docs: add configuration documentation guides

.gitignore

@@ -411,3 +411,6 @@ Chart.lock
 # Test output
 *.out
 .DS_Store
+
+# MkDocs build output
+site/

CONTRIBUTING.md

@@ -11,4 +11,7 @@ instructions provided by the bot. You will only need to do this once across all
 
 This project has adopted the [Microsoft Open Source Code of Conduct](https://opensource.microsoft.com/codeofconduct/).
 For more information see the [Code of Conduct FAQ](https://opensource.microsoft.com/codeofconduct/faq/)
-or contact [opencode@microsoft.com](mailto:opencode@microsoft.com) with any additional questions or comments.
+or contact [opencode@microsoft.com](mailto:opencode@microsoft.com) with any additional questions or comments.
+
+For development environment setup—including how to test public documentation locally—see the
+[Development Environment Guide](docs/developer-guides/development-environment.md).

docs/developer-guides/development-environment.md

@@ -186,7 +186,39 @@ operator through Helm.
 
 ---
 
-## 4. Contributing guidelines
+## 4. Testing public documentation locally
+
+To build the documentation and run a development server for live previewing:
+
+1. Create a Python virtual environment:
+
+   ```bash
+   python3 -m venv documentdb-k8s-docs-venv
+   ```
+
+2. Activate the virtual environment:
+
+   ```bash
+   source documentdb-k8s-docs-venv/bin/activate
+   ```
+
+3. Install MkDocs:
+
+   ```bash
+   pip install mkdocs mkdocs-material
+   ```
+
+4. Run the local MkDocs server for testing:
+
+   ```bash
+   mkdocs serve
+   ```
+
+   This starts a local server (typically at `http://127.0.0.1:8000`) where you can preview documentation changes in real time.
+
+---
+
+## 5. Contributing guidelines
 
 Before opening a pull request, review the repository-wide
 [CONTRIBUTING.md](../../CONTRIBUTING.md) for the CLA process, style guidance,