From 0a8965ee4694cb440f2637a54f84ede1137d1687 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: John McLear Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2026 14:56:58 +0100 Subject: [PATCH] docs: rewrite homepage to lead with positioning + add /about and /why-etherpad MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Replaces the generic feature-description copy on the homepage with positioning copy organised around three differentiators: authorship visibility, sovereign hosting, and structural malleability (including AI as opt-in plugin rather than forced default). Adds two new content pages. Homepage changes: - MainHeadline: replace hero with "the editor for documents that matter" + value-prop subhead + three primary CTAs (manifesto, why-etherpad, self-host). Stats bar gets a section title and per-stat captions. - RealTimeCollaboration: replace with "Three things that make Etherpad different" — authorship / sovereignty / malleability sections with Font Awesome icons and ~80-word explanations each. - Add WhoUsesEtherpad: categorical adopter list (Wikimedia, EU public sector, schools, civic-tech, newsrooms, self-hosters) so institutional evaluators have proof points without leaving the page. - Add AIOnYourTerms: explicit positioning on AI as opt-in plugin rather than forced default, aimed at regulated industries. - Contribute: restructure into four clear paths (code/docs, become maintainer, use+evangelise, how a contribution lands). - Footer: deemphasize the BTC address (move to bottom, smaller, lower opacity) — pure perception fix for institutional visitors. New routes: - /about — full manifesto adapted from positioning work. - /why-etherpad — honest comparison page with capability matrix vs. Google Docs, MS 365, Notion, CryptPad, HedgeDoc, plus "when you should use something else" and "when you should use Etherpad". No build, dependency, or behaviour changes. Build verified locally (`pnpm run build` succeeds; all routes generate as static). Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) --- app/about/page.tsx | 69 ++++++++++++++++ app/page.tsx | 6 ++ app/why-etherpad/page.tsx | 83 ++++++++++++++++++++ src/components/Footer.tsx | 2 +- src/pagesToDisplay/AIOnYourTerms.tsx | 31 ++++++++ src/pagesToDisplay/Contribute.tsx | 35 +++------ src/pagesToDisplay/MainHeadline.tsx | 35 +++++++-- src/pagesToDisplay/RealTimeCollaboration.tsx | 51 ++++++++---- src/pagesToDisplay/WhoUsesEtherpad.tsx | 28 +++++++ 9 files changed, 292 insertions(+), 48 deletions(-) create mode 100644 app/about/page.tsx create mode 100644 app/why-etherpad/page.tsx create mode 100644 src/pagesToDisplay/AIOnYourTerms.tsx create mode 100644 src/pagesToDisplay/WhoUsesEtherpad.tsx diff --git a/app/about/page.tsx b/app/about/page.tsx new file mode 100644 index 00000000..a394eea7 --- /dev/null +++ b/app/about/page.tsx @@ -0,0 +1,69 @@ +import {Header} from "../../src/pagesToDisplay/Header.tsx"; +import {Footer} from "../../src/components/Footer.tsx"; + +export default function AboutPage() { + return
+
+
+
+
+
+ +
+
+

An editor for documents that matter

+

Why Etherpad exists, what it's for, and what it won't do.

+ +

The problem

+

Most collaborative editors are designed to forget.

+

They show you the current version of the document. They hide the history behind menus. They obscure who wrote what. They live on servers you don't control, governed by terms you don't write, owned by companies whose business model is the opposite of trust.

+

For most documents — a shopping list, a meeting note, a draft email — none of that matters.

+

For some documents, it matters enormously.

+ +

The documents that matter

+

If a country were drafting a new constitution, where would they write it?

+

If a treaty were being negotiated between governments, where would they draft it?

+

If a scientific paper were being co-authored across continents, where would the record of authorship live?

+

If a piece of investigative journalism were being assembled from sources who need to know that their words won't be silently edited by a platform, where would they write?

+

If a school were teaching children that what they say belongs to them, what tool would they put in front of them?

+

These documents share something in common. Provenance is not a nice-to-have — it is the entire point. Who said what, when, and why is part of the meaning of the document itself.

+ +

What Etherpad is

+

Etherpad is the editor for those documents.

