Commit 7f0f393c authored by Susan Tacker's avatar Susan Tacker

Merge branch 'selhorn-global-nav-guidelines' into 'master'

Added details to help with IA

See merge request gitlab-org/gitlab!65677
parents 6547750b 9366aa9a
......@@ -12,21 +12,40 @@ description: "Learn how GitLab docs' global navigation works and how to add new
> - [Per-project](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-docs/-/merge_requests/498) navigation added in GitLab 12.2.
> - [Unified global navigation](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-docs/-/merge_requests/1482) added in GitLab 13.11.
Global navigation (the left-most pane in our three pane documentation) provides:
Global navigation is the left-most pane in the documentation. You can use the
"global nav" to browse the content.
- A high-level grouped view of product features.
- The ability to discover new features by browsing the menu structure.
- A way to allow the reader to focus on product areas.
- The ability to refine landing pages, so they don't have to do all the work of surfacing
every page contained within the documentation.
Research shows that people use Google to search for GitLab product documentation. When they land on a result,
we want them to find topics nearby that are related to the content they're reading. The global nav provides this information.
## Adding new items
At the highest level, our global nav is workflow-based. Navigation needs to help users build a mental model of how to use GitLab.
The levels under each of the higher workflow-based topics are the names of features.
For example:
**Use GitLab** (_workflow_) **> Build your application** (_workflow_) **> CI/CD** (_feature_) **> Pipelines** (_feature)
## Choose the right words for your navigation entry
Before you add an item to the left nav, choose the parts of speech you want to use.
The nav entry should match the page title. However, if the title is too long,
when you shorten the phrase, use either:
- A noun, like **Merge requests**.
- An active verb, like **Install GitLab** or **Get started with runners**.
Use a phrase that clearly indicates what the page is for. For example, **Get started** is not
as helpful as **Get started with runners**.
## Add a navigation entry
All topics should be included in the left nav.
To add a topic to the global nav, edit
[`navigation.yaml`](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-docs/blob/main/content/_data/navigation.yaml)
and add your item.
All new pages need a new navigation item. Without a navigation, the page becomes "orphaned". That
All new pages need a navigation item. Without a navigation, the page becomes "orphaned." That
is:
- The navigation shuts when the page is opened, and the reader loses their place.
......@@ -93,7 +112,7 @@ for clarity.
To see the improvements planned, check the
[global nav epic](https://gitlab.com/groups/gitlab-org/-/epics/1599).
**Do not** [add items](#adding-new-items) to the global nav without
**Do not** [add items](#add-a-navigation-entry) to the global nav without
the consent of one of the technical writers.
## Composition
......
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