Simple and Intuitive Documentation Editor
March 04, 2025

Simple and Intuitive Documentation Editor

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Atlassian Confluence

Atlassian Confluence is our main knowledge management platform, collaboration space, documentation platform, and decision record store. We segregate our instance into multiple 'spaces' so that it's easy to navigate and understand what department or area you're looking at. Because it integrates with other Atlassian products it makes following paper trails easy. E.g. linking JIRA tickets to Atlassian Confluence pages to BitBucket PR's.

Pros

  • Cross product linking - If you use other Atlassian products then Atlassian Confluence is a no-brainer for your source of documentation, knowledge management etc. You can show previews of the linked asset natively E.g. showing a preview of a JIRA ticket in a Atlassian Confluence page.
  • Simple editing - Though the features available may not be super complex right now, this does come with the benefit of making it easy to edit and create documents. Some documentation editors can be overwhelming, Atlassian Confluence is simple and intuitive.
  • Native marketplace - If you want to install add-ons to your Atlassian Confluence space it's really easy. Admins can explore the Atlassian marketplace natively and install them to your instance in a few clicks. You can customise your Atlassian Confluence instance in many different ways using add-ons.

Cons

  • No CSS styling in Cloud - Atlassian Confluence on-prem allows you to insert a CSS block to your pages. This was great as you had complete control over how your document is rendered if you knew some basic HTML/CSS. Confluence Cloud doesn't support this.
  • Parity between editing and publishing - Sometimes line breaks, spacing, sizing etc. can appear differently depending on if you're in edit mode or view mode. This means when you publish your document you need to check for anything peculiar and adjust accordingly.
  • No hi-lighted edit history - Some documentation platforms (like Notion) show you the exact parts of a document that were edited and by who when you look at the version history. Atlassian Confluence doesn't offer this in its version history.
  • Merging instances has saved search time - We used to have several instances of Atlassian Confluence, which means they're separate and so can't communicate with each other. We've since merged into one instance and now with the help of the search feature can find the documents you're looking for in seconds rather than several minutes.
  • Cross linking product assets streamlines following paper trails - Being able to click on a BitBucket link from a Confluence page which then links to a JIRA ticket means you can follow paper trails really easily; seconds rather than several minutes.
It's very simple to use; the Cloud version feels modern, intuitive and not overwhelming. It limits what you can do and this does actually make things easier to use. For example rather than having to select a specific font size, if it's a H1/H2/H3 title, the specific colour, indentation etc. You just select if it's normal text, or a heading, and of what type, and if you want to colour it 1 of 21 colours. It's the same functionality as a complex text editor but simplified so it's not as overwhelming. This does sometimes means you can't do simple things that are slightly more complex; like choosing specific indentation or line spacing. This can be frustrating but the underlying content and formatting still get you 90% of the way towards what you envisioned.
Being a company which uses other Atlassian tools, Atlassian Confluence was a great fit; the natural and automatic linking of assets from other platforms made following paper trails seamless. Though the editing options aren't as advanced as some other options out there, it does mean making and designing documentation is simple and intuitive.

Do you think Atlassian Confluence delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Atlassian Confluence's feature set?

Yes

Did Atlassian Confluence live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Atlassian Confluence go as expected?

I wasn't involved with the implementation phase

Would you buy Atlassian Confluence again?

Yes

Atlassian Confluence is great for when you need a simple and intuitive documentation platform. Their cloud version feels more modern and though lacking in some features, this does make it simple to use. If you use other Atlassian products like JIRA or BitBucket then it can link assets on those platforms really well. If you're looking for a documentation platform that allows specific CSS editing or rendering options then Confluence Cloud isn't quite there yet.

Confluence Feature Ratings

Project Management
6.8
Task Management
6
Workflow Automation
6
Mobile Access
8
Search
8
Visual planning tools
6
Communication
7.0
Notifications
7
Discussions
6
Internal knowledgebase
8
File Sharing & Management
7.8
Versioning
6
Video files
7
Document collaboration
9
Access control
7
Device sync
10

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