Firefox/Features/New Tab Page
Status
| New Tab Page | |
| Stage | Landed |
| Status | Complete |
| Release target | Firefox 13 |
| Health | OK |
| Status note | Landed in Fx13. New design has been updated and everyone should download Nightly and test/send feedback when launching a new tab. Great work by the whole team. |
{{#set:Feature name=New Tab Page
|Feature stage=Landed |Feature status=Complete |Feature version=Firefox 13 |Feature health=OK |Feature status note=Landed in Fx13. New design has been updated and everyone should download Nightly and test/send feedback when launching a new tab. Great work by the whole team. }}
Team
| Product manager | Chris Lee |
| Directly Responsible Individual | Chris Lee |
| Lead engineer | Tim Taubert |
| Security lead | ` |
| Privacy lead | ` |
| Localization lead | ` |
| Accessibility lead | ` |
| QA lead | Virgil Dicu |
| UX lead | Jennifer Boriss |
| Product marketing lead | ` |
| Operations lead | ` |
| Additional members | ` |
{{#set:Feature product manager=Chris Lee
|Feature feature manager=Chris Lee |Feature lead engineer=Tim Taubert |Feature security lead=` |Feature privacy lead=` |Feature localization lead=` |Feature accessibility lead=` |Feature qa lead=Virgil Dicu |Feature ux lead=Jennifer Boriss |Feature product marketing lead=` |Feature operations lead=` |Feature additional members=` }}
Open issues/risks
- Performance or memory degradation
Stage 1: Definition
1. Feature overview
Whenever Firefox users open a new tab, their goal is to use it to navigate somewhere. Firefox currently displays a blank page when Firefox users open a new page. This is guaranteed to not help them perform their next task.
We'd like to implement a page which displays on new tabs and helps users complete their next task. This will likely include offering options that are most likely to include the user's next task so that valuable time and steps are saved.
Such a page must meet certain requirements:
- Load instantly
- Not be so distracting as to take users mentally away from their intended task and into an unintended one
- Be useful without any configuration, yet can be easily configured and disabled
- Does not embarrass the user
2. Users & use cases
- Navigating to a location from a new tab page
- Opening a new tab page without being sure of what task to begin
- Making navigation to a site the user has been to before faster
3. Dependencies
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4. Requirements
Phase 1: Minimal Needed for Release
Display:
- Titles of top sites
Customization:
- Ability to remove a particular top site from new tab page
- Ability for user to undo removal of a site from new tab page
- Ability to disable new tab page and restore blank page
Performance:
- No performance impact in browsing session
- Loads instantly
Phase 2: Main Functionality in Place
Customization:
- Ability to reorder displayed top sites
- Ability to modify the titles of top sites
- Ability to to “lock” a site into place
- Ability to add a new site to new tab page
- Ability to replace displayed items with recent bookmarks, recently closed tabs, history, etc
Phase 3: Future
Features:
- Possibly Partial thumbnails of top sites (pending testing)
- Ability to bookmark an item from the new tab page itself
- Sites synced across devices and profiles
- Ability replace sites with tabs from other computers
- Possible ability to add a persona or background image to new tabs
- Ability to navigate sites wholly via keyboard
- Possible display of large icons rather than thumbnails, dependent on wide availability of high-resolution artwork, either provided by sites or generated by us
Spinoffs:
- Similar-but-mobile new tab page on mobile Firefox
Next Steps
- Iterate on prototype in UX branch
- Use feedback from prototype and user research to generate final design
Non-goals
`
Stage 2: Design
5. Functional specification
`
6. User experience design
Stage 3: Planning
7. Implementation plan
`
8. Reviews
Security review
`
Privacy review
`
Localization review
`
Accessibility
`
Quality Assurance review
`
Operations review
`
Stage 4: Development
9. Implementation
`
Stage 5: Release
10. Landing criteria
` {{#set:Feature open issues and risks=* Performance or memory degradation |Feature overview=Whenever Firefox users open a new tab, their goal is to use it to navigate somewhere. Firefox currently displays a blank page when Firefox users open a new page. This is guaranteed to not help them perform their next task.
We'd like to implement a page which displays on new tabs and helps users complete their next task. This will likely include offering options that are most likely to include the user's next task so that valuable time and steps are saved.
Such a page must meet certain requirements:
- Load instantly
- Not be so distracting as to take users mentally away from their intended task and into an unintended one
- Be useful without any configuration, yet can be easily configured and disabled
- Does not embarrass the user
|Feature users and use cases=* Navigating to a location from a new tab page
- Opening a new tab page without being sure of what task to begin
- Making navigation to a site the user has been to before faster
|Feature dependencies=` |Feature requirements===Phase 1: Minimal Needed for Release==
Display:
- Titles of top sites
Customization:
- Ability to remove a particular top site from new tab page
- Ability for user to undo removal of a site from new tab page
- Ability to disable new tab page and restore blank page
Performance:
- No performance impact in browsing session
- Loads instantly
Phase 2: Main Functionality in Place
Customization:
- Ability to reorder displayed top sites
- Ability to modify the titles of top sites
- Ability to to “lock” a site into place
- Ability to add a new site to new tab page
- Ability to replace displayed items with recent bookmarks, recently closed tabs, history, etc
Phase 3: Future
Features:
- Possibly Partial thumbnails of top sites (pending testing)
- Ability to bookmark an item from the new tab page itself
- Sites synced across devices and profiles
- Ability replace sites with tabs from other computers
- Possible ability to add a persona or background image to new tabs
- Ability to navigate sites wholly via keyboard
- Possible display of large icons rather than thumbnails, dependent on wide availability of high-resolution artwork, either provided by sites or generated by us
Spinoffs:
- Similar-but-mobile new tab page on mobile Firefox
Next Steps
- Iterate on prototype in UX branch
- Use feedback from prototype and user research to generate final design
|Feature non-goals=` |Feature functional spec=` |Feature ux design=First iteration spec |Feature implementation plan=` |Feature security review=` |Feature privacy review=` |Feature localization review=` |Feature accessibility review=` |Feature qa review=` |Feature operations review=` |Feature implementation notes=` |Feature landing criteria=` }}
Feature details
| Priority | P1 |
| Rank | 5 |
| Theme / Goal | Discover |
| Roadmap | User Experience |
| Secondary roadmap | Firefox Desktop |
| Feature list | Desktop |
| Project | ` |
| Engineering team | Desktop front-end |
{{#set:Feature priority=P1
|Feature rank=5 |Feature theme=Discover |Feature roadmap=User Experience |Feature secondary roadmap=Firefox Desktop |Feature list=Desktop |Feature project=` |Feature engineering team=Desktop front-end }}
Team status notes
| status | notes | |
| Products | ` | ` |
| Engineering | ` | ` |
| Security | sec-review-unnecessary | ` |
| Privacy | ` | ` |
| Localization | ` | ` |
| Accessibility | ` | ` |
| Quality assurance | Signed-off | Test Plan |
| User experience | ` | ` |
| Product marketing | ` | ` |
| Operations | ` | ` |
{{#set:Feature products status=`
|Feature products notes=` |Feature engineering status=` |Feature engineering notes=` |Feature security status=sec-review-unnecessary |Feature security health=OK |Feature security notes=` |Feature privacy status=` |Feature privacy notes=` |Feature localization status=` |Feature localization notes=` |Feature accessibility status=` |Feature accessibility notes=` |Feature qa status=Signed-off |Feature qa notes=Test Plan |Feature ux status=` |Feature ux notes=` |Feature product marketing status=` |Feature product marketing notes=` |Feature operations status=` |Feature operations notes=` }}