Many people never make it through the user handbook. It’s frequently dismissed as secondary or simply too difficult to deal with. The user, the product, and the writing team all suffer due to this. The user handbook must establish a solid and good first impression to get past this phase. It is essential to present instructions as a series of steps. Also, tell the consumer what functions are available and what they are for, not simply how to use them…but avoid marketing jargon.
When users can’t locate what they’re looking for in the user handbook, they become frustrated. This is frequently because the writer’s key terms are not the same as the keywords that consumers might be searching. Here are some pointers to assist users in finding what they’re looking for. The instructions must be simple to read and comprehend for all users. Many user manuals contain either partial, erroneous, or irrelevant instructions.
WordPress Instruction Manuals for Clients
Now let us be more specific and see how to make a user-friendly WordPress instruction manual.
You might find it challenging to teach WordPress to someone who has never used it before and can be difficult and stressful. You and the client both have more important things to do, and having to train every client you work with would most likely drive you insane. Instead, you may produce your detailed WordPress user manual (or hire someone to do it for you) so that your clients can be assured that they will have authority over their site.
So how can you create an appealing user manual for WordPress clients?
Let us get into the details!
1. Start with an Overview
When writing a WordPress manual, you should imagine writing for a WordPress beginner- who is clueless about the technical side. So always start by providing an overview about WordPress-the basics and beyond. Always begin by explaining the what, why, which, and how of WordPress. Always explain it in simple words and set the right voice tone. You can even write the introductory part after writing the entire user manual.
2. Structure the content and sections
Content should flow logically and in a well-structured manner to avoid confusion. Going through more specific topics is vital and logically flows into adjacent sections. You wouldn’t, for example, begin by showing users how to publish a post, then move on to discussing comment management before returning to showing users how to print pages. Although posts trickle into comments, it would be ideal if all publishing content was kept together.
You can create an outline as follows:
- Logging in
- The Dashboard
- Posts
- Pages
- Images and Media
- Comments
- Appearance Features
- Plugins
- Users
- Tools
- Settings
- Seo services and Tips
Based on the understanding and feasibility, you can improve this outline.
3. Add Subsections
Who will be interested to read lengthy and vague content? No one unless it is a newspaper editorial.
A user guide has to be helpful for users; hence it should be well-structured and straightforward. You can create different subsections for the main sections to make comprehension effortless.
4. Display
A large amount of content without a proper structure with too many images can be a disaster. So always create step-by-step explanations with appropriate screenshots. It is essential to number the steps and images. Also, ensure that the screenshots are of high resolution and readable. For the texts in the image that need special attention, use editing tools to create labels, and extra notes to draw attention.
5. Use simple active sentences
Visuals are important, but without the correct explanations, they can confuse. Explain what the user is seeking to accomplish and why it should be completed before diving into the step-by-step method of a specific WordPress action. Any functions used in the process should be explained so the user understands what they’re for, not just when and when not to use them. They should be explained the benefits of each section in detail because users connect with benefits easily
Always remember to:
- Write simple sentences
- Screenshots with relevant text
- Explain terminology
- Add links wherever necessary
6. Include Additional sections
For a seamless user experience, you can include many additional sections as and when needed.
You can provide details like:
Table of Contents
It is critical to have a comprehensive table of contents for all sections and subsections and their associated pages so that users can find the instructions as quickly as possible.
Section Summaries
You can summarize what the user learned and the critical points covered at the end of each part or even each subsection. It will also help them go back to refer when they are in a fix!
Site Maintenance Section
This section will help clients understand the maintenance required and how to go about it.
FAQ Section
The FAQ section will help clients clarify most doubts immediately and make them more confident.
Resources Section
A resources section is a grouping of pages or articles regarding the products and services. This will help clients stay up-to-date with all the required information and avoid confusion accessing it quickly.
Glossary Section:
Novices will have no idea what technical terminology means. A glossary section at the rear of your handbook for rapid reference is instrumental, even though you should explain their meanings the first time you provide them in the instructions.
Support Section:
The support section comes as a savior when the manual nor the extra online resources do not provide an answer to a user’s questions.
Please note that you can also add a Quick Start Guide, Hardcopy and Online Copy Options, and Regular Updates for New WordPress Releases.
7. Review once you are done!
To begin with, review serves as a filter to guarantee that only high-quality content is released, which is especially important in a document such as a user manual. Peer review, on the other hand, is designed to improve the quality of manuscripts that have been declared eligible for publication and are free of errors.Once you are done with your draft, please take it to an SME who can review the entire content and make it flawless-logically and language-wise.
- Content review – Use your WordPress expertise and experience to guarantee that the material contains the most up-to-date, evidence-based information on the subject. If you are not an expert, hire one!
- Literature search – You should utilize your literature search abilities to review the most recent research on this topic and, as needed, add new evidence, explanations, or arguments.
- Page layout and presentation – Here, you’ll double-check that the page’s formatting and layout comply with the Quality Standards and make any necessary changes.
- Media and links – Here you’ll make sure the press on the page is appropriate and doesn’t infringe on anyone’s copyright. You can improve the page even more by including more media (images and video).
Wrapping Up!
Before you do anything, you must fully immerse yourself in the reader’s thinking. The scope of your manual will be heavily influenced by the type of audience you’re writing for. As a result, you might wish to spell out precisely what your visitors will get from the knowledge base articles.
Asking your target audience for this information could be the most effective method. Since Stores can be created easily using WordPress, you should make an easy-to-follow instructional manual that helps customers set up and customize websites easily and worry-free.
WordPress has come a long way. Unlike earlier, now you don’t have to learn coding to set up and run packages like Dreamweaver, which might be challenging to understand and grasp. The best things about a WordPress platform are that they are easy to learn and use, are stable and bug-free, have a wide range of themes, both free and premium, and have several plugins to improve your store functionality. Above all, it’s FREE. So if you are a WordPress developer, we have decided to make it easy for you to create an instructional manual.
