Use the new /documentation/ URLs for HelpHub links

[SergeyBiryukov]

​https://wordpress.org/support/ was recently redirected to ​https://wordpress.org/documentation/. That includes the root /support/ page, as well as all /support/article/* pages, with the exception of support forums at ​https://wordpress.org/support/forums/.

This has some consequences for core:

1. All /support/article/* URLs should be redirected to /documentation/article/* to avoid an extra redirect.
2. Links like this in Help tabs look confusing now:

   '<p><strong>' . __( 'For more information:' ) . '</strong></p>' .
   '<p>' . __( '<a href="https://wordpress.org/support/article/comments-screen/">Documentation on Comments</a>' ) . '</p>' .
   '<p>' . __( '<a href="https://wordpress.org/support/">Support</a>' ) . '</p>'
   

   • The second link says Support, but links to a page called Documentation.
   • We could update it to:

     '<p>' . __( '<a href="https://wordpress.org/documentation/">Documentation</a>' ) . '</p>'
     

     but then the whole list looks a bit weird:
     
     

     For more information:
     

     • Documentation on Comments
     • Documentation (on what?)

   • Should the second link be updated to ​https://wordpress.org/support/forums/ instead?

Note: The old /support/article/* URLs still work (with a redirect to the new location), so this can be moved to 6.3 if preferred, but I think it would be a better user experience to at least address the first item here for 6.2.

[audrasjb]

I agree we should indeed try to target this for 6.2, and it sounds even more legit as it can be considered as a bug (and focused on Docs).

[audrasjb]

ah, and for the second link ("Support"), as far as I know, this was implemented as a link to the support forum main page.

[audrasjb]

I'll make sure to have a patch for this ticket by tomorrow morning :)

https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/57726

[SergeyBiryukov]

Replying to audrasjb:

ah, and for the second link ("Support"), as far as I know, this was implemented as a link to the support forum main page.

Yeah, it used to be the support forums main page before the 2017 redesign:
​http://web.archive.org/web/20170101112647/wordpress.org/support/

That page is now ​https://wordpress.org/support/forums/.

​https://wordpress.org/support/ just redirects to ​https://wordpress.org/documentation/ :)

[SergeyBiryukov]

Replying to SergeyBiryukov:

That page is now ​https://wordpress.org/support/forums/.

So I guess that should be the new URL if we want to keep the link text as "Support".

[audrasjb]

Yes, exactly :)

Hi, I have changed all /support/article/* redirected to /documentation/article/* for documentation and all /support/ to /support/forums for support in all files.

Trac ticket: https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/57726

[dhrupo]

@audrasjb @SergeyBiryukov hi there,

I have updated all of the code in all PHP files as

1. /support/article/* to /documentation/article/*
2. /support/ to /support/forums

Thanks for the PR, however I'm already working on PR #4080 :)

[hasanmisbah]

PR Looks good. thanks @dhrupo

[sakibmd]

Thanks, @audrasjb and @dhrupo. There are a lot of file changes. I checked these files, and everything looks better.

Closing in favor of #4080

[audrasjb]

In ​PR4080:

• Replace /support/article/ with /documentation/article/ for links to HelpHub docs
• Replace /support/ with /support/forums/ for links to Support forums, and update the link anchor to replace "Support" with "Support forums" for disambiguation

[sabernhardt]

I ran the 117 URLs from PR 4080 through Screaming Frog SEO to find any redirects or errors.
​Spreadsheet with redirecting and error URLs, plus suggestions

The Twenty Twenty-Three changelog seems to be missing, and 28 of the proposed /documentation/ URLs still redirect to another URL.

• The changelog links for Twenty Twenty-One and Twenty Twenty-Two need the slash character before the hash. Also, some of the anchors on those changelog pages simply do not follow the original pattern; others are wrong.
• ​Documentation on Using Themes redirects to ​https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/worik-with-themes/, which has a typo in the URL.
• ​Documentation on Writing and Editing Posts redirects to ​https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/wordpress-block-editor/, but edit-form-advanced is for the Classic Editor.
• The other redirects seem appropriate.

