[New Feature]: Upgrade Project Website with Enhanced User Experience

[riverma]

Checked for duplicates

• Yes - I've already checked

Alternatives considered

• Yes - and alternatives don't suffice

Related problems

The current website needs improvements to better serve new users and showcase the project's capabilities.

Describe the feature request

We need to upgrade the RAPID2 website (http://rapid-hub.org/) to improve usability and provide better information for users. This should include:

• Create and add a distinctive project logo
• Develop clear architecture diagrams showing how RAPID2 components work together
• Implement user-focused navigation and information architecture
• Conduct user testing with new users and implement recommendations
• Create beginner-friendly tutorials and examples
• Include prominent links to GitHub repository, documentation, and community resources

These improvements will make the project more accessible to newcomers and provide better visibility for RAPID2's capabilities.

[riverma]

Suggestion from @c-h-david to leverage https://www.mkdocs.org/ for the upgraded website / docs.

[riverma]

Next steps based on prototype:

• Reduce coding complexity of splash page
• Port existing docs organization to recommendations within proposal for docs organization
• Include "Used By" section within splash page
• Make splash page as minimalist as possible, ideally with little to no scrolling
• Key marketing information:
  • Open science, best practices in software engineering
  • Backed up by paper
  • Used by:
    • Papers
    • Organizations
  • No. of years since Jan 2006

[c-h-david]

Notes to self:

• Read through the various pdfs of the existing website and determine which ones can be retired and which ones should be converted to markdown.
• Thursday, 26 January 2006 can be considered the birth date of RAPID (see https://doi.org/10.1002/2015EA000142, page 228)