A documentation page presents information on a certain theme, topic, or idea. People often arrive here after visiting the landing page or after searching for a specific piece of information, so documentation pages don’t need to provide as much contextualizing information as more introductory pages would.

Guidance

When to use

• If you’re presenting detailed information on a specific topic or theme that has already been contextualized by a landing page. Some topics that can be nicely represented on this type of page include guides or how-tos, technical documentation, and program descriptions — in short, any subject that requires in-depth explanation.

When to consider alternatives

• Don’t use a documentation page to introduce your users to your agency or organization — a landing page is better suited to that purpose. The level of detail present on documentation pages can overwhelm users who are just becoming acquainted with your organization.

Usage

• Use a precise headline to quickly communicate your page’s purpose. If the page content is especially complex, you may consider using a subheadline to further clarify its meaning.
• Write concise copy. Favor short sentences (and paragraphs) over longer ones, and use straightforward language, avoiding jargon. Remember, copy blocks don’t need to be long to be comprehensive.
• For guidance on specific components, see the page markup for the individual components.

Used in this pattern

• Grid
• Base styling
• Base typography
• Vertical Navigation