Best WordPress Documentation Plugins and Themes to Create a Documentation Website

Documentation is among the most essential components of supporting a services or products you might be providing. A documentation web site is an ordered and categorized doc that articulates how a product works. In different phrases, a documentation web site teaches customers find out how to work with a product step-by-step.

An entire help web site may embody a number of sections like a FAQ (often requested questions) web page, a ticketing system, a stay chat possibility, supporting boards, paperwork, and many others. 

Nonetheless, on this article, I’ll focus particularly on the very best instruments and strategies to create a content-based academic documentation web site, to type part of the supporting companies you’ll be able to supply to your prospects. 

You’ll be able to construct your product’s documentation as an impartial web site or make it utilizing WordPress plugins after which embody it in your current web site

Finest Methods to Create a Documentation Web site with WordPress

Earlier than we get to the primary occasion, let’s first take a fast have a look at the very best methods to create your skilled product documentation with WordPress:

1. WordPress Documentation and Information Base Themes: These sorts of themes had been developed particularly for constructing academic paperwork and help web sites. Most of them present a built-in software for creating docs and are suitable with all documentation builder plugins.
2. Documentation Builder Plugins: These plugins present extra options and performance to your WordPress web site enabling you to create organized teams of articles.
3. Utilizing the Default Web page Builder (Gutenberg): Afterward I’ll present you find out how to convert your recent WordPress set up to a documentation web site with out including additional add-ons to your web site. (However you’ll want no less than WordPress model 5.9.3.)

Now let’s discover the very best WordPress themes and plugins on your documentation web site.

Finest Documentation WordPress Themes on ThemeForest

ThemeForest is among the largest marketplaces on the web that features 1000’s of premium {and professional} themes for WordPress. 

On ThemeForest you will discover many highly effective themes designed particularly for documentation and data base web sites. So in case you’re searching for a straightforward and simple method to create your documentation web site within the shortest attainable time, then learn on and decide a theme from the checklist under.

1. Handbook – Documentation, Information Base & Training WordPress Theme

Handbook is among the finest selections on this checklist. Nearly 3,000 web sites use this standard and highly effective documentation theme. It’s quick, simple to make use of, and offers many built-in options like an admin-friendly documentation builder, loads of pre-made templates, a one-click demo installer, and extra. 

Its designers have cared rather a lot in regards to the particulars and the location’s entrance finish, which will increase person engagement and motivates them to discover your documentation. Moreover, the Handbook theme is totally suitable with most third-party documentation builders and discussion board plugins.

Handbook Stay Demo

2. Docly – Documentation And Information Base WordPress Theme with bbPress Helpdesk Discussion board

With Docly you’ll have the ability to show your documentation pages inside a contemporary and crowd pleasing setting. It comes with an prolonged administration space and a useful theme customizer which lets you change your web site to one thing distinctive and particular.

“We designed Docly for the readers, optimizing not for web page views or engagement — however studying. And it seems that context is a crucial a part of studying.”

Docly Stay Demo

3. Tikidocs – Knowledgebase & Assist Discussion board WordPress Theme + RTL

For those who’re searching for a useful and simple WordPress theme to create a quick documentation useful resource on your customers, then Tikidocs is an effective selection. It contains all the required internal pages for a documentation web site. After importing its pre-built demo, you’ll be able to simply change and customise it by an admin-friendly editor.

Tikidocs Stay Demo

4. TheDocs – On-line Documentation WordPress Theme

TheDocs doesn’t present quite a few and complex built-in instruments, as an alternative it lets you import a easy content-focused design and customise it as you want. This elegant theme helps you clearly show your contents inside a clear and minimalistic construction and make them extra accessible with a sticky TOC (desk of contents) within the sidebar. 

This theme is an effective selection for individuals who want to reduce growth and design time and wish to deal with content material creation.

TheDocs Stay Demo

5. Lore – Elegant Information Base WordPress Theme

Lore is one other quick, Web optimization-optimized, and well-documented WordPress theme that comes with a ready-to-import demo and a helpful plugin named Information Base that can assist you create new articles and classes on your web site. The data base half and the weblog part have completely different publish varieties as a way to nonetheless have a weblog on the opposite aspect of your documentation web site. 

Lore Stay Demo

6. Wikb – Knowledgebase & Assist Desk WP Theme

For those who’re planning to construct an entire help web site with WordPress, then Wikb is an effective selection as the place to begin. It’s a multipurpose help theme that along with an attention-grabbing design and a built-in documentation builder, has the important conditions for promoting premium programs. Additionally it is totally suitable with most discussion board plugins, stay chat programs, and ticketing instruments. 

Wikb Stay Demo

7. Lipi – Self Service Information Base and Inventive WordPress Theme

This responsive documentation theme has a number of beautiful demos you’ll be able to set up with a single click on and customise to one thing extra distinctive by way of completely different header types and shade schemes inside an easy-to-use theme customizer. If you wish to create an attractive documentation web site for varied display screen sizes, then decide this responsive theme from ThemeForest.

Lipi Stay Demo

8. KnowHow – A Information Base WordPress Theme

No extra confusion on your customers! KnowHow, one of many best-seller documentation themes on ThemeForest, offers you with a content-first design that guides the guests to the precise place from the second they enter your web site. Additionally, with a easy header, a correct most important menu, and a world search field, it will likely be easy on your customers to discover the location and discover the specified article within the documentation half or obtain an acceptable reply within the FAQ part.

KnowHow Stay Demo

9. HelpGuru – A Self-Service Information Base WordPress Theme

HelpGuru is one other theme developed by the creators of the KnowHow theme that we now have seen above. If you wish to entry the simplicity of KnowHow and extra built-in options (like a discussion board or weblog) on the identical time, this theme is what you want!

