How to Create a Great User Documentation

David Wilson
2023-08-25 21:06:27 • Filed to: Customer Service Tips

Software companies focus on technical features such as web development and UX design. While a lot of importance is being laid on these spheres, the essential feature of user documentation gets neglected.

write users documentation

Good user documentation can be considered a great indicator of a company's continuous growth and development. As more than 70 per cent of the customers prefer self-supported customer service alternatives, decent user documentation is important.

It can be considered as a deciding factor between satisfactory customer experience and a miserable one. If a company's product is a complex one, telling the users how to use it is essential. A balanced user manual for any product can bring in excellent reviews from the customers.

Part 1
What is User Documentation

User Documentation, also known as User Guides or User Manuals refer to information that is provided to the customers to help them with ways in which they can use the product or service.

These refer to the step-by-step details of how to go with the product. This assists the user to access the product or service effectively. Also, user documentation can come in various forms. Documentations for video games tell the users how to use the buttons and controllers.

While in the case of software documentation, it provides information regarding how a user can make a purchase. It also entails information related to the benefits of the purchase. The Tax forms often come with user documentation, which provides a detailed procedure on how to fill those.

For example, the user manual provided by companies like IKEA is highly descriptive and detailed in the form of images and illustrations. The textual information, however, is given through other mediums such as videos.

User Documentations are written with a presumption that the users possess no knowledge or skills associated with the product. Hence, these are focused on receiving the best outputs.

For example, if the user documentation is related to a Washing Machine, a User Documentation would give details such as the best settings for eco washes, amount of washing powder required or how to stop your white shirts from getting pink.

Part 2
Importance of User Documentation

A good User Documentation has a variety of benefits to offer to the clients. Most of the times, User Manuals are considered important only for beginners. However, the experienced users can also refer to the User Documentation to refresh their memories regarding the use of the products or services.

There are several reasons why good User Documentation is essential. Some of those are listed below:

To assist the buyers

A good and informative User Guide is perfect for the buyers as it gives a detailed account of how the product can be utilised. It signifies that the company is not just focused on selling the product to the customers, but instead, is dedicated to enhancing the overall experience of using the product for the customer.

This would help the company to enhance its company value, which would bring the customers back to them whenever required. To boost up the level of their brand, it is essential to create a good User Documentation, which would enhance the customer experience.

On the other hand, the customers, too, would be super happy to give excellent reviews of the products or services.

Helpful to the users

For example, a customer buys a smartphone and turns on the power button. What if nothing displays on the screen? The customer would take out the User Documentation, which would have been provided by the company.

Whenever the users have questions regarding their product or service, they try to seek refuge in User manuals at first. Hence, it is considered great if the company provides a decent user manual, as helping a person is always known to be better!

Can reduce the work of your customer support team

In case of even petty issues and troubles, the customers would contact the customer care service. Instead of disturbing your team, again and again, the company can easily assist the customers by providing descriptive User Documentation.

It can help the users by providing an easy reference guide. It is just not for the users, but also the customer service team. The product support team can make use of the documentation created by the company to resolve the queries of the customers.

As the company includes important details such as the table of contents or index pages, the information can be accessed easily, without any extra hassle. Also, if it is an electronic document which can be found out on the internet, it would be even better.

When the users find trouble in anything related to the product or the service, they do not take much time and directly call up the customer care department. More than 70 per cent of the customers hop on the company’s website in case of trouble, instead of phones and e-mails.

It is not fair to say that documentation can eliminate these questions or queries. But to a greater extent, it can reduce the volume of calls, messages and e-mails as a whole. This would help the company to reduce the extra stress which is laid on the customer service department.

Improves the Customer Experience with the product or service

A well-descriptive, detailed and illustrative User Documentation suggests that the company is bothered about the customer experience, which also enhances the customer reviews. It tells how the company is concerned about boosting its performance.

This is how to create user documentation and that too a good one! User Documentation has a variety of benefits to offer to the clients. Most of the times, User Manuals are considered important only for beginners. However, the experienced users can also refer to the User Documentation to refresh their memories regarding the use of the products or services.

Part 3
How to Make a Good User Documentation

Below are mentioned some of the best ways in which a company can draft an efficient User Documentation for the welfare of the customers.

Start the Plan

Before thinking a lot, you should rather start with the process of creation of the User Manual. Before starting the User Documentation, there are certain questions which should be considered by the company:

  1. What is the goal of User Documentation?
  2. What are the requirements of the users to get the best results?
  3. What are the most common problems associated with User Documentation?
  4. What are the best ways to structure the contents?
  5. Where should the User Documentation be made available for the customers for maximum access?
  6. The creator should consider the customer’s perspective and understand the needs and requirements of the customers. While testing the User Documentation, the creator should become the end-user, which would provide the best output.
  7. Analyse whether the functions and features are easy to access and suitable for the clients or not.
  8. Consult the Customer service team, which would be the perfect place to find out the requirements of the users. It would give an account of the questions that people generally have.
  9. Also, one should check out the competitor's User Documentation, which would highlight the loopholes and troubles. Considering those, the company can frame their User Documentation.

Write in easy and simple language

Instead of making use of fancy words, simple language with short sentences makes interpretation and comprehension very easy. Instead of using Jargons, easy language, which can be understood easily by all is the best way to write the User Documentation.

Use Visuals for better understanding

Along with adding vital information, the company should make a point to add pictures and visual aids as well, which would enhance the comprehension of the customers. As visuals are always better retained in the memory, it would help in better understanding of the concepts. Usually you can create a vdieo guide to your product, or demo video to express your brand concept, which will make your product trustworthy. I would recommend you to try DemoCreator video recorder to record the product introduction or brand videos. Moreover, you are allowed to edit your recordings by adding annotation, captions and other effects as you want.

screen recording process

Follow a specific order

Instead of writing ransom information here and there, the company should ensure that the details are coherent and are written step-by-step. This would assist in better understanding of information for the customers.

Conclusion

Hope we could provide a satisfactory answer to your question of how to create good user documentation. Even if every other factor is neglected, a great user documentation should be designed and created in such a way that it becomes highly useful to the buyers.

The documentation should enhance the customer experience and should delight them, along with helping them out with their queries. The documentation should be made easily accessible, along with visual details, to make comprehension easier.