+

Every keystroke is attributed. Every revision is preserved. Every change is reversible. The timeslider lets you scrub through the entire history of a document, character by character, watching it come into being. The author colours aren't a hidden feature — they're the product. They make authorship visible, by default, to everyone who reads.

+

And the whole thing runs on your server, under your governance, with no telemetry, no upsells, no terms of service you didn't agree to. AI is a plugin you install, pointed at the model you choose, running on infrastructure you control — not a feature decided for you in a boardroom you weren't in. The code is Apache 2.0. The data format is open. The history is yours.

+ +

Our principles

+
    +
  • Honest. We tell you what the software does and what it doesn't.
    • +
  • Open. Source, format, governance, roadmap.
    • +
  • Transparent. No hidden state. No invisible edits. No silent changes.
    • +
  • Malleable. A plugin system that lets you make Etherpad fit your work, not the other way around.
    • +
  • Accessible. 105 languages. Runs on a Raspberry Pi or a server farm. Works in any modern browser.
    • +
  • Truthful. The document tells the truth about itself. Who wrote it, when, and how it got to be what it is.
    • +
+ +

What we won't do

+

We won't pander to the trends. We won't add surveillance. We won't pivot to extraction. We won't bury the authorship to make the UI cleaner. We won't give up the values to grow the userbase.

+

The world is trending the other way. We're holding the line.

+ +

A short history of holding the line

+

Etherpad has been quietly used by Wikimedia, governments, EU public-sector institutions, universities, and self-hosters around the world since 2009. No pivots. No acquisitions. No enshittification. Just sixteen years of doing the same thing, well.

+

That kind of stability is itself a feature. Institutions that adopt Etherpad in 2026 can reasonably expect it to still be Etherpad in 2036 — still open, still self-hostable, still attributing every keystroke, still owned by no one.

+

Almost no other software in this category can credibly say the same.

+ +

What you can do

+

If this matters to you:

+
    +
  • Run an Etherpad for your team, your organisation, your school, your community.
    • +
  • Contribute — code, documentation, translations, plugins, time.
    • +
  • Tell someone else this exists. A generation of developers and decision-makers grew up after Etherpad's first wave of fame and have never heard of it. Word of mouth is how this kind of project survives.
    • +
+

The documents that matter deserve an editor that takes them seriously.

+

That's what Etherpad is for.

+
+ +
+
+
+} diff --git a/app/page.tsx b/app/page.tsx index b5be5ccf..3b0a0b43 100644 --- a/app/page.tsx +++ b/app/page.tsx @@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ import {CookieBanner} from "../src/components/CookieBanner.tsx"; import {Header} from "../src/pagesToDisplay/Header.tsx"; import {MainHeadline} from "../src/pagesToDisplay/MainHeadline.tsx"; import {RealTimeCollaboration} from "../src/pagesToDisplay/RealTimeCollaboration.tsx"; +import {WhoUsesEtherpad} from "../src/pagesToDisplay/WhoUsesEtherpad.tsx"; +import {AIOnYourTerms} from "../src/pagesToDisplay/AIOnYourTerms.tsx"; import {AddFunctionalities} from "../src/pagesToDisplay/AddFunctionalities.tsx"; import {CustomizeAppearance} from "../src/pagesToDisplay/CustomizeAppearance.tsx"; import {DownloadLatestVersion} from "../src/pagesToDisplay/DownloadLatestVersion.tsx"; @@ -27,6 +29,10 @@ export default function Page() { + + + + diff --git a/app/why-etherpad/page.tsx b/app/why-etherpad/page.tsx new file mode 100644 index 00000000..394399a6 --- /dev/null +++ b/app/why-etherpad/page.tsx @@ -0,0 +1,83 @@ +import {Header} from "../../src/pagesToDisplay/Header.tsx"; +import {Footer} from "../../src/components/Footer.tsx"; + +export default function WhyEtherpadPage() { + return
+
+
+
+
+
+ +
+
+

Why Etherpad?

+

Honest comparison with the alternatives. Where Etherpad is stronger, where it isn't, and which one you should use.

+ +

Most product comparison pages exist to win the click. This one doesn't. Etherpad isn't the right tool for everyone, and pretending otherwise would betray our first principle — honesty.

