The new structure seems to suggest starting with Mesh, as it's the first option under "Builder Tutorials > SDKs & Libraries."

As much as I like Mesh, I don't think it is the right starting point for foundational knowledge. Developers need to understand at least the basics of the base layer before moving on to abstractions.

I think "Get Started" should be a reasonable first approach. Not everything. So I'd suggest picking whatever you think is the best first approach and put it there. Below that, add a "Next steps", "Now what?" or whatever, where you put everything else.

[0xBora]

Yes, the first entry point into the portal is actually the most important one, and how it should be framed for newcomers & outsiders should be deeply thought out.

cardano-node and cardano-cli are fundamental components of the ecosystem, but the concern is that when we present them as the first step out of the door for a new developer, it does create a barrier to entry. Ideally, we should get people to send a transaction on the Cardano testnet with as little hassle as possible first (using a provider like Koios/Blockfrost and an easy-to-use transaction library to facilitate the interaction), and then show the fundamentals behind what happened for them to want to dive deeper.

I think otherwise a lot of half-interested readers potentially leave at the Get Started section when they realize they need infrastructure to be set up, a CLI tool to understand, and might be under the impression these are the prerequisites or the standard way all developers interact with the network, which is of course not the truth.

So the reason why I mentioned that things are still moving around in the portal restructure is because I believe we should reshape & merge the headers of “Build with Transaction Metadata,” “Discover Native Tokens,” and “Create Smart Contracts” eventually under an umbrella term of something like “Build on Cardano,” where we will also talk about oracles, data querying from the network, indexers, how to build a basic frontend for a dApp, how to have a secure app architecture to present a path for developers looking for information with all encessary components (and their alternatives) they need to build their business/idea/tooling on Cardano.

I think moving builder tutorials which is curretnly present in the get started section in their entirety under the general umbrella term “Build on Cardano” will be logical, to showcase tutorials of different tools one can utilize for whatever they are interested in doing on Cardano. Then a minimal selection out of these tools can be used in the Get Started section to lead people into the portal to learn more.

[CarlosLopezDeLara]

Are there really developers that see a barrier in installing things? I'll trust you. In that case makes sense to save them from that. Still odd that in 22 items under Get-Started there is not a word about cardano-node.

In the structure I had, I took you by the hand and guide you to:

1. Install the node
2. Install CLI
3. Create an address 
4. Query the balance
5. Request funds from the faucet
6. Create a simple transaction
7. Register stake address
8. Delegate

All of the above can be done in less than 30 minutes. Only hands-on stuff, no BS, no long paragraphs to read. I tried to help users not only to achieve something, but understand something at the same time.

With the current layout, the first thing I find is:

Overview
Technical concepts 
- overview
- core blockchain fundamentals
- assets
- consensus & staking
- network & communication 
- governance standards

and only then

Builder tutorials. 
- SDK & libraries
- -Mesh  <- OK THIS IS THE FIRST THING, PERHAPS I SHOULD START HERE
---Overview
--- Get started <- GREAT, FINALLY SOMETHING TO DO

Let's see what it says:

Get Started
There are multiple ways to get started with Mesh:

[Starter Kits](https://developers.cardano.org/docs/get-started/mesh/get-started#starter-kits)
[Guides](https://developers.cardano.org/docs/get-started/mesh/get-started#guides)
Starter Kits
The easiest way to get started with Mesh is to use one of the [Starter Kits](https://github.com/MeshJS/examples). 

follow the links and you get to https://meshjs.dev/guides/nextjs , which is way more complicated than installing CLI and still need to install a bunch of things. And after that, all you have done is connect the wallet. Not sure we are doing new devs a favor with this path. Didn't even save them from installing things.

I do think a section “Build on Cardano” sounds reasonable to have all tutorials from all tools. And yes, a small section for Get Started will be much better that the current one.

[CarlosLopezDeLara]

BTW, the search functionality still picks the old links

Every link in there leads to a "page not found"

[katomm]

I like where we are now with #1675, any opinions?

[rphair]

My apologies for being unable to review #1675 before merge due to heavy travel all this week.

Practically the same issue I posted at length about in #1636 (review) has happened again:

• Air Gap Environment is now under "Educational resources" while in reality it is an operational resource. "Educational" is generally read as "optional" so putting it here is like leaving operators (not just SPOs but all Cardano engineers) alone with the subject.
• Frankenwallet (USB air gap) is now buried back where it was in SPO tools, likely because of the repeated misunderstanding (or another intended move later perhaps?) that it applies only to stake pool operators and not general Cardano devops (building resources securely) as well as the end-user case of securing software wallets with partial Internet access.

Putting their long-time companion page Secure Transaction Workflow under cardano-cli is likely an improvement since anyone going through CLI operations will see it there & then see the link for setting up the essential Air Gap Environment for it; although:

• It may not be early enough in the process, though, for all devs to see it before the install they CLI and start using it on an insecure machine.
• A better choice may be in the "Basic Operations" section but it's been pointed out that not everything can live in the "getting started"-type sections.
• FYI @0xBora that "Basic Operations" section in #1675 has "Get started" on the sidebar menu twice.

Finally, as with previous bouncing around of this material, the prior page links aren't redirecting to their current locations on the site built from #1675 (these pathnames are taken from #1636 (review)). I do believe these pages are standard references for devs, operators and users and so continuity of external references should be preserved:

• /docs/operate-a-stake-pool/security/air-gap
• /docs/operate-a-stake-pool/security/secure-workflow
• /docs/operate-a-stake-pool/frankenwallet

Maybe this material is being kept from the front line because having a higher profile for security procedures might make Cardano appear more difficult (or vulnerable)?

Despite any such risk, in producing & maintaining this material I've tried to ensure it's accessible sooner rather than later so that users in different classes will know it's there before proceeding without it. Hasty devs, operators & users won't know to search for material like this and won't find their way to the leaves on the tree that these key pages have been pushed out to.

In any case I hope @katomm @0xBora the above is enough for you to make a final decision about the classification: since any further insistence about the security material having a higher profile might sound like I'm promoting my own writing.