Pagination, reverse page order

Currently going through the end of the queue to see what could still be relevant for D10.

I'm also not seeing the use case for this one but does sound like it could be useful to some.

Will need an issue summary update.

A webcomic is a good use case for this. Usually, the front page of a webcomic site is the most recent page, and you read/ navigate "backwards" from there.

Problem/Motivation

Currently, pagination in Drupal follows the standard ascending order (1, 2, 3, …). When new nodes are added and the page limit is reached (e.g., 10 per page), older nodes shift to different pages, causing two issues:

User Experience: Users memorize page numbers, and when they return, content is no longer in the expected location.
SEO Concerns: Search engine bots (e.g., Googlebot) index pages based on their URLs. When content shifts, bots detect different content on the same URLs, leading to unnecessary reindexing, possible ranking penalties, and incorrect search results.

Steps to reproduce

• Create a view with a paginated list of nodes, ordered by descending creation time.
• Set the page limit to a fixed number (e.g., 10 per page).
• Observe the pagination pattern (1, 2, 3, …).
• Add new nodes and notice how older nodes shift to different pages, disrupting memorized URLs and positions.

Proposed resolution

• Implement an option in Drupal’s Views pagination to reverse the numbering.
• Instead of 1, 2, 3, ... use a descending pattern like 45, 44, 43, ... for a total of 45 pages.
• Ensure that when new nodes are added, older ones remain on the same page number.

Remaining tasks

• Identify the best method to implement reversed pagination.
• Modify Drupal Views or pagination logic to allow descending page numbers.
• Provide configuration options to enable/disable this feature.
• Test for compatibility with existing themes and modules.
• Ensure SEO benefits are achieved and document the improvements.

User interface changes

A new option in Views configuration to enable reversed pagination.

Introduced terminology

Reversed pagination: A pagination method where page numbers count down instead of up.

API changes

Potential modifications to pagination handling in Views.

Data model changes

No database schema changes are required.

Release notes snippet

Added an option in Views to enable reversed pagination, allowing page numbers to count down instead of up. This helps maintain content consistency for returning users and improves SEO by reducing unnecessary reindexing.