Writing a user manual is no longer a question of why, as its significance is apparent to any business owner. Instead, it’s more a question of how. Technical writers or other people in charge of writing a manual often look for a good guide on creating a user manual. You should consider many steps and rules before, during, and even after writing a user manual. In this article, we go straight to the writing part. So let’s learn about different aspects and rules of writing a manual. But It’s highly recommended that you read the article on the top 13 rules to create a user manual beforehand. It covers all the steps of creating a manual, including those before starting to write.
How to Write a User Manual
Mainly there are three aspects you need to consider to write a good manual. First, you have to gather all the necessary sections and titles. This classification of sections and headings helps you organize your content and make sure that you’re going to cover it all. At the same time, only include the relevant information to the target user. Well, as just implied, content is another aspect of the manual. And the third aspect is structuring your guide in a way that is easy to read and follow.
Start with Sections and Headings
Headings initiate writing. Think of all the necessary sections and titles that apply to your product manual. Go through templates and examples to gather a suitable list of titles you need. The following provides you with the most common components of a standard manual. You could dedicate titles to relevant sections and use them to start writing your guide. Remember that not all of them necessarily apply to your product, and you might even need to add/remove some extra sections or sub-headings to make this list work for you.
- Cover Pages (Including both front and back covers)
- Copyright Page or Edition Notice
- Disclaimers
- Trademarks
- Warranties
- License Agreements
- Table of Contents (It could Include the list of figures and tables if applicable)
- Safety Warnings
- Introduction/Preface
- Overview
- Parts Lists/Accessories
- Technical Description
- Instructions (Getting started and how to use the product)
- Appendixes
- Glossary
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- Troubleshooting
- Feedback
- Contact Details
Continue with Structure and Content
Now that you have gathered all the headings, think of the content to include in each section. But don’t forget structuring and style to facilitate communicating with your audience. Here are some essential tips in this regard:
1. Choose a Suitable Writing Style
- Choose a standard writing style and stick to it throughout the text.
- Use active voice to communicate clearly and engage your users.
- Avoid informal or humorous tones.
2. Write in Plain Language
- Focus on comprehensibility prior to anything else.
- Don’t confuse your users with technical terms.
3. Cover It All, But Be Concise
- Give clear, precise, and to the point instruction in a step-by-step manner. Don’t bore your users with irrelevant and excessive information.
4. Structure and Design Your Guide
An effective format and design could make a manual a real guide and is as important as the content.
- Let your users know what they’re going to read and where to find each subject. (A table of content and a clear hierarchical structure could help a lot.)
- Use different styles, colors, symbols, etc., to engage your audience and communicate more effectively.
- Use numbers, bulleted lists, and tables to attract your users’ attention to the most critical parts.
- Divide complicated processes into more straightforward steps for the ease of understanding
5. Use Visuals
Long crammed columns of text are tedious and intimidating. Visuals help learners perceive a subject much faster and more efficiently. Manuals are no exception. The main point of a manual is to instruct readers on how to use a product properly. Visuals can help you achieve this goal while it also makes the manual more fun and engaging.
6. Rewrite, Edit, and Proofread
Rewriting and revision are essential steps of writing any content. Don’t forget to check again and again. And at the end, always ask for a fresh pair of eyes to check your work. This is why a team of writers collaborating on a document is the best solution to successful documentation.
But It’s Always Wiser to Use a Template than to Write from Scratch
There’s no doubt that you need high-quality and reliable patterns and examples for good writing. Many writers prefer to search for templates to help them write a professional user instruction manual, which is actually a practical answer to the “HOW” question. The idea of using a template for writing your manual is quite clever. Templates provide information on different headings and titles of a standard manual while already structured and meeting the format requirement. Good templates also give an author guide using tips, instructions, examples, and boilerplates, in fact, a perfect help for writing the manual’s content, which somehow does a part of writing.
Templates save you a whole lot of time and energy and put you on the right track. It also helps with consistency and maintaining your brand and style. Once you’ve chosen and designed a template your way, you could use it for other products of your company or business. It’s even more helpful if you use a template that particularly targets your product or the closest category to yours. You can see a list of specialized user manual templates covering seven categories of the most common products here and use the one that is the best match for your product. These templates cover an extensive range of electronic, non-electronic, and software products that can pave the way for your user documentation.
