Know your Content : Pages

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Tl;dr

1. Pages are the most common content type
2. They support text, images, links and more
3. What most people think of when they think of content
4. Join me in this free live learning on pages!

Pages are the foundation of pretty much every Confluence space and the stereotypical content type that most people think of when they think of Confluence. To me this makes sense - we’re all used to looking at some form of word-based document. 

Features

Pages support a wide range of features that let you craft content. If you’re used to any word processor many of them will feel familiar - although there are some differences! For example, you cannot change font size - instead you can change text into a header. This will both change the font size, but (and more importantly I’d argue) it makes that text a link. This lets you instantly link someone to a specific part of a page - and also works with macros (like Table of Contents) to do some magic.

 There’s the regular host of formatting - including things like italics, bolding and underlining. Sections let you make columns on the page to break up content, while font colors and highlighting let you add some color to things.

Pages, however, also have a great feature called “elements” or “macros” that move them far beyond word docs.  Macros are essentially small programs that run on a page and do a wide range of things. I won’t detail them all (check out this list for some), but some examples include:

1. Automatically creating a table of contents (Table of contents)
2. Mirroring content from another page (include page)
3. Adding “meta data” to a page (page properties)
4. Including a small amount of information from another page (excerpt)
5. And a LOT more

Marcos are where the magic happens, so it’s definitely worth your time to look into them. You should also note that many marketplace apps will add extra macros to your instance - so it’s possible you have more (or less!) than other folks.

In additional, pages support templates - pre-formatted structures. This makes it incredibly easy to spin up content (and saves you a LOT of effort copying/pasting). Templates are unique to the space they’re in, and you can even make your own templates (or edit existing ones). Talk to your space admin to edit or create templates.

Use Cases

Generally unless I know I need a visual space (a whiteboard) or structured data (a database) I use a page. This means I’m mainly using pages to communicate information to my team, including things like:

• Policies - Policies tend to be text-based (even when they include other information), so they commonly end up being detailed in a page.

• How-to articles - Written instructions, especially those with visual or video components fit in easily it pages.

• Meeting notes - Generally my #1 use case for pages since I can easily update with what happened during a meeting, link in other content and easily collaborate in them.

Other REALLY Similar Content

There are two other content types that are similar to, but substantially different than, pages. I’ll have another “Know Your Content” type post about these, but just be aware they exist!

Live docs might LOOK like a page but they behave slightly differently. They contain all the same editing, permission and collaboration tools, however, instead of requiring you to publish the initial draft (or any updates) a live doc is instantly published. This means teammates don’t have to wait to see whatever the update this. 

Blogs also look and feel a LOT like pages, but they fit a different use case. Blogs are intended more for point-in-time updates (think weekly updates, project updates and anything else that once it happens it won’t change). Like pages (and live docs!) they support robust editing options, however, they have one major difference - they’re outside the content hierarchy. Unlike pages, whiteboards, smart links, databases and live docs, blogs appear in a separate section under the content hierarchy. This allows them to be displayed chronologically.

Best Practices

Here’s a few tips and tricks I’ve learned over the years around Pages. By no means exhaustive, but they’ve helped me make engaging, useful content:

• Clear, concise names - The name of a page has a HUGE impact on how people find and engage with it. This includes impacting both search and browsing, so invest some time in writing clear, concise names.

• Big to small - Structure the page with big ideas/terms/etc. At the top and then narrow to more specific/smaller terms as you go. This lets people figure out what the page is about before deciding to keep reading.

• Use a tl;dr - I used this above, but a “too long;didn’t read” section at the top will help folks figure out if the page is worth reading. 

• Learn macros - Macros will give you a lot of flexibility on your page, and even automate some tasks (like making a table of contents). Take time to learn what some are and use them.

• Refine - After you create a page don’t be afraid to adjust it! Making updates will both improve the content but also demonstrate you care about it (encouraging folks to actually engage with it).

• Publish it - If you don’t publish a page it will live in a “draft” state… forever! Only you and admins can see it, so be sure to click “publish” when you’re ready!

• Use Templates - Templates will drastically speed up your ability to create content, and for readers to read it. Also be sure to update templates to make them even MORE useful (talk to your space admin about this).

Additional Info

Below are some additional resources to help you better use pages. Please drop your comments, questions and other info down below!

1. Creating a page
2. Info on template
3. Join me for a free, live session on Pages