Best practices for creating user-friendly help documentation

[Elsh]

Hey everyone! I’ve been struggling a bit with making help docs that users actually *want* to read, not just skip past. I had this one time where a user emailed me saying my help section was “just a wall of text”—which definitely stung, but I get where he’s coming from. I want the docs to be genuinely helpful and not overwhelming. What are your go-to tricks or best practices for writing help docs that feel easy and natural for people?

[Fyorgen]

Oh, I know that pain all too well! I’ve had a couple of support tickets basically just complain about my documentation style before I started changing things up. What really helped me was focusing on structure—breaking things into clear sections, using bullet points and adding a lot of screenshots. One thing that sped things up was using a https://www.helpsmith.com which made it easy to design the docs visually and keep everything organized. Now, whenever I update a feature, I can just add new sections or screenshots right away. Also, I try to write like I’m talking to a friend, not like I’m writing a textbook. It sounds like you’re already thinking in the right direction!

[Fonelitha]

Following this thread because I’m about to redo some docs at my job too. I’m always amazed at how different help documentation can be depending on the product. Sometimes I find myself actually reading every word, and other times I can’t even get through the first paragraph. Always interested in tips to make things less boring!