Every documentation page has a content type: a defined shape for what it contains, how it is structured, and how it is maintained. Choosing the right one keeps pages predictable for readers and agents. Every new product needs an overview and a get-started page, and the other types depend on what a reader needs.
This page groups the types by the job they do, so you can tell apart the ones that are easy to confuse. For full guidance on any type, refer to its page in the tables.
Types where the reader is getting something done.
| Content type | Choose it when |
|---|---|
| How to | The reader has already chosen a product and needs to complete one specific task within it. |
| Tutorial | The reader learns by building a real project end to end, where the journey teaches as much as the result. |
| Get started | A new user needs the shortest path from nothing to a first working result. |
| 3rd-party integration guide | The reader connects one specific external product with Cloudflare, and you commit to maintaining the guide. |
| Configuration | A feature is configuration-intensive and the reader mainly needs the settings and values rather than steps. |
Types where the reader is trying to understand or find something.
| Content type | Choose it when |
|---|---|
| Concept | The reader needs to understand what something is and why it works the way it does. |
| Reference | The reader needs to look up complete, neutral details such as every parameter, value, or option. |
| Overview | A new reader needs orienting to a product area in a paragraph before being routed onward. |
| FAQ | Common questions each deserve a short, direct answer with a link to the source of truth. |
| Troubleshooting | The reader has hit a specific error or symptom and needs the cause and the fix. |
Types that design a solution rather than implement it.
| Content type | Choose it when |
|---|---|
| Reference architecture | You show, at the design level, how several products fit a customer's environment across use cases. |
| Design guide | The reader plans one specific solution and the architecture decisions behind it before building. |
Types that route the reader onward or log what changed.
| Content type | Choose it when |
|---|---|
| Navigation | An area has enough child pages that a reader needs a signposted entry point into them. |
| Changelog | You log notable, dated changes to a product. |