Documentation

Documentation has changed. Here’s what “great” means now.

Fast

• Pages should load quickly (prefer static pages).
• Optimize image, font, and script loading.
• Make search feel instant.

Readable

• Be concise; make every token count.
• Avoid unnecessary jargon and idioms.
• Optimize for skimming with headings, lists, emphasis, and images.
• Keep the first-time experience simple; reveal complexity gradually.
• Include many copy/pasteable and runnable code examples.

Helpful

• Document workarounds, even when they expose product gaps.
• Make it easy to leave feedback (including typo reports) on every page.
• Automatically check for broken links on each push.
• Offer structured learning paths, not just reference pages.
• For breaking changes, provide migration guides and codemods where possible.

AI-Native

• Prefer cURL and HTTP examples over click-heavy UI flows.
• Prefer prompts and tasks over long, linear tutorials.
• Add an “Ask AI” helper that can reference your docs.

Agent Ready

• Make content easy to copy into AI tools as clean Markdown.
• Support viewing pages as Markdown (for example, via a .md URL).
• Serve Markdown when Accept: text/markdown is requested.
• Serve an llms.txt (or similar) that lists your Markdown sources.

Polished

• Use generous hit areas for buttons and navigation, especially sidebars.
• Preserve sidebar scroll position and expanded state.
• Provide clear hover and active states for interactive elements.
• Generate dynamic OG images for sharing.
• Ensure every heading has a stable, linkable anchor.
• Cross-link related guides, APIs, and examples.
• Add metadata and canonical tags so docs render cleanly in search.

Localized

• Avoid defaulting to /en in URLs.
• Use server-side routing to serve the correct language.
• Localize both static strings and docs content.

Responsive

• Provide great mobile navigation and solid Safari iOS support.
• Use tooltips on desktop and popovers on mobile where appropriate.

Accessible

• Offer a “skip to main content” shortcut.
• Ensure all images have meaningful alt text.
• Respect prefers-reduced-motion and other system settings.

Universal

• Ship docs-as-code for libraries (for example, via JSDoc output or a package).
• Ship your docs as an MCP (for example, with Context7).
• Include docs with your libraries in node_modules (or equivalent).
• Ship rules files (like AGENTS.md) with your product.
• Provide evals and recommend specific models or setups for your product.

Most teams hit four or five of these. The best teams hit all of them.