Dear Apache Geode Developer Community, Today marks exactly one year since I sent the original call for volunteers to modernize the Apache Geode website.
While the refreshed website has not yet been published, I wanted to take a moment to recognize and thank everyone who contributed ideas, feedback, code, testing, content improvements, and encouragement throughout the effort. Community initiatives succeed because people generously share their time, experience, and perspective, and I am grateful to everyone who has participated along the way. Although the original modernization effort has not yet reached publication, the work has not been without value. Over the past year, our discussions helped identify limitations in the current website tooling and publishing process. The existing site is still based on technology and design decisions dating back to 2016, and maintaining it has become increasingly challenging. The publishing workflow also creates a higher barrier to contribution than it should for routine content and release updates. More recently, the community has been discussing GEODE-10650, a proposal to migrate the site to the ASF-recommended Pelican publishing workflow. The intent is not to redesign the website, but to establish a simpler, maintainable, and ASF-supported foundation that lowers the barrier to contribution, simplifies publishing, and makes ongoing maintenance easier for both current and future contributors. One week has now passed since the GEODE-10650 discussion was opened. I appreciate the thoughtful feedback that has been shared and the constructive discussion around how best to move the website forward. The conversation raised important questions about preserving and building upon the work already completed by contributors, and I believe those discussions have helped clarify a path that respects both past efforts and future needs. At this point, I am not aware of any unresolved technical concerns with the proposal itself. The next step requires PMC guidance. I would appreciate PMC members reviewing the proposal and identifying any remaining concerns that should be addressed before proceeding. If there are specific technical, process, or project concerns, please raise them on the discussion thread so they can be discussed openly. To help maintain momentum, I would appreciate PMC feedback within the next week. If no additional concerns are identified, I would like to move forward with the Pelican migration proposal as a practical, ASF-supported foundation for future website improvements. To be clear, I do not view the Pelican migration as the final destination for the website. Rather, I view it as an incremental step that addresses the immediate challenge of operating on an aging website platform while establishing a supported and maintainable publishing workflow. If and when the broader website modernization effort is completed, reviewed, and approved by the community, that work can supersede the Pelican-based site. My goal is not to replace prior contributions, but to help ensure the project has a practical path forward today while preserving the ability to build on the significant work that community members have already invested. The broader website refresh remains unfinished, but I believe the project is in a stronger position today than it was a year ago. Establishing a supported publishing workflow is a concrete step the community can take now while continuing to preserve, refine, and build upon the substantial work already completed by contributors. Thank you again for your support of Apache Geode and for the collaborative spirit that continues to make this community successful. Best regards, Jinwoo Hwang (he/him/his) SAS® Research and Development http://JinwooHwang.com<http://jinwoohwang.com/> From: Jinwoo Hwang <[email protected]> Date: Saturday, September 20, 2025 at 12:12 PM To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Subject: Call for Volunteers – Apache Geode Website(https://geode.apache.org) Modernization Initiative Dear Apache Geode Developer Community, While working on the 1.15.2 release, it became increasingly clear that our website could benefit from a refresh. The current design has served us well, but there’s room to improve how we present Apache Geode to the world. To that end, we’re launching a website modernization initiative, and we’re inviting volunteers to help shape this effort. This project will focus on refreshing the color scheme, layout, and overall user experience, while ensuring accessibility, responsiveness, and alignment with modern open-source standards. A Jira ticket has been created to track the project: GEODE-10468 https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/GEODE-10468 Areas where help is needed: * UI/UX design and layout restructuring * Front-end development (HTML/CSS/JS) * Accessibility and performance improvements * Content organization and presentation * Feedback and testing across devices Whether you're a designer, developer, accessibility advocate, or just passionate about making Apache Geode more welcoming to new users, your input will be invaluable. If you're interested in volunteering or have ideas you'd like to share, please reply to this thread or reach out to me directly. Let’s work together to make the Apache Geode website as dynamic and robust as the project itself. Best regards, Jinwoo Hwang (he/him/his) SAS® Research and Development http://JinwooHwang.com<http://jinwoohwang.com/>
