The "Getting Started Guide" is too slow to get to a minimal working state

[notfed]

Some First-Time-User Feedback

The official webpack "Getting Started Guide" takes the long route to get to a minimal working example. You have to go through [Getting Started] -> [Asset Management] -> [Output Management] -> [Development] before you've touched HTML+JS+CSS. I think this could be improved.

Also, and maybe relatedly, the instructions keep asking the user to do unnecessary and even confusing changes, and then to undo them. For example I was asked to create a dist/main.js, but then rename it to dist/bundle.js, and to create a index.html, then move it to dist/index.html, and then come to find dist is an output directory and really everything should be moved to src/....

And what was especially disappointing for me was that this guide never addressed how to move the HTML file into src/: it just stayed in dist, which clashes with the idea that dist/ is an "output" folder (it became clear that this is an issue, for example, when the guide explains how to clear dist/ on each build). I finally understood how to move a custom index.html file src/ after going back and reading [Concepts] -> [Plugin].

Anyway, many of these seem completely unnecessary; steps that move away from a target minimal example don't contribute towards learning, and even take up delicate real estate in the attention span of the confused reader who's just trying to squint hard enough to reach the first milestone.

My Suggestion

Honestly, many of us may enjoy a long-form tutorial, but some of us only have time for a "quick start". So, at the beginning of your tutorial, I suggest you put a link to a minimal working example(s) before proceeding onto the pedogogical salsa dance that is the webpack guide.