HelpGuru Stay Demo

10. Knowledgedesk – Information Base WordPress Theme

Knowledgedesk comes with many third-party premium add-ons and plugins saving you as much as $163 by buying it! It additionally contains BWL Information Base Supervisor, which is a robust and beneficial documentation builder plugin for WordPress. Please check out its six pre-made dwelling pages to search out out extra about this elegant documentation web site builder.

Knowledgedesk Demo

Finest Documentation Creator Plugins for WordPress

If you have already got a WordPress web site and don’t wish to change its theme, then you’ll be able to set up a documentation builder plugin and begin to create a Docs part inside your current web site. Right here I’ll present you the very best WordPress plugins for constructing documentation in your web site.

1. DeepDocs – Documentation and Information Base Plugin

DeepDocs is a premium documentation builder accessible on the CodeCanyon web site. It’s a skilled and well-performing plugin that lets you simply create completely different classes of academic articles with drag and drop. With this plugin, you may also change the looks of your documentation web site in a stay customizer. 

DeepDocs Stay Demo

2. BetterDocs – Finest Documentation & Information Base Plugin

This plugin is among the most identified documentation builders from the WordPress repository and has greater than 30,000 lively installations. It offers fantastic options like a contemporary documentation editor, insightful analytics on your web site, engaging templates, a helpful AJAX search field, and extra.

3. Cut up Put up – WordPress Put up Ajax Pagination Plugin

Suppose you’d prefer to create a unique and completely different documentation web site. In that case, it’s worthwhile to be a bit of inventive and discover extra options for this objective. Though Cut up Put up will not be a documentation builder, it helps you divide a weblog publish into completely different steps based mostly on a selected class and showcase them together with a drop-down menu that features your TOC (identical to a documentation web site). You’ll be able to examine all its 20 stay demos and templates on Envato Parts.

“Cut up your lengthy publish content material into a number of pages with ajax pagination to take care of studying expertise and velocity up your web page loading time.”

4. weDocs – Knowledgebase and Documentation Plugin for WordPress

WeDocs is one other free plugin from the WordPress repository. It’s a easy documentation builder that lets you create your documentation with little effort. It follows the default types of your theme and doesn’t have an effect on the looks of your web site. 

5. Information Base for Documentation and FAQs

After putting in this plugin, you’ll have entry to a stay documentation builder. Just like the BetterDocs plugin, this one additionally comes with many extra options that let you handle your documentation web site extra professionally.

Now let’s take one step additional and learn to create a documentation web site with out utilizing any additional plugins, utilizing the default options of the WordPress CMS. Don’t neglect to be inventive!

One Step Additional: Learn how to Create a Documentation Web site Utilizing the Block Editor

To create an ordered and structured documentation web site utilizing the Gutenberg editor, it’s worthwhile to use WordPress 5.9.3 or increased. Right here, a brand new template editor helps you create a sidebar on your web site and put it the place ever you want it.

Within the following mini-tutorial, I’ll create a brand new sidebar and put an inventory of hyperlinks (to completely different posts) inside it. Then, I’ll add it to the Single-Put up template that WordPress makes use of by default to showcase your posts.

Once we’re performed, all of the posts may have an inventory of contents on the left aspect. This sidebar would be the desk of contents of your documentation web site. 

1. Create a New Template Half

First, log in to your WordPress admin space. Then, improve to WordPress 5.9.3 and ensure your theme helps the brand new Editor (I’m utilizing the Twenty Twenty-Two theme).

From the left-hand menu, navigate to Look > Editor.

Within the subsequent display screen, choose Template Components from the left aspect and click on Add New. It would open a pop-up window that lets you select the kind of template you wish to create. 

Choose the Normal kind and select a reputation for the template (I named it New-Sidebar). Then, click on Create.

2. Customise it In keeping with Your Wants

After you may have created a brand new template half, you’ll be taken to a stay template editor that is rather like the Gutenberg web page builder. 

As I discussed earlier than, we are attempting to create a content material checklist for our documentation web site. To try this, add a Desk block to your newly-created template. Then, with a customized order, add all of your posts (as a hyperlink) to this desk and click on Save.

3. Add Your Listing of Content material to All Your Posts

Now, return to the Look > Editor, and this time click on Templates from the left-hand menu, the place you will discover the primary templates of your theme. Select the Single-Put up template that’s accountable for showcasing your articles. Right here, I’m going to edit this template and showcase the New-sidebar template (that we created within the earlier step) subsequent to a brand new Put up Content material block.

So just like the GIF under, first delete the default (full-width) Put up Content material block.

Then, add a brand new Listing View above the Feedback part, the place the Put up Content material block was earlier than we deleted it. 

After that, put a Columns block contained in the Listing View and select the 30/70 variation for it.

Now you may have two empty columns. Add the New-sidebar template to the left column and a Put up Content material block to the precise one.

Now, Save the template, open a pre-written publish, and try what you simply made! 

With this trick, customers will see an ordered checklist of the content material subsequent to your posts, which we’re all accustomed to as a “documentation construction”.

Conclusion

A documentation web site acts as a 24/7 help agent and offers an entire information on utilizing a services or products. On this article, you discovered in regards to the alternative ways you’ll be able to create a documentation web site utilizing WordPress. You might have additionally discovered find out how to make an ordered TOC on your WordPress weblog and add it to posts. 

For those who’d nonetheless prefer to be taught extra about creating documentation websites and templates, then take a look at this free course on Envato Tuts+: Constructing a WordPress Theme Documentation Template, or take a look at the articles under.