Welcome to the official home of the WordPress Documentation Team.
This team is responsible for coordinating all documentation initiatives around WordPress, including the handbooks and other general wordsmithing across the WordPress project.
Want to get involved?
Start here to find out more about what we do and how to contribute:
Documentation Issue Tracker on GitHub: Submit any Documentation Team-related issues on GitHubGitHubGitHub is a website that offers online implementation of git repositories that can easily be shared, copied and modified by other developers. Public repositories are free to host, private repositories require a paid subscription. GitHub introduced the concept of the ‘pull request’ where code changes done in branches by contributors can be reviewed and discussed before being merged be the repository owner. https://github.com/
Weekly meetings
Join our discussions of documentation issues here on the blog and on Slack.
The Docs team needs your help to update and revise the End User Documentation (HelpHub) for the upcoming WordPress 6.2 release, expected on March 28, 2023.
You can find a list of all the tasks in the 6.2 project board in the Documentation’s repo on GitHubGitHubGitHub is a website that offers online implementation of git repositories that can easily be shared, copied and modified by other developers. Public repositories are free to host, private repositories require a paid subscription. GitHub introduced the concept of the ‘pull request’ where code changes done in branches by contributors can be reviewed and discussed before being merged be the repository owner. https://github.com/.
Mention in a comment on the GitHub issue you would like to work on and someone on the Docs team will assign it to you.
Once a task is assigned to you, the following two videos show how to help with updating the existing articles in End User Documentation (HelpHub).
Video onboarding to End User documentation Video showing how to help with updating the existing articles on GitHub
If you have questions or need help, ask in the docs channel on the Make WordPress SlackSlackSlack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. or directly in the GitHub issue itself. If your meetupMeetupAll local/regional gatherings that are officially a part of the WordPress world but are not WordCamps are organized through https://www.meetup.com/. A meetup is typically a chance for local WordPress users to get together and share new ideas and seek help from one another. Searching for ‘WordPress’ on meetup.com will help you find options in your area. or firm can give a blockBlockBlock is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. of time to help, do include the Release co-leads for 6.2 documentation in your message: (Slack IDs) @bph, @zzap, @Femy, and @abhanonstopnewsuk.
Resources
If you need a test site with WordPress 6.2 pre-installed, you can use this app provided by InstaWP to spin up a new temporary website set. It is preloaded with Theme Test data and other pre-configuration, ready to go. This new site will be available to use for four hours. After that, if you need another test site to contribute to docs, you can visit the link again and create a new temporary site.
If there’s anything you’d like to discuss on the open floor, please leave a comment below.
Please note: As a reminder, Daylight Saving is quickly approaching. In Europe it begins on March 26th and in North America Daylight Saving started March 12th. Regardless, Documentation Team meetings remain at the same scheduled time of 14:00 UTC.
There are several ways to find information regarding the features or issues in WordPress and each one of them has a function and a time. This is a short explanation of what each means, the difference and when to use them.
What is what?
A good way to differentiate them is to define them and to provide use cases for each. None is better or worst than the other neither is any more or less important. It all depends on when they are used.
Support is 1:1, requires interaction and it is used for more urgent issues, whether is a chatbot or person and is immediate.
Forums are intended for broader help or best advice on specific topics. Most of the time is asynchronous but is monitored by a team or person, paid or volunteer. Most importantly, forums are community driven.
Documentation are basically instructions on how to do things. There is no interaction of any kind for questions. Literally, “what you read is what you get.”
Training creates lessons on topics. These can be on video or written form. Can be individual or part of a series. And training can be immediate or in the user’s own time.
Some use cases
Users require information for different reasons and search for it in different ways.
For instance, hosting companies use support, either by chat or call, to resolve a user’s issue. Whether is urgent or not, it usually is something that the user cannot solve by themselves or it has an immediate need for solution.
The forums are topical and in threads. They are very useful for discussions and to provide guidance over an issue or topic. Forums are monitored and conversation are mostly asynchronous. Some of the uses could be a school discussion group, product sales, best practices, product help, product how-to’s, etc.
When a user wants to learn fairly quick how to do something, following the steps in a documentation article is the best way. There are no interactions and the user reads it in their own time.
In opposition to wanting to deeply learn about a subject, then the user would search for a training lesson or course.
What can a user find in WordPress.orgWordPress.orgThe community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/
WordPress.org does not provide support. There is no team that will reply to questions 1:1 at any time. Instead there are the Forums that are monitored by contributors, volunteer and paid, that reply to questions posted.
There is documentation for end-users and developers and there are training lessons offered in Learn.
It is a strong recommendation by the documentation team to stop using the word support and instead refer to each instance with their respective name.
Props to @milana_cap and @atachibana for the review of this article.
At the end of January, the docs and metaMetaMeta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress. teams launched the new site for documentation, internally known as HelpHub. The team’s work is not done as we are still updating old articles and continue writing new ones. The goal is to release new feature articles as close to the latest WordPress version release as possible.
Promote the work, tell the world! Announce it everywhere. It has been 8 years since the HelpHub project kicked-off. Most of the initial members are not around as contributors any longer.
The documentation team will continue working in bringing the updated documentation and promote collaboration with other teams, like:
Discuss with polyglots teamPolyglots TeamPolyglots Team is a group of multilingual translators who work on translating plugins, themes, documentation, and front-facing marketing copy. https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/teams/. how can we help in implementing the new site map and reorganizing articles that are already translated. This effort will be different with each local team as it will depend on the local teams processes and availability.
Update content with polyglots – can we create GH issue track per rosetta site? What would be the best process for each locale.
