How to Add Documentation in WordPress: The Complete 2023 Guide

Well-organized documentation is crucial for any WordPress site owner.

Properly structured and written documentation delivers immense value through:

• Improved user experience and satisfaction scores
• Reduced customer service ticket volume
• Increased visitor engagement and conversions
• Higher SEO visibility and organic traffic

But creating effective documentation is an art and science.

In this complete guide, I‘ll show you step-by-step how to add stellar documentation in WordPress.

Why Documentation is Non-Negotiable for WordPress Sites

Before diving into implementation, let‘s highlight research revealing the hard benefits of documentation:

It‘s clear that investing in knowledge bases, user manuals, tutorials, and other documentation content pays dividends across key metrics.

Data sources:
[1] InSites, 2022
[2] ClickHelp, 2021
[3] Zendesk, 2023
[4] Moz, 2021

Without documentation, expect:

• Higher friction during onboarding
• Inability to self-serve answers
• Repeat basic questions flooding your help desk
• Low satisfaction from lost users
• Limited SEO visibility for long-tail informational keywords

Prioritizing documentation should be mandatory, not optional, for WordPress site owners.

Now let‘s dive into the construction process using the latest tools and best practices.

Step 1: Select a WordPress Documentation Plugin

While you can publish documentation content within regular WordPress pages and posts, it becomes messy fast.

For 2023, I strongly recommend using a dedicated WordPress documentation or knowledge base plugin.

Advantages include:

• Custom post types for managing articles
• Organization via taxonomies and categories
• Advanced internal search
• User feedback systems
• Content analytics and reporting
• Custom theming options
• Article ordering and layout tools

The following table compares the top WordPress documentation plugins:

Based on client implementations, I recommend Heroic Knowledge Base as the leading enterprise-grade solution packed with documentation features.

It‘s the only plugin I‘ve seen that ticks all boxes like:

• Custom ordering for articles and categories
• Inbuilt analytics reporting
• Feedback scores for content
• Email subscriber support
• Access restrictions based on membership
• Modern block editor for articles

The one downside is the $99 price tag, although arguably worth the investment for advanced knowledge management capabilities.

For open source alternatives, Echo Knowledge Base or DocPress are great free WordPress documentation plugins.

Overall, any purpose-built plugin beats a makeshift approach!

Let‘s move onto setup and configuration…

Step 2: Configure Your Documentation Plugin

With Heroic KB or your chosen documentation tool installed, now we need to:

1. Set the homepage
2. Choose layouts
3. Customize core settings

Getting the foundation right is key before adding content later.

Pick Documentation Homepage

First, decide where you want the main taxonomy index and search results to live. Typically one of:

• Dedicated page like yourdomain.com/docs
• Subpage like /support/knowledge-base
• Sidebar menu link

Here are a few best practice tips when mapping documentation architecture:

• Use docs subdomain (e.g docs.yourdomain.com) for large sites
• Place it under /support section for contextual relevance
• Keep it within 2 clicks from homepage

In your plugin settings, set the documentation homepage accordingly.

Tip: Heroic KB lets you auto-create an archive page or link to existing content.

Choose Sidebar Layout

Documentation layouts require some special considerations:

The standard setup is…

• Left sidebar for taxonomy menu
• Main content as search results and articles
• Right sidebar for widgets like "popular articles"

However, also think about sidebar behaviors:

• Should they be fixed or floating?
• Do you want content splitting into columns?
• Will your sidebar stretch full height?

Get the wireframe locked visually before drafting articles later.

Tip: Heroic KB has settings to control sidebars styling and responsive behavior.

Customize Core Taxonomy Settings

Lastly in plugin settings, configure:

• Access restrictions
• Category columns
• Category article limits
• Search box placeholder copy

These save time versus setting each attribute later per taxonomy.

Find the blanket taxonomy settings panel to apply global docs preferences.

With your documentation homepage set, layout chosen, colors selected, and taxonomy rules configured…you‘ve built a solid foundation!

Next let‘s organize the information architecture.

Step 3: Categorize Your Documentation Content

Now we need to architect the documentation into logical taxonomic groups and sub-groups.