+ +

Here's an honest read on how Etherpad compares with the major collaborative editors in 2026.

+ +

Capability comparison

+ +
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
CapabilityEtherpadGoogle DocsMS Word/365NotionCryptPadHedgeDoc
Real-time multi-user editingYesYesYesYesYesYes
Per-character authorship visible by defaultYesNo (hidden)No (hidden)NoPartialNo
Full history scrubbable character-by-characterYesNo (snapshots)No (snapshots)LimitedLimitedLimited
Open sourceYesNoNoNoYesYes
Self-hostableYesNoNoNoYesYes
No corporate ownerYesNoNoNoYes (foundation)Yes
Apache 2.0 / permissive licenceYesNoNoNoAGPLAGPL
15+ years stable, no pivotsYesN/AN/ANo~10 years~7 years
End-to-end encryptionNoNoNoNoYesNo
Multiple document types (sheets, slides, etc.)NoYesYesYesYesNo
Mobile-first experienceNoYesYesYesLimitedLimited
+
+ +

When you should use something else

+ +

Use CryptPad if end-to-end encryption is non-negotiable for your threat model. CryptPad encrypts in the browser and even the server operator cannot read your documents. Etherpad does not.

+ +

Use HedgeDoc if you want a markdown-first collaborative editor with native rendering, slides mode, and code highlighting baked in. Etherpad can do markdown via plugin, but HedgeDoc is purpose-built for it.

+ +

Use Onlyoffice or Collabora if you need a full office suite (documents, spreadsheets, slides) with formatting compatible with Microsoft Office. Etherpad has one editor type.

+ +

Use Google Docs or Notion if you want polished mobile apps, integrated suites, and modern AI features that you don't mind running on a third-party model. Both are more polished than Etherpad and have larger feature surfaces. They are also more expensive in ways that don't show up on the bill.

+ +

Use Git if the document is code, the history needs cryptographic integrity, and you don't need real-time collaboration.

+ +

When you should use Etherpad

+ +

Etherpad is the right choice when:

+
    +
  • You need real-time collaborative editing with no setup friction for editors.
    • +
  • You need visible, per-character authorship as the default UX — not buried in a menu.
    • +
  • You need to self-host for sovereignty, GDPR, regulatory, or institutional reasons.
    • +
  • You need a tool with no corporate owner — one that cannot be acquired and shut down, and that has a track record of holding the line.
    • +
  • You need opt-in AI rather than forced AI — or no AI at all.
    • +
  • You need to extend the editor to fit a specific institutional workflow without forking, without enterprise contracts, and without permission from a vendor.
    • +
  • You value boring stability over feature novelty. Etherpad has been doing the same thing well since 2009.
    • +
+ +

If most of those apply, you're probably in the right place.

+
+ +
+
+
+} diff --git a/src/components/Footer.tsx b/src/components/Footer.tsx index e3a41488..78fd0e27 100644 --- a/src/components/Footer.tsx +++ b/src/components/Footer.tsx @@ -17,9 +17,9 @@ export const Footer = ()=>{

The Etherpad logos by Marcel Klehr are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

-

Bitcoin public address: 198uyayMFVHUmrcuzWKFSMAkmwfkQgQEXj

Thanks to @seballot and @SamTV12345 for the redesign

+

Bitcoin: 198uyayMFVHUmrcuzWKFSMAkmwfkQgQEXj

diff --git a/src/pagesToDisplay/AIOnYourTerms.tsx b/src/pagesToDisplay/AIOnYourTerms.tsx new file mode 100644 index 00000000..053c0431 --- /dev/null +++ b/src/pagesToDisplay/AIOnYourTerms.tsx @@ -0,0 +1,31 @@ +import {FontAwesomeIcon} from "@fortawesome/react-fontawesome"; +import {faRobot} from "@fortawesome/free-solid-svg-icons"; + +export const AIOnYourTerms = () => { + return
+

+ + AI on your terms — or not at all +

+ +

+ Most editors decided AI for you. They added it to the toolbar, turned it on by default, sent your text to a model you can't choose, on infrastructure you can't audit, under terms you didn't write. +

+ +

+ Etherpad doesn't. +

+ +

+ AI in Etherpad is a plugin you install — pointed at the model you choose, running on the infrastructure you control, through code you can audit. You can swap providers. You can run a local model. You can turn it off. You can never turn it on. +

