Information architecture is the structure of categories, sections, and pages that determines how readers find content, and good IA matches the reader's tasks rather than the org chart. A card-sort exercise, where readers group proposed doc topics into categories, is a useful way to validate navigation labels and section boundaries before committing to them. The typical order of doc types on a product site starts with a tutorial or quickstart, then concepts, then how-to guides, then reference, mirroring the journey of a learning reader. A landing page for a product area explains what the area is for, lists the most common tasks, and links into tutorials and reference. A user journey is the sequence of docs a typical reader traverses from first hearing about the product to running an advanced setup, and each step in that journey should land cleanly. A glossary that defines domain terms in one place pays off in any product with a heavy domain, because it reduces the need for inline definitions.
Navigation has to support both kinds of readers: those scanning a category and those drilled into a specific page. A two-level pattern, with a sidebar of sections and an in-page table of contents of subsections, serves both. Breadcrumbs show the path from the docs home to the current page so readers can back up without losing context, and a long page benefits from its own table of contents so mobile readers can jump directly to the section that matches their task. Some readers always search instead of browsing, so titles should match the words readers actually type, including error messages and parameter names, and a search bar lets those readers reach the answer in one or two clicks. A 404 page acknowledges the missing content, suggests where the reader might go next, and offers a search box instead of a dead end.
URLs and links deserve their own discipline. A canonical URL is the one preferred address for a page, with other addresses redirecting to it. Redirects preserve SEO and external links when content moves. Link rot, when a referenced URL changes or dies, is fought by preferring relative links, version-pinning, and showing a code snippet alongside any link. Anchor text is the visible words of a link and should be descriptive of the destination ("OAuth setup guide"), never "here," "this," or a raw URL, because link text is a key piece of information scent. A stub page is a placeholder that exists so a link does not 404 but contains only a heading and a TODO; stubs are useful in a doc plan but harmful if they ship unflagged. Mobile-first writing means long paragraphs, wide tables, and side-by-side code blocks are designed for narrow screens first, with wider layouts treated as a progressive enhancement. A doc plan is a short list of the docs to write, update, or retire for a release, mapped to features, with owners and dates, agreed before launch.