Merge pull request #306 from CodeForPhilly/user-guide

Add readme for user docs

Author: Michael-Dratch

docs/user-docs/README.md

@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+# BDT User Docs
+
+Documentation for the Benefit Decision Toolkit is built with [MkDocs](https://www.mkdocs.org/) using the [Material theme](https://squidfunk.github.io/mkdocs-material/).
+
+The live site is published at [https://bdt-docs.web.app](https://bdt-docs.web.app).
+
+## Editing the Docs
+
+All documentation is written in Markdown. The source files are in the `docs/` directory:
+
+```
+docs/user-docs/
+├── docs/
+│   ├── index.md          # Introduction
+│   ├── user-guide.md     # Building a Screener
+│   └── custom-checks.md  # Custom Eligibility Checks
+└── mkdocs.yml            # Site configuration and navigation
+```
+
+To add or update content, edit the relevant `.md` file directly. To add a new page, create a new `.md` file in the `docs/` directory and add an entry for it in `mkdocs.yml` under `nav`.
+
+For a reference on Markdown syntax, see the [Markdown Guide](https://www.markdownguide.org/basic-syntax/).
+
+## Running Locally
+
+To preview the site while editing, you can run MkDocs locally.
+
+**1. Install dependencies**
+
+Requires Python 3. From the `docs/user-docs/` directory:
+
+```bash
+pip install -r requirements.txt
+```
+
+**2. Start the local dev server**
+
+```bash
+mkdocs serve
+```
+
+The site will be available at `http://127.0.0.1:8000`. The server watches for file changes and reloads automatically, so edits to any `.md` file are reflected immediately in the browser.
+
+## Deployment
+
+The docs are deployed automatically. When a pull request is merged into `main` with changes to files under `docs/user-docs/`, a GitHub Actions workflow builds the MkDocs site and deploys it to Firebase Hosting. No manual deployment steps are needed.