Design a Webpage like Technical Documentation using HTML and CSS

Last Updated : 28 Jun, 2025

In this article, we will design a webpage-style technical documentation using HTML and CSS, which accounts for nearly 30% of the structure and user experience in many educational and product-based websites. Technical documentation refers to structured content that describes the functionality, usage, and features of a specific product. In this project, we will build technical documentation for C++, featuring a sidebar navigation menu to easily access different sections of the webpage.

Setting Up the Project for Your Webpage

To start a project, create a folder and add files to it.

index.html: The main file that contains the structure of the webpage.
style.css: The file where you will add all the styling to make the page more appealing.

Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Responsive Technical Documentation Webpage

Step 1: Structure the webpage into two sections: the left part for a Documentation Menu and the right for topic descriptions.
Step 2: Create anchor tags in the left section to serve as navigation links, linking to corresponding IDs on the right (e.g., inheritance, polymorphism).
Step 3: Enable dynamic loading of topic details on the right side when users click on a link in the Documentation Menu.
Step 4: Enhance the web page's visual appeal using CSS for text alignment, padding, margin, and overall design aesthetics.
Step 5: Implement responsive design with CSS to adapt the layout for different screen sizes.

Example 1

index.html

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8" />
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
  <title>Technical Documentation</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="styles.css" />
</head>
<body>
  <nav>
    <h2>Documentation Menu </h2>
    <a href="#intro">Introduction</a>
    <a href="#setup">Getting Started</a>
    <a href="#syntax">Syntax Overview</a>
    <a href="#examples">Code Examples</a>
    <a href="#tips">Best Practices</a>
  </nav>
  <main>
    <section id="intro">
      <h2>Introduction</h2>
      <p>This technical documentation provides an overview of how to use and structure your code for better readability and performance. It covers best practices, syntax standards, and examples for modern web development.</p>
    </section>
    <section id="setup">
      <h2>Getting Started</h2>
      <p>Before you begin, ensure you have a basic text editor and a modern web browser installed. Familiarity with HTML and CSS is helpful for following along.</p>
    </section>
    <section id="syntax">
      <h2>Syntax Overview</h2>
      <p>HTML provides the structure of the page, while CSS styles its visual appearance. It’s important to maintain clean and semantic code for accessibility and maintainability.</p>
    </section>
    <section id="examples">
      <h2>Code Examples</h2>
      <p>Here's a simple HTML example:</p>
      <pre><code>&lt;!DOCTYPE html&gt;
&lt;html&gt;
  &lt;head&gt;&lt;title&gt;Documentation&lt;/title&gt;&lt;/head&gt;
  &lt;body&gt;
    &lt;h1&gt;Hello Mahima Bhardwaj&lt;/h1&gt;
  &lt;/body&gt;
&lt;/html&gt;</code></pre>
    </section>
    <section id="tips">
      <h2>Best Practices</h2>
      <p>Use comments, consistent indentation, and modular CSS. Keep your code DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) and responsive for different devices.</p>
    </section>
  </main>
</body>
</html>

styles.css

* {
  margin: 0;
  padding: 0;
  box-sizing: border-box;
}
body {
  font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
  display: flex;
  min-height: 100vh;
}
/* Sidebar Styles */
nav {
  width: 250px;
  background-color: #1e1e2f;
  color: #fff;
  position: sticky;
  top: 0;
  height: 100vh;
  overflow-y: auto;
  padding: 20px;
}
nav h2 {
  margin-bottom: 20px;
  font-size: 20px;
  border-bottom: 2px solid #444;
  padding-bottom: 10px;
}
nav a {
  display: block;
  color: #ddd;
  text-decoration: none;
  margin: 10px 0;
  transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out;
}
nav a:hover {
  color: #00bcd4;
}
/* Main Content Styles */
main {
  flex: 1;
  padding: 40px;
  background-color: #f4f4f9;
}
main section {
  margin-bottom: 50px;
}
main h2 {
  color: #333;
  margin-bottom: 10px;
}
main p {
  line-height: 1.6;
  color: #555;
}
/* Responsive Design */
@media (max-width: 768px) {
  body {
    flex-direction: column;
  }
  nav {
    width: 100%;
    height: auto;
    position: relative;
  }
  main {
    padding: 20px;
  }
}