[audrasjb]

Thanks for checking this @sabernhardt! I'll update the PR accordingly.

[audrasjb]

OK, for better tracking, I'll first commit the replacement of /support/article/ with /documentation/article/, then I'll change the redirected URL you listed in your spreadsheet, @sabernhardt so it's easier to understand the purpose of each changeset.

[audrasjb]

In 55412:

Help/About: Use the new /documentation/ URLs for HelpHub links in WordPress Admin.

As https://wordpress.org/support/ was redirected to https://wordpress.org/documentation/, this changeset replaces various /support/article/* links with /documentation/article/* to avoid an extra redirect.

This also updates links to Support Forums by replacing https://wordpress.org/support/ URLs with https://wordpress.org/support/forums/.

Props SergeyBiryukov, audrasjb, dhrupo, hasanmisbah, sakibmd, sabernhardt.
See #57726.

[audrasjb]

In 55413:

Help/About: Use the new /documentation/ URLs for HelpHub links in Bundled Themes.

As https://wordpress.org/support/ was redirected to https://wordpress.org/documentation/, this changeset replaces various /support/article/* links with /documentation/article/* to avoid an extra redirect.

This also updates links to Support Forums by replacing https://wordpress.org/support/ URLs with https://wordpress.org/support/forums/.

Props SergeyBiryukov, audrasjb, dhrupo, hasanmisbah, sakibmd, sabernhardt.
See #57726.

committed in https://core.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/55412 and https://core.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/55413

[audrasjb]

In 55414:

Help/About: Avoid extra redirections on HelpHub Links.

This changeset replaces various HelpHub links that have changed to avoid extra 301 redirections.

Props sabernhardt, audrasjb.
See #57726.

[audrasjb]

@sabernhardt [55414] should have addressed all the URL redirections you listed in your spreadsheet.

[audrasjb]

In 55415:

Help/About: Use a consistent capitalization for "Support forums" links across WP Admin.

Follow-up to [55412], [55413].

See #57726.

[audrasjb]

@sabernhardt anything I missed?

[SergeyBiryukov]

In 55416:

Toolbar: Update the URL for Documentation link in the admin bar.

This avoids an extra redirect from https://wordpress.org/support/ to https://wordpress.org/documentation/.

Follow-up to [55412], [55413], [55414], [55415].

See #57726.

[sabernhardt]

Thanks!

Most of the Help section links are revised, though two were missed:

• [55414] changed the ​Customizer URL in Twenty Eleven, but it is also in wp-admin/customize.php.
• The ​Documentation on Editing Themes link in wp-admin/theme-editor.php can be updated to ​https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/appearance-theme-file-editor-screen/

The changelog links have not been edited, but I think the documentation pages should be updated first.

I recommend reverting [55415] and discussing that on a separate ticket. The six multisite forum links are all directly below another link with title case, and the other five links probably should have "Support" lowercase if "forums" is.

[audrasjb]

Thanks!

Replying to sabernhardt:

• [55414] changed the ​Customizer URL in Twenty Eleven, but it is also in wp-admin/customize.php.
• The ​Documentation on Editing Themes link in wp-admin/theme-editor.php can be updated to ​https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/appearance-theme-file-editor-screen/

Ok, will do.

The changelog links have not been edited, but I think the documentation pages should be updated first.

Yep, agreed.

I recommend reverting [55415] and discussing that on a separate ticket. The six multisite forum links are all directly below another link with title case, and the other five links probably should have "Support" lowercase if "forums" is.

Ok, I'd suggest to partially revert [55415]:

• Revert the change in the six multisite forum links
• Lowercase "Support" on other links

What do you think @sabernhardt?

[sabernhardt]

• Revert the change in the six multisite forum links
• Lowercase "Support" on other links

A partial revert like that is fine with me, though I would also suggest adding commas to two of those three unique strings (which probably does not belong on this ticket).

/wp-includes/class-wpdb.php:

'If you do not know how to set up a database, you should <strong>contact your host</strong>. If all else fails, you may find help at the <a href="%s">WordPress support forums</a>.'

