Welcome to the official home of the WordPress documentation team.
This team is responsible for coordinating all documentation initiatives around WordPress, including the Codex (moving to HelpHub and DevHub), handbooks, parts of developer.wordpress.orgWordPress.orgThe community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/, admin help, inline docs, and other general wordsmithing across the WordPress project.
Want to get involved?
There are many ways in which you can help the Docs team. Every small contribution counts and helps! You can report an issue or typo you found in the docs, or even help us write new documentation for parts that are still missing. These are some helpful links to find out more about what we do and how to collaborate:
Block Editor Handbook: An overview of documentation contributions of BlockBlockBlock is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. Editor / GutenbergGutenbergThe Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/
We have the results of the doodle we did to find a better meeting timing – 14:00 UTC.
We are aiming to start the new meeting timing in the new year.
The Documentation Team is also looking to take a break for the holidays. The last meeting for 2020 will be on 14 December. We’ll then start fresh 11 January 2021.
If you have any worries or thoughts, please feel free to comment!
PluginPluginA plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party Handbook by @themiked: Minimal changes, need to ratify the external linking policy document. According to Mike, all previous owners have just made changes as appropriate without asking, and nobody noticed.
Design for Documentation by @estelaris: Planning on finishing the design for documentation in the first quarter. Need to gather the final results from the reclassification project, other requirements I picked up from diverse meetings and put together my recommendation for final design. You will see a few discussion posts before the design proposal, aimed between the last week of March- first week of April.
BEE-Docs by @bph: Caught up on our articles to make them current with 5.5 and started working on 5.6 updates and create new pages. Started to open up the feedback for more pages. Definitely need instructions, how we would like to handle things. The team is now working via TrelloTrelloProject management system using the concepts of boards and cards to organize tasks in a sane way. This is what the make.wordpress.com/marketing team uses for example: https://trello.com/b/8UGHVBu8/wp-marketing., Google Docs. Kudos to all who keep working away on the to-do lists. The ‘Thanksgiving Sprint’ which was a great way to get a lot of things done and connect with contributors, especially new ones. This will definitely be repeated and hopefully can be an ongoing team exercise. Kudos to @geheren for taking up a quite a few pages and work on them.Challenges: We don’t yet have a fluid system on keeping pace with the rapid development of GutenbergGutenbergThe Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/ and for adoption of FSE for 2021 the team needs help from the coreCoreCore is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress.-editor team to at least have a rough draft of documentation coming from the developers, that we can follow and extend for End-User.
External Linking Policy by @milana_cap: Finally made some visible progress even though it was rather slow at the beginning
Google Season of Docs by @estelaris: One project finished and another is due to finish by Q1 2021 by @tacitonic. He finished the lengthiest section in the style guide – the Formatting section, started writing a spinoff section on Linking and encouraged team members to review and discuss articles in discussion tab on GitHubGitHubGitHub is a website that offers online implementation of git repositories that can can easily be shared, copied and modified by other developers. Public repositories are free to host, private repositories require a paid subscription. GitHub introduced the concept of the ‘pull request’ where code changes done in branches by contributors can be reviewed and discussed before being merged be the repository owner. https://github.com/.
It’s Birgit’s first year on the team, so she’s not sure what’s the ‘usual’ process is. On Community team, there is a post asking for suggestions from the whole community, like the wishlist for the new release and then the team organizes the suggestions and translate them to goal statements, and picks their priorities.
Estela points out the goals for Design: Documentation design proposal – Q1
P2P2P2 or O2 is the term people use to refer to the Make WordPress blog. It can be found at https://make.wordpress.org/. new requests – Week 03
P2 new classification – Week 05
P2 on final navigation – Week 07
P2 on templates draft – Week 10
P2 proposal new design for documentation – Week 13
Open Floor
@estelaris feared to collaborate with the #meta team but at the same time is planning to annoy them until they reply. @bph mentioned that #Meta team is working on a Pattern Directory that is exciting for a lot of us.
