Add “NGINX Plus vs. Open Source” comparison page to official docs

[travisamartin]

Description

Background

• “NGINX Plus vs. NGINX” is a top-five Google autocomplete query and comes up repeatedly in customer onboarding sessions.
• Today, third-party sites and F5’s own FAQ fill the gap—but they lack the direct ownership and authority of an official NGINX doc; the FAQ format doesn’t effectively answer the question; and we generally avoid FAQs as a primary content format.

Problem
Our official docs do not answer “How is NGINX Plus different/better than open-source NGINX?”, so users must rely on AI, random websites, or sub-optimal FAQ pages.

Proposed solution
Create a dedicated doc page—prominently linked from both the Open Source and Plus sections—that:

1. Presents a clear feature-by-feature matrix (Licensing, Support SLA, Health Checks, Session Persistence, Config Options, Scaling, etc.)
2. Explains real-world use cases for Plus vs. OSS
3. Links to pricing, trial, and support resources
4. Is written in plain language, mobile-responsive, and accessibility-checked

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Acceptance Criteria

• New Solutions page NGINX Plus vs. Open Source exists under /content/solutions and in sidebar navigation
• Comparison table covers at minimum: Features, Configuration, Target Audience, Pricing
• Use-case examples included (“When to choose NGINX OSS,” “When to upgrade to NGINX Plus”)
• Page reviewed and approved by Content Strategy, Marketing, CMS, and Engineering SMEs
• Links added: from Open Source overview → comparison page; from NGINX Plus overview → comparison page
• Meets internal style guide and passes accessibility audit

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Business Value

• Drives organic traffic by answering a top-ranked search query
• Reduces friction in customer onboarding by giving an authoritative, up-to-date source
• Strengthens positioning of NGINX Plus as the go-to enterprise solution

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Priority: Major (P2)
Labels: documentation, content-strategy, customer-onboarding, nginx-plus

Related Issues

• Create official migration guide from NGINX Open Source to NGINX Plus in product documentation #591: Create official migration guide from NGINX Open Source to NGINX Plus (migration guide will link to or incorporate this comparison page as its “why upgrade?” resource)

Attachments / Context

• Screenshots of Google autocomplete + AI matrix
• F5 FAQ: https://www.f5.com/go/faq/nginx-faq