Designing Effective Online Help

Wrap up

You must remember that your goal as a technical writer is to produce material that teaches users about a product or service. To do that, you should:

get to the point
speak plainly
write short sentences
create short topics
use links
write with internationalization in mind

The more effective your documentation, the less likely your users are to declare your online help useless and the product a fraud. You'll also avoid numerous tech support calls that could have been avoided if you had followed the suggestions in this article.

I must confess that what I've outlined here is only a quick overview. I could write volumes on each one of these topics, but I'm sure my wife wouldn't be too happy with the amount of computer time that would involve. So, if you've got the general idea from what I've written, great! If you want more information, check out my technical writing links page. You can find more in-depth information through those links. You can also buy Standards for Online Communication. It's a GREAT book and a wonderful text for teaching you the basics of producing effective online help.