Have you ever toiled to implement something?
Perhaps, you are using a programming language's framework or library for the first time and there is something you can't just get right.
Now, imagine someone tells you that there is a website you can visit to get a well-explained tutorial to solve your code problem and he/she sends you the link to the websites that explains how to do that aspect and then all you have to do is read with ease and understand seamlessly.
Imagine how spirited and relieved you would be! The truth is that you won't just come right back to the website when you face another difficulty regarding the tool, but you will also stick to the tool because you know that there is always something to search for when you face a problem in the future.
Look how pleasant a piece of well-written information not only solves a user's problem but also retains them forever.
In this blog, we will go through:
The meaning of a Documentation
Documentation of a product is a material that provides official information about the product.
Documentation gives instructions on how to use software or provide references to make the product usage stress-free.
Documentation is very popular in the software development world as more tools are noticing how sufficient documentation has increased their fan base, it is also known as technical guides, it also includes descriptions and explanations of how something is being done.
What a Documentation will do for your product
Having good documentation for your product is a blessing to your potential customers and they will thank you for life for that.
Here are a few ways you'll get the benefits:
1. It Increases Trust
Good documentation shows that the owners care about their users which makes the users put extra trust in them.
2. It Makes Integration Easier
Using a product/tool with documentation to browse for solutions makes the work easier. The stress of checking Google all the time for answers is reduced thus, reducing difficulty for users.
3. Proper Usage
Following good documentation for a project ensures that all usage is in the right arrangement, this increases productivity and overall success of the project.
4. Creates More Long-term Users
When users of a product benefit from following satisfactory documentation, they feel a sense of significance. This makes them feel appreciated for using the tool and they continue to use the product.
5. Solves Problem Faster
Documentation makes solving a problem get faster. Users know where to get the latest and elegant way of solving a problem and most times, it is the official and fastest way.
6. Keeps Information Well Arranged
Good documentation focuses on making the whole explanation be in sequence. Information is well arranged from installation or intro to advanced and production.
Example of a Documentation
In this blog, we'll take the example of Tailwindcss documentation as an example.
Tailwind is a utility-first CSS framework. Taking a different approach compared to its alternative mobile-first choice.
This leaves Tailwind requiring good documentation to help in convincing users, and it did well.
A few years later they went from a Side-Project Byproduct to Multi-Million Dollar Business, a large fraction of that achievement comes from the good documentation they have, guiding users to make them use Tailwindcss and come to like and prefer it to others.
Since then, Tailwind has relied on user's feedback to make it a better framework for users to use.
According to trends.builtwith.com, there are over 335 thousand Tailwind users and 221 thousand live websites using Tailwind CSS and an additional 114k+ sites that used Tailwind CSS historically and almost two thousand websites in Switzerland. Impressive!!!
This is proof that good documentation makes a product 10X better while bad documentation can make a good product suffer because difficulty in customers usage leads to a reduced number of users.
Real-life experiences of a good Documentation
In this part, I'll be showing brief proof that good documentation makes a product better.
We will be taking Tailwind as an example, here are a few things the users are saying about Tailwindcss and its documentation:
Introducing Docz to create a Documentation
Let's know a bit about Docz.
What is Docz?
Docz is a tool that helps you create live-reloading and production-ready documentation sites.
Integrated with MDX and customizable to make the look, feel and behaviour of the documentation stand out.
Why was Docz created?
Documenting code is hard but crucial, it takes time to formulate but people will be so delighted when they have documentation to read to save time while looking for answers.
Much time is spent on developing and maintaining custom documentation sites.
Docz is here to make it easier and quicker. ith Docz, it is efficient to build scalable and customizable documentation.
Why you should use Docz
Docz was created with designs and documentation in mind. Its foundation was also built based on how technical inventors would want to build their products and document them.
Here are some of the ample reasons you should use Docz:
Docz has zero weird configuration setups.
It is very simple to learn and use.
It is fast and designed with performance in mind.
Documentations made with Docz are easy to customize.
It uses MDX to guarantee standard documentation writing.
No doubt, having good documentation is necessary.
Start using Docz today!