Developer Portal Requirements Template

Start with the content that unblocks the first API call: authentication setup, a quickstart guide, and the API reference. Everything else is post-launch. Track which docs pages developers visit most in the first 30 days and fill gaps based on real usage data. Use the [RICE framework](/frameworks/rice-framework) to prioritize documentation investments the same way you would prioritize features.

Auto-generate from your OpenAPI specification and then enhance by hand. Tools like Redoc or Stoplight render clean reference docs from the spec. Add hand-written descriptions, example values, and common use case notes on top of the generated output. Pure auto-generated docs are accurate but sterile. Pure hand-written docs are readable but drift from the actual API.

Track four metrics: time to first API call (onboarding speed), quickstart completion rate (content effectiveness), docs-related support ticket volume (self-serve success), and monthly active API consumers (adoption). If support tickets about basic setup questions stay high despite good docs, the content structure is the problem, not the content itself.

Build SDKs when your API has complex authentication (OAuth flows), when request signing or encryption is required, or when your API design requires multi-step workflows that are error-prone in raw HTTP. Start with the top 2 languages your developers use. Track SDK adoption alongside raw API usage to decide when to add more languages. See the [SDK Design Template](/templates/sdk-design-template) for the specification process.

Require documentation updates as part of the API review process. No API change ships without a corresponding docs update. Use CI checks that validate the OpenAPI spec matches the actual API responses. For reference docs, auto-generation from the spec handles this automatically. For guides and tutorials, assign a docs owner who reviews every API changelog entry. The [API Deprecation Template](/templates/api-deprecation-template) covers the communication process for breaking changes. ---