Documentation in Web Projects: What You Really Need
Last updated: March 2026 · Reading time: 4 minutes
"It's all in the code" is not a documentation strategy. Neither is a 200-page requirements specification that nobody opens after launch.
Good documentation answers the right questions for the right people at the right time.
What Really Needs to Be Documented
Architecture decisions: Why was Drupal chosen? Why this hosting setup? Why a custom module instead of contrib? These decisions are no longer traceable later if not recorded.
Editor guide: How is content created, edited and published? Which content types exist? Which fields are required? This is the documentation that gets used daily.
API documentation: Which interfaces exist? Which endpoints, parameters and authentication methods are used? Relevant for all integrations.
Keeping Documentation Up to Date
Documentation that isn't maintained is dangerous — it conveys false confidence. arocom stores documentation directly in the repository (README, Architecture Decision Records) or in the project wiki.
The advantage: documentation lives alongside the code and is maintained when changes are made. Separate Word documents on a file share are guaranteed to become outdated.
Your next step
Your documentation is missing or outdated? The Drupal Future Check also evaluates the documentation status of your project.
Who is responsible for documentation?
The agency documents architecture, APIs and technical decisions. The editor guide is created jointly. Maintaining documentation is part of the ongoing maintenance contract.
Do we need a requirements specification?
In agile projects, the product backlog replaces the traditional requirements specification. Requirements are formulated as user stories and continuously prioritized. This is more alive and closer to reality than a static document.
Read more
- Document Management — DMS integration with Drupal
- Project Management — How arocom structures projects
- Backlog — Prioritizing requirements
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