/wp-includes/load.php and twice in /wp-includes/class-wpdb.php:

'If you are unsure what these terms mean, you should probably contact your host. If you still need help, you can always visit the <a href="%s">WordPress support forums</a>.'

/wp-content/themes/twentytwentyone/inc/starter-content.php:

'Check out the support forums'

[sabernhardt]

I found other "Support forums" links under title case links, too, so the multisite forum links probably should remain the same as those (not reverting the change). However, the other three strings modified in [55415] might be edited further by tomorrow, with or without the commas. We would need a patch for that plus the Customizer and Theme documentation links (comment:27).

The changelog URLs still could be updated in a separate commit before RC1 (coordinated with #57689). Already done in [55413].

• Updates Customizer and Theme documentation links to eliminate a redirect.
• Uses lowercase "support" in forum links (Twenty Twenty-One starter content, wp-includes/class-wpdb.php and wp-includes/load.php).
• Adds commas in the sentences for wp-includes/class-wpdb.php and wp-includes/load.php.

Trac 57726

[audrasjb]

In 55431:

Help/About: Use a consistent capitalization for "Support forums" links across WP Admin.

This partially reverts [55415] and fix a few inconsistencies found in "support forums" links.

Follow-up to [55412], [55413], [55415].

Props sabernhardt, audrasjb.
See #57726.

[audrasjb]

In 55432:

Help/About: Avoid extra redirections on HelpHub Links.

This changeset replaces various HelpHub links that have changed to avoid extra 301 redirections.

Follow-up to [55412], [55413], [55414], [55415], [55416], [55431].

Props sabernhardt, audrasjb.
Fixes #57726.

Committed in https://core.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/55431, https://core.trac.wordpress.org/changeset/55432

[SergeyBiryukov]

In 55434:

Help/About: Restore the correct URL for Editing Files article on Edit Themes screen.

Replace the URL for Editing Themes article instead to avoid an extra redirect.

Follow-up to [55432].

See #57726.

[SergeyBiryukov]

In 55461:

Docs: Use the new /documentation/ URL for HelpHub link in readme.html.

Follow-up to [55412], [55413], [55414], [55415], [55416], [55431], [55432], [55434].

See #57726.

[desrosj]

In 55478:

Bundled Themes: Add missing trailing / in HelpHub links.

HelpHub links without trailing slashes with anchors present result in an unnecessary redirect.

These were introduced with the / missing in [55476].

Props audrasjb.
See #57689, #57726.

[audrasjb]

In 55624:

Help/About: Use the new /documentation/ URLs for links about WordPress version.

As https://wordpress.org/support/ was redirected to https://wordpress.org/documentation/, this changeset replaces various /support/* links with /documentation/* to avoid extra redirects.

Follow-up to [55412], [55413], [55414].

Props wildworks.
See #58052, #57726.

[audrasjb]

In 55625:

Help/About: Use the new /documentation/ URLs for links about WordPress version.

As https://wordpress.org/support/ was redirected to https://wordpress.org/documentation/, this changeset replaces various /support/* links with /documentation/* to avoid extra redirects. This addresses a missed occurrence from [55624].

Follow-up to [55412], [55413], [55414], [55624].

Props wildworks.
See #58052, #57726.

[audrasjb]

In 55626:

Help/About: Use the new /documentation/ URLs in options-permalink.php.

As https://wordpress.org/support/ was redirected to https://wordpress.org/documentation/, this changeset replaces various /support/* links with /documentation/* to avoid extra redirects.

Follow-up to [55412], [55413], [55414], [55624], [55625].

Props sabernhardt, audrasjb.
See #58052, #57726.

[audrasjb]

In 55627:

Help/About: Fix the Support Forums URL in wp-admin/includes/class-wp-site-health.php.

This updates a link to Support Forums by replacing https://wordpress.org/support/ URL with https://wordpress.org/support/forums/.

Follow-up to [55412], [55413], [55414], [55624], [55625], [55626].

Props sabernhardt, audrasjb.
See #58052, #57726.