Looking for general documenation?

You can find the rest of our development documentation on the otwarchive wiki.

AO3 Front End Documentation

These pages are, like the Archive, a work in progress.

It is not necessary to read all these pages before you start coding! Most of them are intended to be references you can use as you go along. But whether you’re a beginner or have previous experience with HTML and CSS, it’s very important that you familiarize yourself with front end philosophy and structure as well as our front end coding standards before you submit any code that changes the front end.

Getting started with HTML and CSS

If you have only limited experience with HTML and CSS, these pages may help prepare you for working on the Archive front end. However, they are not a substitute for more comprehensive guides like W3Schools or MDN Web Docs.

1. What is Semantic HTML?
2. What is CSS?
3. Writing a Skin

How we code stuff

Our coding practice may be radically different from anything you’ve done before. While our standards may seem limiting and fussy at first, they are designed to keep the code (and the Archive interface) as neat, consistent, and manageable as possible.

• Coding Standards
• Style Guide
• Front End Guide
• Design Patterns

Finally, our Accessibility Statement details our approach to making the Archive accessible to as many people as possible.