Introduction
In an ideal world, your users would be satisfied at all times, leave great reviews, and you’d never lose a paying client.
In reality, a company takes an average of 12 hours and 10 minutes to respond to a customer service request — slowing product adoption and frustrating users who need quick answers.
Enter: user documentation.
User documentation is your secret weapon to beat piling support tickets, long response times and mediocre customer service. This documentation empowers users to troubleshoot their issues and answer any questions by themselves.
If you’ve realized the power of robust user documentation and are looking for some inspiration to design your own, this list of 10 user documentation examples will do the job!
What is user documentation?
User documentation refers to instructional resources designed for the end-users to understand a product better and get more out of it. These resources come in many formats, like help centers, tutorials, troubleshooting guides and in-app walkthroughs. They give users more information about the product’s capabilities to maximize adoption.
Here’s what end-user documentation usually includes:
How does user documentation help your case?
Consider this: your product sign-ups are increasing and many of them convert to paid users. More clients mean more support tickets — most of them with repetitive queries on the same few topics. Your support team is overwhelmed. Your newly acquired users are frustrated.
Sounds like a recipe for disaster, right? It doesn’t have to be that way.
Here are five main reasons why you need user documentation to steer clear of such chaos and deliver a seamless customer experience.
1. Frictionless user onboarding
Your user onboarding process shapes a healthy relationship with every new customer from the start. This is critical since 61 percent of customers willingly defect to your competitors after just one bad experience.
New users might not know all the product features to get the best out of it. They’re bound to ask questions about different features. Not getting prompt responses to their queries can create friction.
This is where user documentation comes to your (and their) rescue. Users can refer to these resources to find out more about a feature or answer any question — without wasting time and effort waiting for an agent to respond.
It streamlines the onboarding process and ensures users see your product’s value early on.
2. Offer easy query resolution
Most companies have a frustratingly long or complicated process of contacting support — raise a ticket, send an email, call an agent… yadda yadda yadda. The easier you make it for users to troubleshoot their problems and find answers, the better.
User documentation is a one-stop solution to most of your users' questions. They can resolve their queries more conveniently (and quickly) by simply searching for their question and reading relevant articles related to them. It reduces the time to respond and simplifies the process.
3. Empower support teams (& minimize costs)
Without user documentation, your support teams will feel more pressure as your user base expands. They’ll also spend more time answering common and repetitive questions.
User documentation compiles all the information about the product in a single place to guide users through any queries. You’ll reserve your support team for high-value questions that users can’t resolve through the help center or FAQs.
4. Maximize customer delight
The struggle to find answers and solutions inevitably creates a poor customer experience, which nudges 65 percent of customers to switch to a different brand.
User documentation reduces the resolution time for any query and works as a win-win for customers and support teams. It enables users to self-troubleshoot their doubts without an agent and gives agents a break from answering repetitive questions.
This way, users enjoy greater ease of using the product and spend less time struggling to find answers.
5. Create competitive edge
Research shows that 89 percent of customers will spend more time with companies that allow them to find answers online without contacting anyone. This can only mean one thing: user documentation is more than just a nice-to-have; it's an essential component of customer service. The quality of your user documentation can be a key differentiator for you in the market, helping you edge past the competition.
If now you see the benefits of user documentation and want to create some for your product, we have just the tool to get you started.
Scribe combines various elements like text, annotated screenshots and links to create interactive step-by-step guides (like this one). Using Scribe Pages, you can make multiple Scribes for different categories, topics, or features and compile them in a single place.
Voila! Your user documentation is ready to serve.
15 user documentation examples to inspire yours
A few end-user documentation examples can inspire you to make something exceptional, whether you’re creating resources from scratch or revamping your existing user manual.
So, we’ve curated this list of the 15 most unique user documentation examples to show you how it’s done. Let’s dive in!
1. Hopin
Hopin’s knowledge center stands out because of its unique interface and various types of resources. The site opens with a search bar with the most frequently searched keywords right under the bar.
The knowledge base categorizes all information based on user profiles. So, you can choose your role to dig deeper into the resources available. The center also features the most popular videos and four courses the brand has created specifically for its users.
What sets Hopin apart
- The neat and brand-aligned interface offers a clear direction instead of confusing users.
- The variety of resources — answers, courses and videos — caters to different learners.
- The powerful search function shows relevant results even for short keywords.
2. Scribe
Scribe’s help center starts you off with eight main categories containing all the information about the product. Each category has multiple subtopics related to the tool’s functionality.
But here’s the best part: instead of a plain and simple article with some screenshots, you’ll find a unique step-by-step guide combining text, links, images, gifs and other embedded media. It has a more intuitive design with better appeal than a standard article.
What sets Scribe apart
- The user documentation extensively covers various parts of the tool and segments it into main categories and subtopics.
- Every article is an interactive guide containing multimedia and audience reactions.
- There's a sticky table of contents on the side for you to jump between different sections in the document.
