This page explains why and how to organize your documentation in a way that makes sense for your users.
Why navigation matters
While experienced users often navigate directly to pages through search, navigation remains critical. Your documentation’s information architecture helps users build mental models of your product and provides structure for people and AI tools. Well-designed navigation helps users quickly understand your product and find what they need.
Map the foundation with stakeholders
Align with key stakeholders like your founders, product managers, or engineering leads on how your product works, what’s most important, and how users should interact with it.
Example questions to ask:
- What’s the simplest way to explain how the product works?
- What are the product’s core building blocks?
- How do users typically adopt the product? Where do people most often get stuck?
- How does the product’s architecture influence how people use it?
- What are the most important integrations or dependencies?
- What is changing or evolving in the product?
- If the product was broken into different layers, what would they be? Would it be by tasks that people perform or by features that people use?
Validate your assumptions
Once you’ve established a structure, you need to validate whether it actually works for real users. The way people navigate your documentation often reveals gaps in your information architecture that internal teams might overlook.
Track real user journeys
Use tools like session replays (for example, FullStory, Hotjar) or analytics (for example, Mixpanel) to study how users move through your docs. Pay attention to:
- Entry points: Where do users start their journey? Are they coming from search, a support ticket, or directly from your product?
- Navigation patterns: Do they follow the expected navigation structure, or do they take unexpected detours?
- Friction points: Where do users pause, loop back, or abandon their session? These could indicate unclear organization or missing content.
- Search behavior: Are users searching for terms that don’t exist in your documentation? This might highlight gaps in your content or misalignment in terminology.
Test with real users
Analytics help surface trends, but direct conversations provide deeper insights.
Get on research calls where customers attempt to find answers to specific questions. Ask them to narrate their thought process as they navigate.
New hires are also a great proxy for users since they don’t have as much prior context as tenured members of your team. Before they get too familiar with your product from the inside, ask them to complete a task using only the documentation.
Have them outline in detail how they approached the task. Where they clicked first, how they interpreted section names, and where they got stuck. Their instincts can reveal whether your docs are intuitive or if they assume too much knowledge.
Identify common challenges
Look for these navigation problems:
- Overloaded categories: Too many top-level sections overwhelm users. Group related topics together.
- Hidden essential content: Prioritize frequently accessed content and make it easy to find.
- Unclear section names: If users hesitate before clicking, your labels may not be intuitive. Align terminology with how your audience thinks.
Design navigation that serves the majority of your users. Perfect information architecture for everyone is impossible, so focus on what helps most users succeed.
Iterate over time
Above all, stay flexible. Your navigation should evolve with your product and user needs. You don’t have to be right on the first try.
