[Question] Should we redirect to the Github Page or the website of the project ?

[nicolas-van]

There is a question that is hitching me since many years:

When publishing about anything (social media, article, whatever) is it better to redirect to the website of the project or to the Github page ? (Obvioulsy assuming that the Github page contains a link to the website and vice-versa.)

Both answers has their advantages and drawback. It you redirect to the Github page the star is just one click away from the user (and that's clearly what we want 99% of the time when trying to promote an open-source project at the beginning), but you send a bad unconscious message to the user that might think you don't have a website (even if it's clearly listed in the right bar). If you redirect to your website you immediately show that you have a website (maybe even a nice one) but the star button is minimum two clicks away even if it's very well advertised (and everyone knows users are lazy).

So what's your opinion about that ?

No kidding, that may seem too much thinking but I really would like to know other people's answers 😀

[tbetous]

It is interesting !

First at all, I guess you need to ask yourself : Is your project need an external website ? Why is your GitHub page not enough ? What’s your goal ?

You can argue you want to add some marketing around your project and make a beautiful page to present your project. If you do that, add a link to invite your visitors to star your project. However if your goal is to boost your number of star, you should not make an external website at first because you will lose people that stars « for later ». Your GitHub must be attractive to keep your user and help them to test your project.

Once your project has enough stars, you can build an external website.

[nicolas-van]

Actually for some projects it's relevant to release it with a website from the start. In this project I created as example, the website is mandatory because it contains documentation, and the documentation won't fit in the readme. (No external documentation = project is useless).

It's interesting to have your opinion on that subject though. When project is young => no website, links redirect to Github Page. When project is popular => attractive website, links redirect to website.

[port19x]

Simple projects that can be pitched in half a minute and have a very clear value proposition should have no website at all and always link to the repo. (e.g. redqu)
Medium sized projects that still serve a clear use-case but come with nuanced advance usecases may have a website as well (or maybe a manpage/native docs), but should still link to the repo. (e.g. ani-cli)
Only the really complicated projects, perhaps libraries for inherently difficult domains, should link to the website right away, since no readme would sufficiently state it's purpose. (Your project is a good example)