---
title: Introduction
description: A brief introduction to Standard.site lexicons, what they are, and how they're used.
date: 2026-02-10
atUri: "at://did:plc:re3ebnp5v7ffagz6rb6xfei4/site.standard.document/3mek5jhntva2i"
ogImage: opengraph-image-docs-introduction-v2.png
---

import { StandardSite, Updated } from '@/app/components/docs'

# Introduction

<StandardSite /> lexicons bring long-form writing into the social web by linking blog posts and articles to the AT Protocol. This integration helps make published work easier to share and find, while ensuring authors maintain ownership of their writing in the form of records stored on their Personal Data Server (PDS).

## What is Standard.site?

Our lexicons are built with discovery and connectivity in mind. <StandardSite /> lexicons bridge the gap between writers and the communities they intend to reach.

We have two main lexicons that are used to create and manage publications and written documents. In addition to these base lexicons, we maintain a handful of supporting lexicons for social features and utility.

## Core Lexicons

### Publications

The [`site.standard.publication`](/docs/lexicons/publication) lexicon is a representation of a collection of documents published to the web. It includes important information about a publication including its location on the web, theming information, user preferences, and more.

### Documents

The [`site.standard.document`](/docs/lexicons/document) lexicon provides metadata for individual documents. Including the document's relation to a publication if applicable, a path to the document, and more information like a document's complete contents.

### Subscriptions

The [`site.standard.graph.subscription`](/docs/lexicons/subscription) lexicon tracks relationships between users and publications, enabling follow functionality and personalized content feeds across the AT Protocol network.

### Recommends <Updated label="New" />

The [`site.standard.graph.recommend`](/docs/lexicons/recommend) lexicon lets users endorse individual documents, providing a lightweight signal that aggregators and readers can use to surface trusted or popular content.

## Design Philosophy

There are minimal requirements to use these lexicons, ensuring adoptability is as straightforward as possible. As long as the minimum required properties are included in published records, they will be available for other AT Protocol platforms to consume.

While <StandardSite /> lexicons are lightweight on their own, they can be expanded with additional properties to fit individual needs if necessary. The existing properties should not be seen as constraints, but rather as starting points.

## Next steps

- Read the [Quick Start](/docs/quick-start) guide to begin implementing
- Explore the [Publication lexicon](/docs/lexicons/publication) schema
- Learn about [Verification](/docs/verification) to link records to a domain
- Check out [Implementations](/docs/implementations) to see tools and platforms using <StandardSite />