Work with the training team to create a crosslink Resources blockBlockBlock is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. where we can link Learn videos/courses/tutorials and vice versa.
Props to @milana_capfor reviewing the content of this article.
The look changed to be in harmony with the rest of the WordPress.orgWordPress.orgThe community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/ template. The new features were created with the goal to facilitate search for end-users. Some of these features are:
a simplified sitemap divided into 4 categories and each categoryCategoryThe 'category' taxonomy lets you group posts / content together that share a common bond. Categories are pre-defined and broad ranging. has several subcategories,
better definition between end-user and developers documentation, meaning that several articles will be moved into developers.wordpress.org in the next few weeks,
change to the menu item to documentation instead of support,
a new menu, breadcrumbs and other features
The four categories
The goal of the end-user documentation is to provide information to non-developers or new users so they try resolving their issue by themselves instead of going directly to the Forums.
To improve search, the team worked on reclassifying the articles into 4 main categories:
WordPress overview, where users can find general information about WordPress, versions, FAQs and resources.
Technical guides to help with installation, maintenance, and security.
Support guides to get familiar with the software and its features.
Customization where users can find instructions on how to use the BlockBlockBlock is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. Editor and default themes.
End-user and developers documentation
When moving the articles from the Codex, there was a separation between developer-focused and end-user-focused documentation. Yet, developer articles were still available within in end-user documentation.
To help make the distinction better, all developer jargon has been removed from end-user documentation and moved to developer.wordpress.org.
Documentation instead of support
The menu item was support, the docs team has been looking into changing the menu item into documentation. Documentation is better description than support.
Features
Breadcrumbs and a submenu
Users can use the breadcrumbs to return to a specific page, category or subcategory without navigating all the way to the landing page.
This post is to ask everyone who has access to HelpHub, to please refrain from adding, editing or publishing old or new articles as of the writing of this post.
MetaMetaMeta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress. team is working on the replacement of the /support/ site for a /documentation/ site and whatever is not there as of today, will be lost.
Please hold off any updates until after 17 January 2023. If you have any questions, reach out to @estelaris on #docsSlackSlackSlack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. or leave a comment below.
With the feedback received last week, the design team worked on a second iteration in Figma. If you haven’t given us your feedback, please do so in this file. Feedback will be open until December 2, 2022, as we want to proceed with the work.
What is the new look about
With all the redesign happening in WP.org, it is now time for Developers documentation. The design team has started with a new look but need feedback from documentation users.
Developers documentation is composed of handbooks and articles. At this time, the handbooks will not be redesigned.
What we need feedback on?
Compare and review the landing page. Changes include:
First blockBlockBlock is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. links the handbooks under Developer Reference
The second block splits the Code Reference into New and updated in 6.x version and the Common APIs handbook TOC
The link to Dashicons was removed since they have been deprecated. Do they still need to be linked under Resources? Or shall the link move to somewhere else?
Does this navigation make sense?
Other sections that need review
Breadcrumbs have been moved to the blue ribbon
User contributed notes
User contributed notes feedback form
Styling in the code block (highlighting the title and keeping the code background white)
The general Add note/feedback form
The changelog at the bottom of the page will be expandable
Feel free to leave your comments in the Figma file or in this post.
Props to@joen for feedback on this post and @javiarce for his design work.
The Documentation team, WordPress community, more than 40% of the internet and all its consumers thank to all who participated. You make the bits flow through ports and you, heroes of the open sourceOpen SourceOpen Source denotes software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified. Open Source **must be** delivered via a licensing model, see GPL., just wrote a piece of history.
We also onboarded several new contributors and look forward to continue working with them. Hopefully, this Contributor Day was the first of many to come.
The end-user documentation or HelpHub will go through a transformation, both in the design and the site map.
The refinements in the template will improve the user experience while searching for information. These improvements include one landing page for end-user and developers documentation that will be called Documentation. This is the entry port to both HelpHub and DevHub. Although this article focuses on HelpHub, there will be changes for DevHub in the future.
Better search
The new site map includes 4 main categories and subcategories under each. This will improve search and allow new articles to be added into the existing categories without creating a ‘miscellaneous’ categoryCategoryThe 'category' taxonomy lets you group posts / content together that share a common bond. Categories are pre-defined and broad ranging..
New features
Documentation will have a new headerHeaderThe header of your site is typically the first thing people will experience. The masthead or header art located across the top of your page is part of the look and feel of your website. It can influence a visitor’s opinion about your content and you/ your organization’s brand. It may also look different on different screen sizes.. The team is dropping the word ‘Support’ and replacing it with ‘Documentation’. This area of the website will contain reference information rather than be a place where users interact with the Support team as described in the Renaming WordPress.org Support to Documentation.
A changelog was added to keep historic information on each article. The user will have a better idea of how recent the information is.
Other features that will help searching are the breadcrumbs, a new documentation submenu to the categories, a more prominent table of content and, a highlighted link to Support Forums.
Another new feature was the retirement of the hash character at the end of the headlines as they were an accessibilityAccessibilityAccessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility) issue and caused visual noise. The hash has been replaced by a link icon.
Documentation on mobile
The mobile version offers faster access to the specific topic in the article by using accordions to navigate long articles on mobile. The breadcrumbs, search and table of contents will remain at the top of the article.
The design
The design follows the style set by the News redesign. It is cleaner, jazzier and the new template opens the canvas to improve readability. Using also the same typography connects this design to the redesign of WordPress.
The color palette is simple and muted so as to not interfere with the multiple videos and screenshots used within the articles.
The work started at WCEU 2019 Contributors Day in Berlin. The following articles describe the work previously done.
