Best Practices

Discover proven strategies and techniques for creating world-class documentation that delights users and drives adoption. These best practices are gathered from successful documentation teams and Luffa community insights.

Content Strategy

Writing Principles

1. Start with Your User's Journey

  • Map out user goals and pain points
  • Create content that matches user intent
  • Use progressive disclosure for complex topics
  • Provide multiple entry points to the same information

2. Write for Scanability

  • Use descriptive headings and subheadings
  • Break content into digestible chunks
  • Employ bullet points and numbered lists
  • Include clear visual hierarchy

3. Be Concise and Clear

❌ Don't: "It is possible to configure the API endpoint by means of..."
✅ Do: "Configure the API endpoint by..."

Content Organization

Information Architecture

docs/
├── getting-started/          # New user onboarding
│   ├── installation/
│   ├── quickstart/
│   └── first-project/
├── api-reference/           # Complete API docs
│   ├── authentication/
│   ├── endpoints/
│   └── errors/
├── guides/                  # Task-oriented content
│   ├── tutorials/
│   ├── how-to/
│   └── explanations/
└── resources/               # Supporting materials
    ├── examples/
    ├── changelog/
    └── migration/

Technical Implementation

Performance Optimization

1. Optimize Images and Media

// Use Next.js Image component for optimization
import Image from 'next/image'

<Image
  src="/screenshot.png"
  alt="Dashboard overview"
  width={800}
  height={600}
  priority={false} // Only for above-the-fold images
/>

2. Implement Smart Loading

// Lazy load heavy components
import { lazy, Suspense } from 'react'

const InteractiveDemo = lazy(() => import('./InteractiveDemo'))

function Documentation() {
  return (
    <Suspense fallback={<div>Loading demo...</div>}>
      <InteractiveDemo />
    </Suspense>
  )
}

3. Optimize Search Performance

// Debounce search queries
import { useDebouncedCallback } from 'use-debounce'

const debouncedSearch = useDebouncedCallback(
  (searchTerm) => {
    performSearch(searchTerm)
  },
  300 // Wait 300ms after user stops typing
)

SEO Best Practices

Meta Tags and Structured Data

// In your MDX frontmatter
export const metadata = {
  title: 'API Authentication Guide',
  description: 'Learn how to authenticate with the Luffa API using API keys, OAuth, and JWT tokens.',
  keywords: ['API', 'authentication', 'security', 'tokens'],
  author: 'Luffa Team',
  publishedAt: '2024-01-15',
  updatedAt: '2024-06-19'
}

URL Structure

✅ Good URLs:
/api/authentication
/guides/getting-started/installation
/best-practices/security

❌ Avoid:
/page123
/docs/auth/api/tokens/guide
/guide.html?id=auth

User Experience

Navigation Design

1. Consistent Navigation

  • Use breadcrumbs for deep hierarchies
  • Implement "Previous/Next" navigation
  • Provide search in prominent locations
  • Include clear calls-to-action

2. Mobile-First Approach

/* Responsive navigation */
.nav-menu {
  @apply hidden lg:block; /* Hidden on mobile, visible on desktop */
}

.mobile-nav {
  @apply block lg:hidden; /* Visible on mobile, hidden on desktop */
}

Accessibility

Screen Reader Support

// Use semantic HTML and ARIA labels
<nav aria-label="Documentation navigation">
  <ul role="list">
    <li>
      <a href="/api" aria-current="page">
        API Reference
      </a>
    </li>
  </ul>
</nav>

Keyboard Navigation

// Ensure all interactive elements are keyboard accessible
<button
  onKeyDown={(e) => {
    if (e.key === 'Enter' || e.key === ' ') {
      handleClick()
    }
  }}
>
  Search
</button>

Content Maintenance

Version Control Strategy

1. Branch Strategy

main/              # Production documentation
├── staging/       # Staging for review
├── feature/*      # Feature documentation
└── hotfix/*       # Critical fixes

2. Content Review Process

# .github/workflows/content-review.yml
name: Content Review
on:
  pull_request:
    paths: ['src/app/**/*.mdx']
jobs:
  review:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Check spelling
        uses: streetsidesoftware/cspell-action@v2
      - name: Lint prose
        uses: errata-ai/vale-action@reviewdog

Analytics and Feedback

Track Content Performance

// Track page engagement
import { analytics } from '@/lib/analytics'

useEffect(() => {
  const startTime = Date.now()
  
  return () => {
    const timeSpent = Date.now() - startTime
    analytics.track('Page Time Spent', {
      page: pathname,
      duration: timeSpent
    })
  }
}, [pathname])

Collect User Feedback

function FeedbackWidget() {
  return (
    <div className="feedback-widget">
      <p>Was this page helpful?</p>
      <button onClick={() => submitFeedback('positive')}>
        👍 Yes
      </button>
      <button onClick={() => submitFeedback('negative')}>
        👎 No
      </button>
    </div>
  )
}

Security Considerations

API Key Management

Environment Variables

# .env.local (never commit this file)
OPENAI_API_KEY=sk-...
UPSTASH_VECTOR_REST_TOKEN=...

# Use different keys for different environments
LUFFA_ENV=production

Key Rotation Strategy

// Implement graceful key rotation
const apiKey = process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production' 
  ? process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY_PROD
  : process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY_DEV

Content Security

Sanitize User Input

import DOMPurify from 'dompurify'

function UserGeneratedContent({ content }) {
  const cleanContent = DOMPurify.sanitize(content)
  return <div dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: cleanContent }} />
}

Team Collaboration

Documentation Culture

1. Make Documentation a First-Class Citizen

  • Include docs in definition of "done"
  • Review documentation in code reviews
  • Celebrate documentation improvements
  • Measure and reward good documentation

2. Establish Style Guidelines

# Luffa Documentation Style Guide

## Voice and Tone
- Friendly but professional
- Direct and actionable
- Inclusive and accessible

## Formatting
- Use sentence case for headings
- Include code examples for all features
- Add screenshots for UI interactions

Workflow Integration

Documentation in Development Process

graph LR
    A[Plan Feature] --> B[Write Docs]
    B --> C[Develop Feature]
    C --> D[Update Docs]
    D --> E[Test & Review]
    E --> F[Deploy Together]

Continuous Improvement

Metrics to Track

Content Performance

  • Page views and unique visitors
  • Time spent on page
  • Bounce rate
  • Search success rate
  • User feedback scores

Technical Performance

  • Page load times
  • Search response times
  • API endpoint response times
  • Error rates

A/B Testing Documentation

// Test different content formats
const ExperimentalContent = () => {
  const variant = useABTest('content-format', {
    control: 'standard',
    treatment: 'interactive'
  })
  
  return variant === 'interactive' 
    ? <InteractiveGuide />
    : <StandardGuide />
}

Community Building

Encouraging Contributions

Make Contributing Easy

  • Provide clear contribution guidelines
  • Use "Edit this page" links
  • Offer multiple ways to contribute
  • Recognize contributors publicly

Community Feedback Loops

function CommunitySection() {
  return (
    <div className="community-links">
      <a href="https://github.com/luffa/luffa/discussions">
        💬 Discussions
      </a>
      <a href="https://discord.gg/luffa">
        🗨️ Discord
      </a>
      <a href="mailto:feedback@luffa.dev">
        ✉️ Direct Feedback
      </a>
    </div>
  )
}

Next Steps

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