A page never mixes kinds. If a how-to starts explaining history, that history belongs on the explanation page, with a link. This borrows from a framework called Diátaxis, which most of the good documentation you have read follows without saying so.
Three doors into the same building
The handbook is arranged three ways because you arrive with three different questions.- “How does X work?” → the Handbook tab. Chapters run in business order. Each chapter opens with its explanation page, then lists its how-tos.
- “What does Zoho own?” → the Systems tab. One page per system, plus the map.
- “What does this status mean?” → the Reference tab. Tables only.