+ +

+ For regulated industries, public-sector institutions, journalism, healthcare, legal, and anyone who cannot ship their documents to a third-party model — this isn't a nice-to-have. It's the only acceptable posture. +

+ +

+ Browse AI plugins → +

+
+} diff --git a/src/pagesToDisplay/Contribute.tsx b/src/pagesToDisplay/Contribute.tsx index cf3eb7b6..bedc7b3f 100644 --- a/src/pagesToDisplay/Contribute.tsx +++ b/src/pagesToDisplay/Contribute.tsx @@ -1,34 +1,25 @@ import {GITHUB_HELP, PATH_TO_GITHUB, PATH_TO_WIKI} from "../Constants.ts"; import {FontAwesomeIcon} from "@fortawesome/react-fontawesome"; import {faWrench} from "@fortawesome/free-solid-svg-icons"; -import {ContributePathToWiki} from "../components/ContributePathToWiki.tsx"; export const Contribute = ()=>{ return

- Contribute

-

Etherpad is an open source project. Lots of passionate, helpful individuals have joined and voluntarily - contributed every single bit throughout this project: From this website through the documentation to the - very core of the application. So, if you like Etherpad and would like to give back some love, we'd like to - see your contributions! It doesn't matter how familiar you are with real-time applications, or - whether you know how to write programs for Node.js. There are plenty of ways to be helpful!

-

One of the first things you should do is actually use Etherpad, and get to know it - read about it, - evangelise it, and engage with the wider community. You can also translate the user interface to your mother - tongue or learn how to write plugins. Be creative!

-

If you'd like to help, ! Also, the wiki is always a valuable resource.

+ How to help +

Etherpad is maintained by a small volunteer team and depends on contribution. Pick the way that fits you.

-
Development workflow
-

The main development happens on GitHub. To - contribute, fork the main repo, branch off a feature branch from develop, - make your changes and commit them, push to your fork and submit a pull request for ether/develop.

-

Once in a while we merge develop into master, which results in a new release. This - means you will always find the latest stable version in the master branch.

+
Contribute code, docs, translations, or plugins
+

Bug fixes, new plugins, documentation improvements, and translations are all welcome. Read the contributor guide, or browse the wiki for orientation. The project follows a standard fork-and-PR workflow against ether/develop on GitHub; master tracks stable releases.

+ +
Become a maintainer
+

We are actively looking for maintainers with experience in Node.js, real-time systems, or institutional collaboration tooling. Open an issue or contact John McLear to start a conversation.

+ +
Use Etherpad and tell people
+

One of the most useful things you can do is run an instance, recommend it to your team, school, or institution, and write about how you use it. A generation of decision-makers grew up after Etherpad's first wave of fame — word-of-mouth keeps the project alive.

+ +
How a contribution lands
+

The main development happens on GitHub. Fork the repo, branch off a feature branch from develop, commit your changes, push to your fork, and open a pull request against ether/develop. Periodically develop is merged into master, producing a new release.

} diff --git a/src/pagesToDisplay/MainHeadline.tsx b/src/pagesToDisplay/MainHeadline.tsx index 6f41c2da..9721dc84 100644 --- a/src/pagesToDisplay/MainHeadline.tsx +++ b/src/pagesToDisplay/MainHeadline.tsx @@ -6,9 +6,17 @@ import Link from "next/link"; export const MainHeadline = () => { return
-

Etherpad is a highly customizable open - source online editor providing collaborative editing in - really real-time.

+

+ Etherpad — the editor for documents that matter. +

+

+ Real-time collaborative editing where authorship is the default, your server is the only server, and you decide what AI (if any) ever touches your text. +

+
+ Read the manifesto → + Why Etherpad → + Self-host in 5 minutes → +
@@ -17,20 +25,31 @@ export const MainHeadline = () => {
+
+

