Consider creating a dedicated docs design

[philwebb]

Currently docs.spring.io is designed to look like an extension of spring.io and replicates the header and footer menus. Whilst this creates a consistent experience, it does mean that we sacrifice a lot of header space for menus that aren't particularly relevant to developers that are only interested in the docs.

Quite a few site have dedicated documentation sites that differ from their main site. Some examples are:

• https://docs.stripe.com/
• https://learn.microsoft.com
• https://docs.antora.org
• https://docs.github.com

I think it would be interesting to consider what a dedicate docs site for Spring could look like and what (if any) benefits it would give.

One interesting outcome would be the extra header space we have. For example, we could use it to host the search bar which would make it easier to find when there is a large table of contents navigation tree.

e.g.

Original:

Mock up:

In the mock up, the chevron next to the Spring logo could provide links to sections of spring.io and possibly also start.spring.io.

[Buzzardo]

I like this because it would "surface" the docs rather than have them hidden within another site. The flip side is that readers will have to find a second site. I think the benefit outweighs the potential drawback.