Docs Information Architecture

I’ve split the types of people who’ll be approaching the content into two broad groups:

  • Users: anyone who uses WordPress, from amatuer bloggers to people setting up a complex multisiteMultisite Multisite is a WordPress feature which allows users to create a network of sites on a single WordPress installation. Available since WordPress version 3.0, Multisite is a continuation of WPMU or WordPress Multiuser project. WordPress MultiUser project was discontinued and its features were included into WordPress core.https://codex.wordpress.org/Create_A_Network. installation. WordPress users are a very broad group.
  • Developers: anyone who extends WordPress, i.e. with plugins and themes (or the JSONJSON JSON, or JavaScript Object Notation, is a minimal, readable format for structuring data. It is used primarily to transmit data between a server and web application, as an alternative to XML. REST APIREST API The REST API is an acronym for the RESTful Application Program Interface (API) that uses HTTP requests to GET, PUT, POST and DELETE data. It is how the front end of an application (think “phone app” or “website”) can communicate with the data store (think “database” or “file system”) https://developer.wordpress.org/rest-api/. in the future).

Below is a diagram which outlines how I envisage the content in the Codex being split up:

docs_ia

I’ll go through each of these sections.

Use

Knowledgebase

https://wordpress.org/support
Priority: High

Goal: to provide WordPress users with a searchable database of answers to common questions.
Target Audience: WordPress users of all levels and ability.
Example content

  • How do I add an image?
  • How do I activate multisite?
  • How do I add a new user?
  • Can I change my domain?
  • How do I move my plugins folder?
  • How do I increase my PHPPHP PHP (recursive acronym for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) is a widely-used open source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for web development and can be embedded into HTML. http://php.net/manual/en/intro-whatis.php. memory limit?
  • What is a permalink?

Status: Helphub spec in draft. To be published soon.

Guides

https://wordpress.org/support
Priority: Low
Goal:To provide barebones guides to specific use-cases for WordPress
Target Audience: WordPress users of all levels and ability, though each individual guide will be tailored towards a specific user level (for example, blogging will be less advanced than the multisite guide
Example Content:

  • Admin Guide
  • Multisite Guide
  • Installation Guide
  • Blogging Guide
  • Troubleshooting Guide

Blog

The blog can be used for release-related documentation or guides relating to a specific event. For example, whenever we anticipate an issue with a release we will publish an article in the Codex. The blog will provide a platform for that.

Extend

http://developer.wordpress.org

Code Reference

https://developer.wordpress.org/reference
Priority: High

Goal: to provide WordPress developers with an automated code reference that includes explanations and user-submitted examples
Target Audience: WordPress developers of all levels and ability.
Example content

  • Function Reference
  • Class Reference
  • Hook reference

Status: Live. Still actively developed.

Handbooks

https://developer.wordpress.org/handbook-name
Priority: High

Goal: to provide WordPress developers with guides to extending the platform
Target Audience: WordPress developers of all levels and ability.
Example content

  • Theme Developer Handbook
  • PluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party Developer Handbook
  • Intro to developing with WP (including WordPress basics, setting up dev environment)

Status:

  • Plugin Developer Handbook – v1
  • Theme Developer Handbook – being worked on
  • Intro to Developing with WP Handbook – not yet started

Resources

https://developer.wordpress.org/resources
Priority: Low

Goal: to provide WordPress developers with resources
Target Audience: WordPress developers of all levels and ability.
Example content

  • Dashicons
  • Other tools

Status: Dashicons live.

Blog

A blog for publishing useful information for developers, for example information they need to know about a new release, or about changes to developer.wp.org.

#information-architecture