@atachibana reported that the contents team continued migrating and re-routing Codex to Code Reference, and in this week we processed: HooksHooksIn WordPress theme and development, hooks are functions that can be applied to an action or a Filter in WordPress. Actions are functions performed when a certain event occurs in WordPress. Filters allow you to modify certain functions. Arguments used to hook both filters and actions look the same.: 224 of 355 (63.1 % from 56.1% the last week) by @stevenlinx and @Mathew McCabe
External Linking Policy – there was a lack of input from the team on the post but we have a deadline so for the first review of PluginPluginA plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party Developer Handbook we have two reviewers (even though we are aiming for 3) – @themiked and myself. I’ve already done the one for “undoubtedly allowed” links. @themiked please do yours this week if you can so that we can start applying results and keep the deadline by the end of this year.
GSoD Documentation Style Guide – I’m working on manifest.jsonJSONJSON, or JavaScript Object Notation, is a minimal, readable format for structuring data. It is used primarily to transmit data between a server and web application, as an alternative to XML. file which is needed for parsing GitHubGitHubGitHub is a website that offers online implementation of git repositories that can can easily be shared, copied and modified by other developers. Public repositories are free to host, private repositories require a paid subscription. GitHub introduced the concept of the ‘pull request’ where code changes done in branches by contributors can be reviewed and discussed before being merged be the repository owner. https://github.com/ markdown files to our very new Style Guide Handbook. Once I finish it, I’ll pingPingThe act of sending a very small amount of data to an end point. Ping is used in computer science to illicit a response from a target server to test it’s connection. Ping is also a term used by Slack users to @ someone or send them a direct message (DM). Users might say something along the lines of “Ping me when the meeting starts.” some good people from metaMetaMeta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress. to run it for the first time. Really looking forward to seeing this one.
We are asking all #docs team members to read the above post about External Linking Policy. We need your decisions and votes. As it is now, this will be a “two persons” decision.
-docs update We have still three orphan pages on our to-do-list for 5.6
Updates: Image blockBlockBlock is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. page
new page: Image Editing features
Updates to Latest Posts
New contributor @incapit works on their first page.
Another new contributor will be on-boarded this week.
After some discussion, we decided to skip the coffee break this month as it is too tight between the holidays and the State of the WordState of the WordThis is the annual report given by Matt Mullenweg, founder of WordPress at WordCamp US. It looks at what we’ve done, what we’re doing, and the future of WordPress. https://wordpress.tv/tag/state-of-the-word/..
Discussion: Clarification about the use of GPLGPLGPL is an acronym for GNU Public License. It is the standard license WordPress uses for Open Source licensing https://wordpress.org/about/license/. The GPL is a ‘copyleft’ license https://www.gnu.org/licenses/copyleft.en.html. This means that derivative work can only be distributed under the same license terms. This is in distinction to permissive free software licenses, of which the BSD license and the MIT License are widely used examples. by WordPress plugins and themes
There was a discussion previous to the meeting on Slack. The conclusion is to point docs to the license page. @themiked clarified that the license question asked a few weeks back was mashed out and the license page for the plugin handbook was updated to include a link to the general WP license page and suggested the same approach is taken for the theme handbook.
While recently reviewing the content of the plugins handbook, I discovered some content that is no longer current (specifically, this page that deals with the term splitting fix that happened four years ago as part of the automatic upgrade process for 4.2).
After some discussion with the documentation team it became clear we lack a unified way to identify which documentation is obsolete, and what to do about it when it is. As a result, old docs end up hanging around in a position of implied accuracy, potentially adding to confusion.
To begin with, we need to answer these questions:
What is considered obsolete? Is it even possible to come up with a general rule for this?
Who decides if a page is obsolete?
What do we do about it? (see below)
Once the obsolete docs are identified, we need to decide what to do with them:
A. Do nothing (this is here for completeness’ sake. This is not a valid path forward.) B. Delete them C. Leave them in place and mark them as obsolete as of a specific WP version or date D. Move them to an “archive” or “legacy” section and mark them as obsolete as of a specific WP version
Depending on the decision this will require some or all of the following:
a. standardized markup to appear at the top of a page, to clearly identify that this entire page is considered legacy (hopefully via a shortcodeShortcodeA shortcode is a placeholder used within a WordPress post, page, or widget to insert a form or function generated by a plugin in a specific location on your site.) b. standardized markup to clearly identify a specific section of a page that is is considered legacy c. a place in each handbook for legacy documents, along with markup to clearly identify them as such
I suggest the following
The identification of a page or page partial that should be discussed can be put forward by anyone
The “owner” of the handbook (or whatever) along with anyone else of interest can discuss the validity of the content in question and determine if it should be adjusted.
