[Feature]: Improve Beginner Onboarding with Structured Contribution Roadmap & Guides #976
Description
Problem Statement
The website provides useful information about open source, but first-time users may still face challenges such as:
Not knowing the exact steps to make their first contribution
Confusion about the GitHub workflow (fork → branch → PR)
Difficulty understanding how to find and claim good first issues
Lack of a clear learning path from beginner to active contributor
Currently, the content is informative but not fully action-oriented, which may discourage beginners from taking their first step.
Proposed Solution
Introduce a Beginner Onboarding Section with the following components:
- Step-by-Step First Contribution Guide
Include a clear workflow:
Find a beginner-friendly repository
Fork the repository
Clone locally
Create a new branch
Make changes
Commit and push
Create a Pull Request
Respond to review feedback
- Git & GitHub Quick Command Cheat Sheet
Add commonly used commands with brief explanations:
git clone
git checkout -b branch-name
git add .
git commit
git push
- “Good First Issue” Guide
Explain:
What the label means
How to search/filter for it
How to professionally comment to claim an issue
- Beginner Learning Roadmap
Example structure:
Step 1: Learn Git basics
Step 2: Understand GitHub workflow
Step 3: Explore beginner-friendly projects
Step 4: Make first Pull Request
Step 5: Engage with the community
- Navigation Improvement
Add:
Table of contents or sidebar
Section jump links
This will make long content easier to navigate.
Alternative Solutions
No response
Impact Level
High
Additional Context
Alternative Solutions
Add a short video tutorial instead of written guides
Link to external beginner resources instead of creating new content
Create a downloadable PDF guide
Add an interactive checklist instead of static instructions