User:STei (WMF)/Sandbox/1
Mobile Web Editing: Opportunities for Improvement
[edit]Through our quantitative research, UI reviews, user journey mapping, analysis of successful newcomer behaviors, review of the Community Wishlist and mobile Phabricator reports, and discussions with Wikimania attendees, we identified several key areas for improvement. We welcome your feedback on the ongoing and planned work below.
| Improvement | Changes | Currently Prioritised (November 2025) | Status | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Welcome survey interruption | New users can now finish their first edit before being prompted with the Welcome Survey, improving their initial experience. | Prioritised: T397193 | Completed | Growth |
| Help panel UX | Fixed regressions that broke the Help Panel on mobile; it now functions correctly again. | Prioritised: T399864 | Completed | Growth |
| Exit the Editor | Investigate why newcomers abandon the editing process before making changes. | Prioritised: T403990 | In progress | Movement Insights |
| Deepening Reader Engagement (Reading Lists) | Create clear incentives for Readers to engage and create accounts. | Prioritised: T397532 | In progress | Reader Experience |
| IP Blocks (Temp Accounts) | Introducing temporary accounts to reduce accidental IP blocks for mobile users on shared networks. | Prioritised: temporary_accounts/ | Completed; gradual rollout | Product Safety and Integrity |
| Structured Tasks (Revise Tone) | Helping newcomers get started through guided tasks & edit suggestions. | Prioritised: T396162 | In progress; gradual rollout | Growth |
| Edit Checks | A set of improvements for the visual editor to help new volunteers understand and follow policies and guidelines. | Prioritised: T265163 | In progress; gradual rollout | Editing |
| Improve Logged-out Edit UX | Making the “edit while logged out” warning message less harsh and more encouraging of account creation. | Prioritised: T407497 | In progress | Growth |
| Section Editing Dead-end | Allowing users to easily continue editing beyond the lead section to prevent frustration. | Prioritized: T409112 | In progress | Editing |
Work not yet prioritised (You can give feedback on these opportunities)[edit] | ||||
| VE default on Mobile (enwiki) | English Wikipedia still defaults to Wikitext; switching to VE could significantly improve newcomer success. | Not prioritised | Editing | |
| Account Creation Improvements | Simplifying the account signup process to make it shorter, clearer, and more welcoming. | Not prioritised | Growth | |
| Edit Call-To-Action | Making the edit button clearer and more discoverable on mobile. | Not prioritised | Editing | |
| Improve Icon Clarity | Improving the visual clarity of icons in Visual Editor and Wikitext to reduce confusion. | Not prioritised | Editing | |
| More mobile editing tools in VE | Expanding access to more editing tools (e.g., infoboxes) for mobile users. | Not prioritised | Editing | |
Project Updates
[edit]Mobile Web Editing Insights
[edit]
We recently published part 1 of Insights on mobile web editing on Wikipedia in 2025 on the Diff blog. A summary of key findings follows:
Only 16% of clicks from registered desktop editors using wikitext produce nearly 60% of all visible edits on Wikipedia.
Meanwhile, the mobile web now accounts for the majority of Wikipedia readership but contributes only a small share of edits. This represents a significant untapped opportunity to convert readers into editors.
Data shows that the highest drop-off occurs among mobile web editors. Around 95% of IP mobile users who open the wikitext editor make no changes at all before leaving.
This pattern extends beyond IP editors: even registered mobile users frequently visit the editor without completing an edit.
Additionally, mobile web edits are more likely to be reverted than desktop edits. Even registered editors experience higher reversion rates when contributing on mobile.
In short, mobile is where the people are, but not where the majority of edits are made. The drop-off suggests there is strong potential to engage mobile editors that remains unrealized.
While these findings shed light on key differences in mobile web editing, the reasons for contributor drop-off are still being explored. The Working Group is concluding its research and had recommended next steps to help WMF teams better engage mobile audiences.