MDN web docs: How-to guides
These articles provide step-by-step guides to accomplishing specific goals when contributing to MDN.
- How to add or update browser compatibility data
- If you have information about browser compatibility of Web features — or are willing and able to do some research and/or experimentation — you can help update MDN's Browser Compatibility Data (BCD).
- How to convert code samples to be "live"
- MDN has a "live sample" system, where the code sample shown on a page is directly used to display the output of that same sample. However, many existing articles have code samples that do not yet use this system, and need to be converted.
- How to create an interactive learning exercise
- When learning the web, it's important to rely on active learning content. Such content is made to help with learning something pro-actively. It can be exercises, live hackable examples, tasks to perform, assessments, etc. In short, anything that can help someone to actively understand something.
- How to create and edit pages
- This article introduces new contributors to the process of editing existing pages and creating new ones.
- How to document a CSS property
- As the CSS standards evolve, new properties are always being added. The MDN CSS Reference needs to be kept up-to-date with these developments. This document gives step-by-step instructions for creating a CSS property reference page.
- How to document an HTTP header
- The MDN HTTP header reference documents HTTP header fields are components of the header section of request and response messages in the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). They define the operating parameters of an HTTP transaction. This page explains how to create a new MDN reference page for an HTTP header.
- How to document web errors
- The MDN JavaScript error reference is a project aiming to help web developers with errors occurring in the Developer Console. You can see this feature in action in Firefox — JavaScript errors contain a "Learn more" link that takes you to the JavaScript error reference containing additional advice for fixing issues.
- How to migrate external content to MDN Web Docs
- You will sometimes identify already-existing content that would make sense to migrate onto MDN Web Docs from elsewhere. This article covers what kinds of content potentially make sense to migrate, whether you should migrate content or not, and what workflow to use to undertake the migration.
- How to properly tag pages
- Article tags are an important way to put visitors in touch with helpful content. Each page should normally have several tags to help keep content organized. This page explains the best way to tag pages so that our readers can find information and we can keep ourselves organized.
- How to report a problem on MDN
- Now and then, you may run into problems while using MDN. Whether it's a problem with site infrastructure or an error in documentation content, you can either try to fix it yourself or report the problem. While the former is preferred, the latter is sometimes the best you can manage, and that's okay too.
- How to update the CSS JSON DB
- Several characteristics of a CSS property, like its syntax or if it can be animated, are mentioned in multiple pages on MDN and are therefore stored in an ad-hoc "database". This database actually consists of several JSON files containing CSS related information, which are stored on GitHub. This article describes how to update this structure.
- How to write an API reference
- This guide takes you through all you need to know to write an API reference on MDN.
- How to write and reference an entry in the glossary
- This article explains how to add and link to entries in the MDN Web Docs glossary. It also provides guidelines about glossary entry layout and content. The glossary provides definitions for all the terms, jargon, abbreviations, and acronyms you'll come across when reading MDN content about the web and web development.
- How to write with SEO in mind on MDN Web Docs
- This guide covers our standard practices, recommendations, and requirements for content to help ensure that search engines can easily categorize and index our material in order to ensure that users can easily reach what they need.