This step is imperative for allowing users to:

• Quickly scan and understand available content
• Narrow searches to specific sub-topics
• Browse laterally through related content

See this blog taxonomy for example:

Content Marketing Tips

Keyword Research
Creating Viral Content
Promoting Blog Content
Measuring Content Results etc

Without a clear IA (information architecture), you risk overwhelming readers.

So take your time grouping documentation topics into categories and subcategories.

Here are 5 key principles for categorizing docs content:

1. Align categories to user intents and topics
2. Use natural language – no weird category names
3. Keep the category menu 1-2 levels deep only
4. Crosslink between related categories
5. Allow multiple categories per article

Getting the documentation taxonomy right is an iterative process, but essential to enable self-service discovering of answers.

Move onto creating articles next…

Step 4: Author Documentation Articles

Now the taxonomy is ready, it‘s time to start publishing documentation articles.

Follow these 8 best practices when authoring WordPress documentation content:

1. Establish Clear Page Titles

Use descriptive titles that signal:

1. The exact issue/question answered
2. Relevance to broader taxonomy

E.g. perfect title:

"How to Change Your WordPress Password – Admin Settings"

Not optimal title:

"Passwords Article"

Help readers scan TOC to matching issues.

2. Segment Content Via Subheadings

Break text into easy-to-scan segments using:

• H2 subheadings = Main phases
• H3 subheadings = Numbered steps
• H4 subheadings = Additional commentary

Subdivide longform articles for quicker comprehension.

3. Use Numbered Steps For Procedural Tasks

Walking through a step-by-step workflow?

Apply numbered formatting for clarity:

1. Login to you WordPress dashboard
2. Navigate to the Users menu
3. Select your user profile…

Lists simplify executions of sequential tasks or configs necessary to resolve the documentation issue under investigation.

4. Use Images Amply For Concepts

They say a picture is worth 1000 words!

So take screenshots of key UI elements being referenced through the article body.

Annotate images pointing to exact buttons, fields and areas under discussion for 100% clarity.

5. Link Out To References

Enhance credibility by linking out to authoritative sources for statements made:

"According to the WordPress Codex xyz…"

This signals expertise through awareness of community standards.

6. Close With Recaps

Conclude each article by summarizing key takeaways and learnings for readers.

Reinforce the how-to workflow covered step-by-step earlier in the piece.

7. Enable Comments

Comments allow readers to leave questions, feedback and critiques.

This allows you to identify common issues faced validating documentation quality and gaps for the next revision.

8. Promote Related Articles

Readers who find an article relevant likely have related questions.

So crosslink to complementary documentation content nearby:

"See also: How to Install WordPress Plugins"

This helps readers self-serve the next logical question in their journey.

Step 5: Curate Documentation Ordering

With articles populating your taxonomy, curation becomes important.

Specifically, you need to consider order and priority – both for:

A. Categories

Place vital categories first based on usage frequency:

1. Getting Started
2. Managing Your Account
3. Billing and Payments
4. Developer References

B. Articles

Prioritize articles based on severity and criticality:

1. How to reset your password
2. How to recover a locked account
3. Why are all WordPress images broken?

Ordering defines reader workflows. Place urgent issues above niche cases.

In your documentation plugin, reorganize items via drag and drop based on priority.

Don‘t neglect the sequencing experience!

Step 6: Review Analytics Insights

You‘ve built a tidy knowledge base. But it demands ongoing tuning.

Tap into analytics to identify:

• Most popular content areas
• Underperforming categories
• High-value keyword searches

This reveals what users actually require help with.

Prioritize building out documentation aligning real user intents based on hard data signals.

User feedback is another gold mine for improving. Monitor ratings, comments and reviews to address recurring complaints through tweaked documentation.

Go Forth and Document!

There‘s an art and science to creating effective documentation that educates users while building loyalty.

Now that you know the exact process for 2023 using WordPress purpose-built plugins, here‘s what you need to do:

• Choose a plugin: Heroic KB or Echo/DocPress
• Set configuration foundations
• Architect category taxonomy
• Author simple yet thorough articles
• Curate ordering priorities
• Analyze metrics continuously

Done right, documentation feels less like impersonal manuals, but moreso a trusted advisor guiding readers each step of the way.

The knowledge base should capture your support ethos through friendly, generous, human-centered writing.

Now that you have the blueprint, go document and delight your users!

Let me know if any other questions come up.