Templates
Documentation page
Present information on a certain theme, topic, or idea.
About the documentation page template
People often arrive at a documentation page 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. The copy should be clear, focused, and concise.
<body>
<a class="usa-skipnav" href="#main-content">Skip to main content</a>
<section class="usa-banner" aria-label="Official government website">
<div class="usa-accordion">
<header class="usa-banner__header">
<div class="usa-banner__inner">
<div class="grid-col-auto">
<img
class="usa-banner__header-flag"
src="/assets/img/us_flag_small.png"
alt="U.S. flag"
/>
</div>
<div class="grid-col-fill tablet:grid-col-auto">
<p class="usa-banner__header-text">
An official website of the United States government
</p>
<p class="usa-banner__header-action" aria-hidden="true">
Here’s how you know
</p>
</div>
<button
class="usa-accordion__button usa-banner__button"
aria-expanded="false"
aria-controls="gov-banner-default"
>
<span class="usa-banner__button-text">Here’s how you know</span>
</button>
</div>
</header>
<div
class="usa-banner__content usa-accordion__content"
id="gov-banner-default"
>
<div class="grid-row grid-gap-lg">
<div class="usa-banner__guidance tablet:grid-col-6">
<img
class="usa-banner__icon usa-media-block__img"
src="/assets/img/icon-dot-gov.svg"
role="img"
alt=""
aria-hidden="true"
/>
<div class="usa-media-block__body">
<p>
<strong>Official websites use .gov</strong><br />A
<strong>.gov</strong> website belongs to an official government
organization in the United States.
</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="usa-banner__guidance tablet:grid-col-6">
<img
class="usa-banner__icon usa-media-block__img"
src="/assets/img/icon-https.svg"
role="img"
alt=""
aria-hidden="true"
/>
<div class="usa-media-block__body">
<p>
<strong>Secure .gov websites use HTTPS</strong><br />A
<strong>lock</strong> (
<span class="icon-lock"
><svg
xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"
width="52"
height="64"
viewBox="0 0 52 64"
class="usa-banner__lock-image"
role="img"
aria-labelledby="banner-lock-title banner-lock-description"
focusable="false"
>
<title id="banner-lock-title">Lock</title>
<desc id="banner-lock-description">A locked padlock</desc>
<path
fill="#000000"
fill-rule="evenodd"
d="M26 0c10.493 0 19 8.507 19 19v9h3a4 4 0 0 1 4 4v28a4 4 0 0 1-4 4H4a4 4 0 0 1-4-4V32a4 4 0 0 1 4-4h3v-9C7 8.507 15.507 0 26 0zm0 8c-5.979 0-10.843 4.77-10.996 10.712L15 19v9h22v-9c0-6.075-4.925-11-11-11z"
/>
</svg> </span
>) or <strong>https://</strong> means you’ve safely connected to
the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official,
secure websites.
</p>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</section>
<div class="usa-overlay"></div>
<header class="usa-header usa-header--basic">
<div class="usa-nav-container">
<div class="usa-navbar">
<div class="usa-logo" id="-logo">
<em class="usa-logo__text"
><a href="/" title="[Project title]">[Project title]</a></em
>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</header>
<div class="usa-section">
<div class="grid-container">
<div class="grid-row grid-gap">
<div class="usa-layout-docs__sidenav desktop:grid-col-3">
<nav aria-label="Secondary navigation">
<ul class="usa-sidenav">
<li class="usa-sidenav__item"><a href="">Parent link</a></li>
<li class="usa-sidenav__item">
<a href="" class="usa-current">Current page</a>
<ul class="usa-sidenav__sublist">
<li class="usa-sidenav__item"><a href="">Child link</a></li>
<li class="usa-sidenav__item">
<a href="" class="usa-current">Child link</a>
<ul class="usa-sidenav__sublist">
<li class="usa-sidenav__item">
<a href="">Grandchild link</a>
</li>
<li class="usa-sidenav__item">
<a href="">Grandchild link</a>
</li>
<li class="usa-sidenav__item">
<a href="" class="usa-current">Grandchild link</a>
</li>
<li class="usa-sidenav__item">
<a href="">Grandchild link</a>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="usa-sidenav__item"><a href="">Child link</a></li>
<li class="usa-sidenav__item"><a href="">Child link</a></li>
<li class="usa-sidenav__item"><a href="">Child link</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="usa-sidenav__item"><a href="">Parent link</a></li>
</ul>
</nav>
</div>
<main
class="
usa-layout-docs__main
desktop:grid-col-9
usa-prose usa-layout-docs
"
id="main-content"
>
<h1>Page heading (h1)</h1>
<p class="usa-intro">
The page heading communicates the main focus of the page. Make your
page heading descriptive and keep it succinct.