If it has been determined that the content is no longer relevant, the correct action (one of B. C. or D.) can take place.
I realize this may seem like navel gazing but if we can at least come up with a general consensus on how to handle this situation, it will provide a starting point.
Discussion: Clarification about the use of GPLGPLGPL is an acronym for GNU Public License. It is the standard license WordPress uses for Open Source licensing https://wordpress.org/about/license/. The GPL is a ‘copyleft’ license https://www.gnu.org/licenses/copyleft.en.html. This means that derivative work can only be distributed under the same license terms. This is in distinction to permissive free software licenses, of which the BSD license and the MIT License are widely used examples. by WordPress plugins and themes
@atachibana shared that contents team are migrating and re-routing Codex to Code Reference, and for this week the progress are: HooksHooksIn WordPress theme and development, hooks are functions that can be applied to an action or a Filter in WordPress. Actions are functions performed when a certain event occurs in WordPress. Filters allow you to modify certain functions. Arguments used to hook both filters and actions look the same.: 199 of 355 (56.1% ← 43.1%) by @stevenlinx and @collinsmbaka as always. Akira is also working on removing duplicated method information in class references.
@milana_cap called for attention on this post related to the first review of the PluginPluginA plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party Developer Handbook. Please read and add your feedback in the post comments.
@justinahinon mentioned that he posted the recap as well as the recording of the meeting about GutenbergGutenbergThe Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/ developer documentation restructuring. The post also contains the next steps to move forward on the project.
@bph shared that all tasks are assigned for the WordPress 5.6 update (released on December 08), and that the team working on them.
New Member Mentoring
@tacitonic shared that 6 people have joined the docs channel on SlackSlackSlack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. since the previous meeting.
Monthly Coffee Break
The team is still planning this month coffee break. If you want to facilitate or participate, please leave a comment on this post.
New Meeting Times and Holiday Planning for Docs Team
@dmivelli mentioned that her works on Google Season of Docs is officially done. She completed the project report and is now working on the evaluations. She is also planning to review pillars and categorizations starting next week and will provide updates in upcoming meeting project updates section.
Clarification about the use of GPLGPLGPL is an acronym for GNU Public License. It is the standard license WordPress uses for Open Source licensing https://wordpress.org/about/license/. The GPL is a ‘copyleft’ license https://www.gnu.org/licenses/copyleft.en.html. This means that derivative work can only be distributed under the same license terms. This is in distinction to permissive free software licenses, of which the BSD license and the MIT License are widely used examples. by WordPress plugins and themes
This comment by @tbenyons about the documentation about the use of GPL within the WordPress project was brought to the attention. @themiked is reaching out to @ipstenu to have more information about WordPress project legal contacts.
@atachibana mentioned that the contents team is migrating and re-routing Codex to Code Reference, and in this week we processed: HooksHooksIn WordPress theme and development, hooks are functions that can be applied to an action or a Filter in WordPress. Actions are functions performed when a certain event occurs in WordPress. Filters allow you to modify certain functions. Arguments used to hook both filters and actions look the same.: 171 of 355 (48.2% from 43.1% the last week) by @stevenlinx. Thank you. He is also removing duplicated method information in class references.
BlockBlockBlock is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. editor end user docs team
– docs team update was given by @bph There was a team sprint ( here is the Announcement) I was joined by four docs team members throughout the days for short period of times or asynchronously.