3. Webflow
Webflow’s user documentation is designed differently from most help centers. Instead of a typical support site, Webflow University features full-fledged courses and lessons. Users can sign up on the platform to access these courses and learn more about the product.
It also features a library of lessons, categorized into different topics. Every lesson has a video and textual content with screenshots for full-fledged guidance.
What sets Webflow apart
- This user guide example has a unique design and brings much more to the table than just FAQs.
- It answers a question or explains a feature in multiple ways—through screen-recorded videos, instructions, and more.
- The brand also offers certifications at different levels to give users a better hold of the tool and validate their skills.
4. Adroll
Adroll’s help center has a lively interface with a lot of visual elements. Apart from a search box, the help center has a dedicated section for potential and new users to understand the product better.
The Browse by Topic segment dives deep into different features and attributes within the tool. With 12 categories, users can easily find the most relevant one for their query. A CTA to their blog and the option to contact the support team at the bottom make it a complete resource.
What sets Adroll apart
- The multi-colored interface goes well with the overall website, delivering a consistent experience.
- All the articles follow different formats—like listicles, tables, etc.—with media to make all information easily consumable.
- At the bottom of every article, you’ll find a list of related articles to find more relevant info for your query.
5. Plytix
Plytix’s help center is crisp and simple. It has a search box at the start and six main categories with all the information about the product.
You'll find a detailed structure for each category to quickly find information. The knowledge base also features a chatbot with options to live chat with an agent, report an issue, start a video chat, or reach out to other users in the community forum.
What sets Plytix apart
- The minimal interface removes any distractions that might confuse readers.
- The help center gives users multiple options to get support—through articles, a chatbot and a community forum.
- Each category has a structured layout, so users can manually look for answers if the search doesn’t work well.
6. Lunchbox.io
Lunchbox.io’s support page has a minimal and clean design, a search bar and six main categories. You'll find articles on different features and best practices within each category. These articles are to-the-point and use annotated screenshots to answer user queries effectively.
What sets Lunchbox.io apart
- This user guide example doesn’t throw too much at the user and gives them only the most relevant information.
- Every article has a table of contents for you to jump directly to any section you like.
- The content uses text and graphics to create a better context for every topic.
Scribe top tip: Want to level up the design for your user documentation? Use Scribe to auto-generate interactive guides using annotated media and texts in a few seconds.
7. SurveyMonkey
SurveyMonkey’s help center is like any other support page, but with a cleaner interface and in-depth resources. You’ll find six main categories under the search bar, followed by a short explainer for new users to get started.
The page also compiles quick access links to the latest resources and most viewed articles. The best part is that most articles have a video overview for visual learners and a textual guide for others.
What sets SurveyMonkey apart
- The page has a clear differentiation of topics, making it easy for users to find relevant answers.
- Almost every article presents in-depth information about the topic with a screen-recorded video and textual content.
- All the content is easily skimmable for busy users to solve their queries without hassle.
8. PandaDoc
PandaDoc’s help center is short and jumps straight to the main categories. You can find correct information by searching or manually looking into relevant categories.
The navigation menu on the help center shows all the other resources available for PandaDoc — like training courses, product updates and community forums. One of the segments, Unleashed, features various resources curated only for paid customers.
What sets PandaDoc apart
- The brand has a value-packed support system with different resources available in the help center, community forum, and other avenues.
- The help center has a clean design and delivers to-the-point information.
- Important articles contain a video overview with a support agent giving users a walkthrough of a specific feature.
9. Canva
Canva’s help center is packed with resources in various formats and categories. Users can jump to either of the eight main topics to troubleshoot their issues. Each category has a clearly defined structure and different answers for desktop and mobile apps.
Besides these categories, the help center features the top articles segmented for different types of users—pro, teams, education, and nonprofits.
What sets Canva apart
- Each category covers a crucial aspect/feature of the tool with no differentiation between free and paid users.
- The Top Articles section gives users quick access to the most viewed resources.
- Every article is created as a step-by-step guide to offer better readability and ease of understanding.
10. Asana
Asana’s user documentation explains the product’s functionality in four main sections:
- Getting started.
- Paid plans.
- Apps and integrations.
- Other resources.
Each section has articles explaining different aspects of the tool. These articles contain crucial details, stepwise breakdowns, tips, infographics, annotated screenshots and gifs to guide users through any feature.
What sets Asana apart
- The resource section differs from a help center because it doesn't answer questions and offers short product demos.
- Every section has a quick access link to jump to any article you’d like to read.
- The search function helps you find necessary information quickly.
Delight your users with flawless documentation
End-user documentation can turn potential customers into paying clients and new clients into brand loyalists. It removes friction from the customer experience by enabling users to help themselves — and frees up your support team’s time for high-value queries.
Save this list of top-notch end-user documentation examples to design your own.
If you need a tool to create and publish your documentation effortlessly, try Scribe. It’ll do all the heavy lifting on your behalf to automatically generate interactive guides in a few seconds.
