## Summary Deprecate the `about.gitlab.com/direction/` pages in favour of [what's coming](https://about.gitlab.com/releases/whats-new/#whats-coming) to cover the most important direction content. Any specific pages that Product would like to keep can be moved to the handbook with redirects set up. ### Background and context The `/direction` pages were created as part of (or prior to) the `www-gitlab-com` site creation back in 2016. At the time, these pages were meant to be a combination of general product strategy, direction, and roadmap. In part, it was difficult to follow what GitLab was working on, because we had no epics, roadmaps, or issue/epic boards. GitLab as a product and company have evolved since that time. In the present day, direction pages are not consistently maintained, and have low viewership. #### Updatedness As of 2026-02-01: | Last updated | Direction pages | Percentage | |--------------|-----------------|------------| | 0-3 months | 13 | 8.6% | | 3-6 months | 20 | 13.2% | | 6-12 months | 54 | 35.8% | | 1-2 years | 45 | 29.8% | | 2+ years | 19 | 12.6% | #### Views For the 90 day period 2025-11-12 to 2026-02-10, the direction pages had a total of only 22,990 views, which is **0.27%** of the total `about.gitlab.com` pageviews (8.67M). Additionally, the top 2 direction pages account for 38% of the direction pages views, so the rest of the pages have an even more marginal amount of views (625 or less). | Page path | Views | |-----------|-------| | /direction/create/ | 5,822 | | /direction/ | 2,904 | | /direction/package/ | 625 | | /direction/foundations/ | 562 | | /direction/plan/ | 554 | [Source](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xPWzwK3v9EF3alXD1Bx5aqHsVeE2XUl2X0HFNm_VikY/edit?gid=1985465761#gid=1985465761) ### Benefits By removing or redirecting existing direction pages, we benefit by: 1. Less maintenance 2. Consolidation of content (either marketing website or handbook) 3. Removing outdated, possibly duplicate, confusing, and inaccurate content 4. More current and accurate, regularly updated content As PMs are already doing roadmap planning, where items get funnelled up to marketing assets, there is no value in them duplicating that content. ### Implementation 1. [x] Ask PLT for support. 2. [x] Notify all PMs of direction pages removal, asking them to move any content they want to keep to the handbook, and post a comment in this issue requesting a redirect for each relevant page with due date at least 2+ weeks. 3. [x] Create MR to remove direction pages and relevant code, with appropriate redirects. 4. [x] Ping relevant DEx for review, and `@ncregan` to review for SEO impact. 5. [x] Post company-wide announcement #### Communication in Company Post in whats-happening, cross-post in product and others ``` :arrow_right: _What_: Product has decided to remove and redirect the `about.gitlab.com/direction` pages. A few pages that Product Managers wanted to keep have redirects in place to the relevant public or internal handbook page. All other pages are redirected to [what's coming](https://about.gitlab.com/releases/whats-new/#whats-coming). :meow_question: _Why_: The `/direction` pages were created to be a combination of general product strategy, direction, and roadmap. However, they were started back in 2016 prior to GitLab having epics, or boards. GitLab, both the product and the company, have evolved since then. Currently, the pages have very low views, \< 0.3% of website views (in a recent 90 day period). Additionally, the content requires manual updates, and the code is not actively maintained, which has resulted in incorrect information and confusion. More details can be found in [the relevant issue](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/www-gitlab-com/-/work_items/35398). :gitlab: _Where_: As a company, we launched [What's New](https://about.gitlab.com/releases/whats-new/#whats-coming), and Product Marketing is actively curating and maintaining the content. Please use this page as the public resource of major upcoming features. :issue-created: More details in the issue: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/www-gitlab-com/-/work_items/35398 :mr: For a full list of changes, please see the MR: https://gitlab.com/gitlab-com/www-gitlab-com/-/merge_requests/142784 :pipeline: :rocket: One of the side effects is that pipelines on `www-gitlab-com` should take less than half the time to finish. ```