Choosing Your Documentation Tooling: A Practical Guide 

In our previous post on Developer Experience, we touched on documentation being one of the core pillars of great DX. We mentioned treating your docs as a product rather than a necessary evil, and pointed towards the docs-as-code approach. But we didn't dive into the specifics of what to actually build your documentation with. So let's fix that.

The Landscape 

There's no shortage of documentation tools out there, and honestly, that can make the decision harder rather than easier. After working with various clients and our own projects here at Digital Speed, we've found ourselves reaching for a handful of tools repeatedly: Docusaurus, VuePress, Redocly, and Fumadocs.

Each has its strengths, and sometimes the best solution isn't picking one – it's knowing how they can work together.

Docusaurus 

If you've spent any time in the open-source world, you've probably read documentation built with Docusaurus. Meta's documentation framework has become something of a default choice, and for good reason.

Docusaurus is React-based, which means if your team already lives in that ecosystem, the learning curve is minimal. It handles versioning out of the box (a genuine lifesaver when you're maintaining multiple API versions), has solid search via Algolia integration, and the plugin ecosystem is mature enough that most common needs are covered.

Several members of the team here at Digital Speed have used Docusaurus extensively, and what keeps us coming back is the balance it strikes between flexibility and convention. You can get something professional-looking deployed in an afternoon, but you're not boxed in when requirements get more complex down the line.

The main consideration? It's opinionated about structure, which is actually a feature if you're starting fresh but can be friction if you're migrating existing docs with unusual organisation.

VuePress 

For teams in the Vue ecosystem, VuePress is the natural counterpart to Docusaurus. It's lightweight, fast, and the Vue-powered theming system makes customisation straightforward if you know your way around Vue components.

VuePress 2 (the current version) has matured significantly and offers a clean developer experience. The markdown-centred approach means your content stays portable, and the plugin architecture is sensible without being overwhelming.

We've seen VuePress work particularly well for smaller documentation sites or teams who want something less heavyweight than Docusaurus. If you're documenting a Vue-based library or your team simply prefers Vue's patterns, it's worth serious consideration.

Redocly 

Now we're getting into more specialised territory. Redocly is laser-focused on API documentation, specifically OpenAPI-based docs. If you're building products with REST APIs (and let's be honest, most of us are), Redocly deserves a look.

The open-source Redoc renderer produces three-panel API documentation from your OpenAPI spec. It's the kind of documentation that makes developers actually want to integrate with your API. We've used the open-source version at Digital Speed and found it does exactly what it promises with minimal fuss. The only issue with the open-source version is you're pretty much locked in to the limited out-of-the-box styling and theming options, so you can't expect to customise the design much.

Beyond the renderer, Redocly offers a CLI for linting your OpenAPI specs and a broader platform for teams who need more – but the open-source tools alone cover a lot of ground.

The key thing to understand about Redocly is that it's not trying to be a general-purpose documentation platform. It's purpose-built for API reference documentation, and it excels at that specific job.

Fumadocs 

Fumadocs is the newer entrant here, built specifically for the Next.js ecosystem. If you're already running Next.js (and plenty of teams are these days), Fumadocs integrates naturally into your existing setup rather than being a separate concern. 

We've recently started using Fumadocs at Digital Speed and have been impressed by how it handles the basics. The search works well, the theming is highly customisable and clean, and it doesn't fight against Next.js conventions – it embraces them.

It's worth noting that Fumadocs is younger than the other options, which means the ecosystem is smaller and you might occasionally hit edges that haven't been smoothed yet. Additionally, the documentation is directly tied to Next.js versions and isn't versioned itself, so you might not be able to find documentation for older versions of Next.js. But for Next.js teams, it's a compelling option that's maturing quickly.

Using Tools in Concert 

Here's where it gets interesting. These tools don't have to be mutually exclusive. 

A pattern we've seen work well is using Docusaurus (or Fumadocs, depending on your stack) as the primary documentation platform for guides, tutorials, and conceptual content – then embedding Redocly-generated API reference documentation within it.

This gives you the best of both worlds: a flexible, customisable platform for your narrative documentation, paired with purpose-built tooling for your API reference. Your developers get a cohesive experience, but you're using the right tool for each job.

The integration is typically straightforward. Redocly can generate static HTML that you host alongside your main docs, or you can embed the Redoc React component directly if you're in a React-based framework.

Making the Choice 

So how do you actually decide? A few questions worth asking:

What's your team's existing stack? If you're React-heavy, Docusaurus or Fumadocs (for Next.js specifically) will feel natural. Vue teams should look at VuePress.

Do you have OpenAPI specs to document? Strongly consider Redocly for that portion of your docs, even if you use something else for the rest.

How much customisation do you need? All of these tools are customisable, but they sit on a spectrum from "works great with defaults" to "expects you to build on top." Know where your needs fall.

What's your team's capacity? A smaller team might prefer something lightweight like VuePress or Fumadocs over Docusaurus's broader feature set.

Conclusion 

There's no single "best" documentation tool – there's only the best tool for your specific situation. What matters more than the specific choice is that you make a choice and invest in your documentation as a proper product. 

We'll be covering more specifics around SDK development and API documentation in upcoming posts. In the meantime, if you're struggling with your documentation strategy or need help implementing any of these tools, we at Digital Speed are happy to chat.

After all, great documentation is just another way of helping developers get things done.