</p>
<h2 id="section-heading-h2">Section heading (h2)</h2>
<p>
These headings introduce, respectively, sections and subsections
within your body copy. As you create these headings, follow the same
guidelines that you use when writing section headings: Be succinct,
descriptive, and precise.
</p>
<h3 id="section-heading-h3">Subsection heading (h3)</h3>
<p>
The particulars of your body copy will be determined by the topic of
your page. Regardless of topic, it’s a good practice to follow the
inverted pyramid structure when writing copy: Begin with the
information that’s most important to your users and then present
information of less importance.
</p>
<p>
Keep each section and subsection focused — a good approach is to
include one theme (topic) per section.
</p>
<h4 id="section-heading-h4">Subsection heading (h4)</h4>
<p>
Use the side navigation menu to help your users quickly skip to
different sections of your page. The menu is best suited to
displaying a hierarchy with one to three levels and, as we
mentioned, to display the sub-navigation of a given page.
</p>
<p>
Read the full documentation on our side navigation on the component
page.
</p>
</main>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<footer class="usa-footer">
<div class="grid-container usa-footer__return-to-top">
<a href="#">Return to top</a>
</div>
<div class="usa-footer__primary-section">
<nav class="usa-footer__nav" aria-label="Footer navigation">
<ul class="grid-row grid-gap">
<li
class="
mobile-lg:grid-col-4
desktop:grid-col-auto
usa-footer__primary-content
"
>
<a class="usa-footer__primary-link" href="javascript:void(0);"
>[Primary link]</a
>
</li>
<li
class="
mobile-lg:grid-col-4
desktop:grid-col-auto
usa-footer__primary-content
"
>
<a class="usa-footer__primary-link" href="javascript:void(0);"
>[Primary link]</a
>
</li>
<li
class="
mobile-lg:grid-col-4
desktop:grid-col-auto
usa-footer__primary-content
"
>
<a class="usa-footer__primary-link" href="javascript:void(0);"
>[Primary link]</a
>
</li>
<li
class="
mobile-lg:grid-col-4
desktop:grid-col-auto
usa-footer__primary-content
"
>
<a class="usa-footer__primary-link" href="javascript:void(0);"
>[Primary link]</a
>
</li>
</ul>
</nav>
</div>
<div class="usa-footer__secondary-section">
<div class="grid-container">
<div class="grid-row grid-gap">
<div
class="
usa-footer__logo
grid-row
mobile-lg:grid-col-6 mobile-lg:grid-gap-2
"
>
<div class="mobile-lg:grid-col-auto">
<img
class="usa-footer__logo-img"
src="/assets/img/logo-img.png"
alt=""
/>
</div>
<div class="mobile-lg:grid-col-auto">
<p class="usa-footer__logo-heading">[Name of Agency]</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="usa-footer__contact-links mobile-lg:grid-col-6">
<div class="usa-footer__social-links grid-row grid-gap-1">
<div class="grid-col-auto">
<a class="usa-social-link" href="javascript:void(0);"
><img
class="usa-social-link__icon"
src="/assets/img/usa-icons/facebook.svg"
alt="Facebook"
/></a>
</div>
<div class="grid-col-auto">
<a class="usa-social-link" href="javascript:void(0);"
><img
class="usa-social-link__icon"
src="/assets/img/usa-icons/twitter.svg"
alt="Twitter"
/></a>
</div>
<div class="grid-col-auto">
<a class="usa-social-link" href="javascript:void(0);"
><img
class="usa-social-link__icon"
src="/assets/img/usa-icons/youtube.svg"
alt="YouTube"
/></a>
</div>
<div class="grid-col-auto">
<a class="usa-social-link" href="javascript:void(0);"
><img
class="usa-social-link__icon"
src="/assets/img/usa-icons/instagram.svg"
alt="Instagram"
/></a>
</div>
