Company
Date Published
Author
Shannon Soper
Word count
1215
Language
English
Hacker News points
None

Summary

In a recent initiative to enhance the usability of documentation on gatsbyjs.org, a card sort exercise was conducted with 36 Gatsby users who categorized 90 cards into logical groups. Using OptimalSort software, the data revealed common categories such as "Get Started," "Core Concepts," and "Advanced Guides," although some documents like "Building apps with Gatsby" and deployment-related docs lacked clear categorization. This ambiguity highlights the need for more clarity in presenting Gatsby's capabilities, particularly beyond static site generation, and suggests possible enhancements like introducing "Deployment & Hosting" as a primary category. Additionally, the overlap between "Core Concepts" and "Advanced Guides" suggests a need for better linkage between related content. Following this, usability testing is being carried out, which has already shown that users often resort to Google searches over internal navigation and find some category names, like "Recipes," unclear. The results of these tests and a redesigned sidebar are anticipated to further refine the documentation structure, inviting feedback through a Doc Redesign RFC to ensure the documentation meets user needs effectively.