Sixteen years of being trusted with documents that matter

+
+
- 290 - Plugins
+ 290 Plugins + extend without forking +
- 105 Languages
+ 105 Languages + translated by a global community +
- Thousands of Instances
+ Thousands of Instances + Raspberry Pis to data centres +
- Millions of users
+ Millions of Users + Wikimedia, governments, schools + } diff --git a/src/pagesToDisplay/RealTimeCollaboration.tsx b/src/pagesToDisplay/RealTimeCollaboration.tsx index 0735ac23..593bdfac 100644 --- a/src/pagesToDisplay/RealTimeCollaboration.tsx +++ b/src/pagesToDisplay/RealTimeCollaboration.tsx @@ -1,28 +1,45 @@ import {FontAwesomeIcon} from "@fortawesome/react-fontawesome"; -import {faHandshake} from "@fortawesome/free-solid-svg-icons"; +import {faFingerprint, faShieldHalved, faPuzzlePiece} from "@fortawesome/free-solid-svg-icons"; import {RealTimeCollaborationLink} from "../components/RealTimeCollaborationLink.tsx"; export const RealTimeCollaboration = ()=>{ return
-

- - Collaborating in really real-time

+

Three things that make Etherpad different

-
No more sending your stuff back and forth via email, just set up a pad, share the - link and start collaborating!
-

Etherpad allows you to edit documents collaboratively in real-time, much like a live multi-player editor that - runs in your browser. Write articles, press releases, to-do lists, etc. together with your friends, fellow - students or colleagues, all working on the same document at the same time.

-

All instances provide access to all data through a well-documented API and support import/export to many - major data exchange formats. And if the built-in feature set isn't enough for you, there's tons of plugins - that allow you to customize your instance to suit your needs.

+
+

+ + Authorship is the product. +

+

+ Every keystroke is attributed to its author. Every revision is preserved. The timeslider lets you scrub through a document's entire history, character by character, watching it come into being. Author colours make collaboration visible at a glance — not buried in a menu. Other editors hide the history. Etherpad's history is the point. +

+
-

You don't need to set up a server and install Etherpad in order to use it. Just - one - of the publicly available instances that friendly people from everywhere around the world have set up. - Alternatively, you can set up your own instance by following our installation guide.

+
+

+ + Sovereignty is the default. +

+

+ Etherpad runs on your server, under your governance. No telemetry. No upsells. No silent updates that change the deal. The code is Apache 2.0. The data format is open. Full data export is built in. The history is yours, your users', your institution's — never a third party's. +

+
+ +
+

+ + Malleability is structural. +

+

+ Etherpad ships small and grows with you. 290 plugins for comments, images, tables, drawing, video chat, math, code highlighting, OAuth/LDAP/OpenID auth, and more — including AI on your terms, pointed at the model you choose, running on infrastructure you control. SaaS competitors decide for you. Etherpad lets you decide. +

+
+ +

+ You don't need to set up a server to try it. one of the publicly available instances run by friendly people around the world — or set up your own by following our installation guide. +

} diff --git a/src/pagesToDisplay/WhoUsesEtherpad.tsx b/src/pagesToDisplay/WhoUsesEtherpad.tsx new file mode 100644 index 00000000..48178eca --- /dev/null +++ b/src/pagesToDisplay/WhoUsesEtherpad.tsx @@ -0,0 +1,28 @@ +import {FontAwesomeIcon} from "@fortawesome/react-fontawesome"; +import {faBuildingColumns} from "@fortawesome/free-solid-svg-icons"; + +export const WhoUsesEtherpad = () => { + return
+

+ + Who uses Etherpad +

+ +

+ For more than a decade, Etherpad has quietly underpinned the documents that matter to: +

+ +
    +
  • Wikimedia Foundation — collaborative drafting across editor communities.
    • +
  • Public-sector institutions across the EU — including organisations that legally cannot use US-cloud SaaS for sovereignty and GDPR reasons.
    • +
  • Universities and schools worldwide — including jurisdictions where Google Workspace is no longer permitted in education.
    • +
  • Civic-tech and democratic-deliberation projects — citizen assemblies, participatory budgeting, public consultations.
    • +
  • Newsrooms and investigative journalism teams — where authorship and editing history matter for legal and editorial integrity.
    • +
  • Tens of thousands of self-hosted instances — run by IT teams who chose Etherpad because it is theirs.
    • +
+ +

+ If your organisation runs Etherpad and would like to be listed publicly, please add it to the wiki. +

+
+}