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PHP 8.5 Release Page Design Contest Submission #1534
Description
Names and Contact Details
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanna-stelmakh/
Link to mockup/prototype
Rationale (300-600 words)
Prototypes
Screenshots
Rationale
General Concept
The design follows a documentation-first approach, characterized by a calm visual hierarchy and a clean, lightweight layout. The goal is not visual decoration, but focus on creating an interface that helps users concentrate on what truly matters: the content. Visually, the proposed layout stays on brand, maintaining existing colors and typography with a few subtle enhancements to improve legibility and balance.
Since the existing release page already has a defined structure, the focus is placed on refinement rather than reinvention. Section names, titles, and descriptions were simplified and shortened to improve precision and scanability.
Release page organized into 3 main sections:
- "Core Features" - the centerpiece of the release, highlighting major updates and new functionality.
- "Other Changes" - a concise summary of minor, incremental updates.
- "Version Warnings" - emphasizing backward-incompatible changes and deprecations.
To improve orientation and navigation, a section-based navigation was introduced.
Mobile-First Approach
Design was built with a mobile-first mindset, ensuring the experience on smaller screens remains intuitive, readable, and focused on essential information.
Special attention was given to how “Core Features” are presented, optimizing both content flow and interaction patterns for compact displays, especially with code snippets.
Core Feature Look
The core feature section was refined to make exploration faster and more intuitive. The content order was adjusted so that the feature description appears before the code block, allowing users to understand the concept before seeing it in action. This mirrors a natural learning flow - concept first, example second - improving comprehension and reducing cognitive effort.
The code view now supports three interactive modes for easy comparison: "Before", "Compare" and "PHP 8.5". These modes allow users to select and display their preferred view of the code.
For lengthy lines of code, horizontal scrolling substituting line wrapping. This preserves indentation and structure essential for understanding code logic. Developers rely on alignment and spacing, so this choice keeps the reading experience natural and familiar.
Other Changes and Version Warnings
The "Other Changes" section is designed as a lightweight, easily scannable list, enabling users to browse smaller updates efficiently without visual distractions.
The "Version Warnings" section incorporates a BC badge (backward compatibility break) as an immediate visual cue. This familiar abbreviation helps developers recognize potential breaks on version upgrade.
Credits
License
- I confirm, and agree.
Activity
gyaaniguy commentedon Oct 24, 2025
This is really good !
curruwilla commentedon Oct 27, 2025
Wow, congratulations! I looked through all the designs, and yours is the most viable in my opinion. You managed to keep the site’s overall style while modernizing only the release page without changing too much of the php.net design concept. All the others went for a complete redesign. Unfortunately, some get a lot of positive votes just because of the social media following their creators have, but yours is truly excellent and deserves to be the new page.
hastelmakh commentedon Oct 27, 2025
@curruwilla thank you for your kind words and support. I really appreciate it 🙏
pronskiy commentedon Nov 6, 2025
Thank you for the submission. Results are now published. Your entry made it to the top two! You are very welcome to join the implementation process #1592. Closing this thread as part of post-contest housekeeping.
hadi-heydarzade89 commentedon Nov 9, 2025
This design is the best.