Would it be possible in a future release to install two distinct rows of Menu Tabs at the top in order to really show between 20 and 26 of the installed active options?  Somehow it just makes it appear as if there are only 10-12 active options when in fact there are really about 26 for a fully configured system.  That [+] sign which expands upon clicking to show the other 15-16 options should maybe have an option to always display the other items vertically and pre-expanded or as an alternative insert a second row of horizontal Menu Tabs right below the first horizontal row.  The way it works now most users would never think to click the [+] sign and expect to find more options in a vertical displays than already exist in the horizontal displays.   This tends to minimize the complexity and the power of the system and unfairly depicts Wiccle as a limited functionality CMS with Community Builder options matching some of the other dynamic CMS and Community products out there.  Just a thought.

Yes, that's certainly possible, and it's also possible to do this without too much headache in the current 1.0.1 build of Wiccle Web Builder by simple template and CSS modifications. Here are some pointers and examples for you.

First of all, remember that the menu HTML is cached. If you are working on a menu, include &reload=1 at the end of the page URL to regenerate the menu HTML on each new pageload. (If you edit the menu in templates or Admin CP — CSS files aren't affected by this.)

Main Menu + extra modules open by default

All menu-related template snippets are located in /templates/crystal/skin_menu.php, and the corresponding CSS styles are in /css/menus.css.

In the template file, find $skin['main_menu_ext'] and make the following change: In div id="menu_ext_area", change display: none; to display: block;. This will make the extras be open by default. Adjust the top and right positions in menus.css / .main_menu_ext to place the extras wherever you wish.

Making two menu rows

To create two menu rows, go to Admin CP > Site > Modules > Menu Builder, and switch all the modules you want into the two-row menu from "Extended" to "Show". You'll notice that they flow to a second row, but it's not quite tidy yet.

• skin_wrappers.php: find the section with "TOPAREA_DESC" and change the position top: 53px; to top: 83px; to compensate for an extra row of buttons.
• menus.css:
  
  • find .main_menu, change top: 8px; to top: 3px;, and add in width: 750px; (for example). This will position it correctly and stop it from flooding over all the way to the left edge.
  • find .top_button_container and change float: left; to float: right;, and add margin-bottom: -5px;. This will make the buttons float towards right, and makes them overlap to cover the bottom edge of the first row.

This would result in the following:

View in full size. Is this basically what you're looking for?

Things like this should of course also be available under the Admin CP options. I have a menu builder revamp noted down, with extended features for per-usergroup main and module menus, etc. and features like this would go down well with the same effort — feature request tagged. If someone has further thoughts on menu features they'd like to see in our CMSes, please let us know.

The reason behind our CMSes having just a one-row menu with a + button is simply a site strategy consideration. When you're starting up a website, you'll have to work hard to first of all get an audience, and then keep the audience engaged and interested.

If your site provides too many modules/applications in one view, it can 1) be overwhelming to a visitor who's trying to find out what exactly he's supposed to do or find on your site, and 2) dilute focus and keep any section from gaining sufficient focus to "launch off" in a burst of activity — and sufficient launch momentum is critical for a site still establishing its audience.

Because of the above, it's often a good strategy to clearly define the primary aspects and services on your site, drive the traffic and the focus of your audience there, get them happy and engaged, and then let them expand their experience and presence on your site as they grow more comfortable with the setup.

For contrast, in Wiccle terms Facebook would have Members ("default module"), Notes, Photos, Videos, Events, Links, and Games (or Applications if you will — but it's really all about games) modules as prominent main features — and even that's a bit bewildering for many less tech-savvy internet users, who likely only use Notes and Photos (and Farmville).

More isn't always better — there are better strategies to impress than overwhelming people with options! It's first of all about capturing the attention with an attractive idea, and then (and only then) providing handy applications that will let them do what they now want to do. Not many aside webmasters really care about testing all possible interesting features! =)

I agree though, that our demo should probably blink and wiggle every available option at the same time. More so, we should produce a couple of different niche demo portals with a focused set of modules to further demonstrate what the system can actually do in practice.