Please welcome our newest contributor @Michael Geheren. Also, Chandrika Guntur @cguntur, Ahmed @chaion07, and Estela Rueda @estelaris. We published/updated five pages, demo’d the publishing process and how to use the BetaBetaA pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process. Tester pluginPluginA plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party (Videos are to come). We also noticed a few inconsistencies and recorded them on GitHub.Throughout the three days, we identified 21 pages that need updates for WordPress 5.6. They are all listed in the TrelloTrelloProject management system using the concepts of boards and cards to organize tasks in a sane way. This is what the make.wordpress.com/marketing team uses for example: https://trello.com/b/8UGHVBu8/wp-marketing. board >Needed Changes/ New Pages column. The list is also available in the Google Spreadsheet > Experienced Contributors 5.6 Tab. The source of Truth is the Trello board, though. I documented my process in posts to the Slack channel and will create a Google Doc with the steps for review by the team. @estelaris walked us through the current stages of Google Summer of Docs project on categorization and discoverability as it concerns the Block Editor End User documentation. It was a very enlightening conversation and it was great to see more people join. This was also recorded. Next Steps:
Finishing up the videos
Reaching out to contributors to discuss their availability for these updates and
Finish identifying update tasks.
Stats for the block editor end user documentation
GutenbergGutenbergThe Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/ developer documentation
6 new members joined #docs in the week between 23 and 30 November 2020.
Monthly coffee break
Thanks to everyone who joined November’s coffee break. If anyone is interested to host the next coffee break then please let us know. We will share the date, time, and other details very soon.
The docs team has chosen to change the time for the weekly meeting to 14.00 hrs UTC. There will be a post to make it official later this week.
Holiday schedule
The #docs team will take a holiday break from 14 December to 11 January and there will not be any weekly meetings. Yet, the channel is still open for those that want to continue contributing but we recommend that everyone takes a break.
I completed the review of the block editor articles and posted my title recommendations for review and approval. I will review the pillars and categorizations in the next two weeks. GSODs now entered the phase where I must complete my project report summarizing the results of my GSODs project.
Discussion: Structure of the handbooks
@paaljoachim is working on an idea to add all the support handbooks into one landing page. The idea is that there is too much documentation spread around making it hard to locate. He would like to present a better structure for documentation. If anyone has any comments, please add them below.
Open floor
@sukafia proposed to make the last call a Zoom call. If you would like to participate, please add your comment below or join next week’s meeting for more information.
@paaljoachim proposed to add the “public post preview” to the docs blog to help team review posts. @estelaris will add a metaMetaMeta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress. ticket for this.
Clarification about the use of GPLGPLGPL is an acronym for GNU Public License. It is the standard license WordPress uses for Open Source licensing https://wordpress.org/about/license/. The GPL is a ‘copyleft’ license https://www.gnu.org/licenses/copyleft.en.html. This means that derivative work can only be distributed under the same license terms. This is in distinction to permissive free software licenses, of which the BSD license and the MIT License are widely used examples. by WordPress plugins and themes
In short, we discussed the genesis of the project to restructure the blockBlockBlock is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. editor’s developer documentation. Then we went through the current structure of the documentation, the different issues that have already been opened and the site that @paaljoachim created to iterate our efforts.
We finally discussed the next steps for the project.
Next steps
Keeping track of all the documentation improvement work
GitHubGitHubGitHub is a website that offers online implementation of git repositories that can can easily be shared, copied and modified by other developers. Public repositories are free to host, private repositories require a paid subscription. GitHub introduced the concept of the ‘pull request’ where code changes done in branches by contributors can be reviewed and discussed before being merged be the repository owner. https://github.com/ issues related to documentation improvement will be tracked on this project board on the GitHub GutenbergGutenbergThe Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/ repository. These issues will be labeled developer-docs so that they can be found easily.
Gathering information on how the documentation is generated
An indispensable thing to do too is to know and retrieve information on how, when and how often the documentation on the site is generated.
Improve the site “landing page”
The first page you come across when going to the block editor’s developer documentation site is “Project Overview”. As its name suggests, this page is supposed to give developers a general overview of the project, its main parts and allow them to quickly start developing for Gutenberg.
Some issues have already been created for this on the GitHub repository. You can give your feedbacks to them or create new ones if needed.
New structure (summary) for the documentation
This step is highly correlated with the previous one. The documentation should be structured in such a way that it is easily accessible and also has a certain logical order.
For this step, it is important to keep an eye on the different documentation use cases that were identified earlier.
-docs update
