Edit and customize your documentation
Tips on how to customize your documentation and make it your own
First things first — you don’t have to customize your documentation. There’s no rule saying you need a custom domain, your own logo and a unique color scheme. And ultimately, it’s the content of your docs that will make them great.
But it’s not just existing users or customers that will read your documentation — it’s prospective users too. And first impressions matter, so making sure your docs match the rest of your brand is an important step.
Customization tips and tricks
Create a landing page. Depending on your content, it may be a good idea to create a landing page for your documentation that acts as a kind of quick-start guide for readers. You can welcome people, link to important pages, and customize the page to match your branding (or just look cool). I think GitBook’s own docs are a great example of this.
Use cards. Cards are a really powerful and adaptable tool — both for landing pages and elsewhere. You can customize them individually, adding extra information or keeping them simple with an image that links to another page. PlexTrac does a great job of this
Set a theme and color. Setting up a custom color for your docs will help your work feel more on-brand (if you have a brand) or just look a little more personalised. You can also select a font and theme if you want to take things a step further.
Customize your logo and footer. Adding a custom logo to the top-left of your page, and a custom footer at the bottom, will make your docs feel more personal and professional. Totally optional, but a nice, easy win.
Set a custom domain. This is great if you want your docs to sit within your existing website and feel part of your brand. But even if that’s not a big concern for you, setting up a custom domain may make it easier for your readers to remember your site and return later.
Update your content regularly
This one is so important I broke it free of the list above, threw away its bullet point, and gave it it’s own H2 title. Yeah, it’s that serious.
Like your product or code, your documentation has to constantly evolve. Whether you’re documentation new features, updating your changelog, or just refreshing the content to make sure it’s as helpful as possible, it’s essential to regularly review your work.
When you update your docs, make sure you add a date and version number, so it’s clear for visitors when you last changed it. It’ll tell your users that you’re actively maintaining the product, and help newcomers understand that what their reading is still relevant.
Last updated