Hi guys,
Today, I will provide you with an overview of GitBook, one of the best documentation platforms I have ever had the pleasure of using.
What is GitBook?
GitBook is a documentation platform on CLOUD, freemium and provides great features for writing documentation.
Blazing fast and UX-friendly.
Awesome WYSIWYG editor.
Highly customizable (a lot of options for a free account)
- 💯 Custom Domain
Easy to collaborate with team members.
Your documentation will be versioned similarly to how you push changes to Git.
Lost your internet connection while writing? Don't worry, everything will be stored locally, ensuring you don't lose any progress and can continue working seamlessly.
Fast searching on the published site.
...
My Documentation Sites
Yeah, you guys wouldn't believe it if I didn't add any site here, right?
Here are they:
https://phattranminh96.gitbook.io/vue-form-builder/
- Vue Form Builder - one of my OSS libraries.
https://docking.shipsaas.tech/
- DocKing - Document Templates management & PDF rendering service
-
- Ready - inject every generic stuff into your new Laravel application and help you to build robust SaaS.
My Reviews
I am using GitBook as a Free user for my OSS projects and I enjoy using it.
They offer many cool features for free users, which in a way contribute to the open-source software community. I truly appreciate it.
Comparison to Docusaurus
I've been using Docusaurus too, for both of documentation site & normal website (for showcase, the home page)
With Docusaurus, I have to:
Set up a repository.
Set up a deployment pipeline.
GitHub Pages
Buy a VPS
Write doc on IDE/Editor.
Doing the styling on my own in the hard way.
...
Which could be troublesome for OSS projects or even work projects.
However, you can build the documentation site and place it under a VPN, ensuring that it can only be accessed by internal users (your company or organization). With GitBook, you need to purchase a seat for each individual who wants to read the documentation.
Comparison to ReadTheDoc
I've used ReadTheDocs once, the self-hosted version, and for that, it is exactly the same as Docusaurus.
I haven't used the ReadTheDocs cloud version. However, it is free for open-source projects, which is a great feature that I appreciate.
GitBook features a modern UI design and includes various cool elements, while ReadTheDoc has a more traditional design that encourages users to concentrate on the content.
Conclusion
These days, I consistently aim for an 80% focus on work and a 20% focus on documentation. This balance seems to be quite effective.
I hope with this article, you can choose a proper platform to write the documentation of your application for your team members.
Write documentation matters.
Thanks for reading! ✌️