<div class="grid-col-auto">
<a class="usa-social-link" href="javascript:void(0);"
><img
class="usa-social-link__icon"
src="/assets/img/usa-icons/rss_feed.svg"
alt="RSS"
/></a>
</div>
</div>
<p class="usa-footer__contact-heading">[Agency Contact Center]</p>
<address class="usa-footer__address">
<div class="usa-footer__contact-info grid-row grid-gap">
<div class="grid-col-auto">
<a href="tel:1-800-555-5555">[(800) 555-GOVT]</a>
</div>
<div class="grid-col-auto">
<a href="mailto:info@agency.gov">[info@agency.gov]</a>
</div>
</div>
</address>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</footer>
<div class="usa-identifier">
<section
class="usa-identifier__section usa-identifier__section--masthead"
aria-label="Agency identifier"
>
<div class="usa-identifier__container">
<div class="usa-identifier__logos">
<a href="javascript:void(0)" class="usa-identifier__logo"
><img
class="usa-identifier__logo-img"
src="/assets/img/circle-gray-20.svg"
alt="[Parent agency] logo"
role="img"
/></a>
</div>
<div class="usa-identifier__identity" aria-label="Agency description">
<p class="usa-identifier__identity-domain">domain.gov</p>
<p class="usa-identifier__identity-disclaimer">
An official website of the <a href="">[Parent agency]</a>
</p>
</div>
</div>
</section>
<nav
class="usa-identifier__section usa-identifier__section--required-links"
aria-label="Important links"
>
<div class="usa-identifier__container">
<ul class="usa-identifier__required-links-list">
<li class="usa-identifier__required-links-item">
<a
href="javascript:void(0)"
class="usa-identifier__required-link usa-link"
>About [Parent shortname]</a
>
</li>
<li class="usa-identifier__required-links-item">
<a href="" class="usa-identifier__required-link usa-link"
>Accessibility support</a
>
</li>
<li class="usa-identifier__required-links-item">
<a href="" class="usa-identifier__required-link usa-link"
>FOIA requests</a
>
</li>
<li class="usa-identifier__required-links-item">
<a href="" class="usa-identifier__required-link usa-link"
>No FEAR Act data</a
>
</li>
<li class="usa-identifier__required-links-item">
<a href="" class="usa-identifier__required-link usa-link"
>Office of the Inspector General</a
>
</li>
<li class="usa-identifier__required-links-item">
<a href="" class="usa-identifier__required-link usa-link"
>Performance reports</a
>
</li>
<li class="usa-identifier__required-links-item">
<a href="" class="usa-identifier__required-link usa-link"
>Privacy policy</a
>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
</nav>
<section
class="usa-identifier__section usa-identifier__section--usagov"
aria-label="U.S. government information and services"
>
<div class="usa-identifier__container">
<div class="usa-identifier__usagov-description">
Looking for U.S. government information and services?
</div>
<a href="https://www.usa.gov/" class="usa-link">Visit USA.gov</a>
</div>
</section>
</div>
</body>Guidance
When to use the documentation page template
- Detailed information on a specific topic. Use a documentation page 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 something else
- Introducing a new program. Don’t use a documentation page to introduce your users to your agency or organization — the 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.
Usability guidance
- Use a precise headline. A precise headline quickly communicates 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.
- See component-specific guidance. For guidance on specific components, see the page for the individual components.
