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.
<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">
<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">
<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="basic-logo">
<em class="usa-logo__text"><a href="/" title="Home" aria-label="Home">Project title</a></em>
</div>
<button class="usa-menu-btn">Menu</button>
</div>
<nav aria-label="Primary navigation" class="usa-nav">
<button class="usa-nav__close"><img src="/assets/img/usa-icons/close.svg" role="img" alt="close"></button>
<ul class="usa-nav__primary usa-accordion"><li class="usa-nav__primary-item">
<button class="usa-accordion__button usa-nav__link usa-current" aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="basic-nav-section-one"><span>Current section</span></button>
<ul id="basic-nav-section-one" class="usa-nav__submenu"><li class="usa-nav__submenu-item">
<a href="#" class=""> Navigation link</a>
</li><li class="usa-nav__submenu-item">
<a href="#" class=""> Navigation link</a>
</li><li class="usa-nav__submenu-item">
<a href="#" class=""> Navigation link</a>
</li></ul></li><li class="usa-nav__primary-item">
<button class="usa-accordion__button usa-nav__link" aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="basic-nav-section-two"><span>Section</span></button>
<ul id="basic-nav-section-two" class="usa-nav__submenu"><li class="usa-nav__submenu-item">
<a href="#" class=""> Navigation link</a>
</li><li class="usa-nav__submenu-item">
<a href="#" class=""> Navigation link</a>
</li><li class="usa-nav__submenu-item">
<a href="#" class=""> Navigation link</a>
</li></ul></li><li class="usa-nav__primary-item">
<a class="usa-nav__link" href="javascript:void(0)"><span>Simple link</span></a>
</li></ul><form class="usa-search usa-search--small " role="search">
<label class="usa-sr-only" for="basic-search-field-small">Search small</label>
<input class="usa-input" id="basic-search-field-small" type="search" name="search">
<button class="usa-button" type="submit"><span class="usa-sr-only">Search</span></button>
</form>
</nav>
</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>
Guidance
When to use the documentation page template
- Detailed information on a specific topic. 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.