Winning Digital Products

Then, when I wanted to work with the more advanced features, I could delve deeper into the full product manual.

Quick-reference guides allow your users to quickly and easily find the information they need to perform a specific task or set of tasks. They don’t replace a full user manual, but they provide a fantastic supplemental way to deliver information.

Here’s everything you need to know about making a high-quality quick-reference guide in no-time.

As noted above, a quick-start guide is one of the most common types of quick-reference guides. So, while not all quick-reference guides are quick-start guides, all quick-start guides are quick-reference guides.

And, if you don’t have the right tools, this is where things can get really tricky. It can be time-consuming to try and put everything into a Microsoft Word document, for instance.

And if you don’t have access to a professional designer, ensuring your quick-reference guide looks great can be a bit daunting.

They provide professional-looking designs you can use to create quick how-to guides with drag-and-drop ease.

Add your descriptions in the corresponding sections in the space at the right of the template, and add a title in the title box.

There are a number of different types of quick-reference guides, so you want to know exactly what your audience needs before creating one.

Does your audience need a fast and easy way to get started using your product’s most basic features? Then you want to create a quick-start guide.

Learn your audience's needs and expectations and then create the content they need to succeed.

Or, maybe they need a one-stop reference for understanding your software’s UX? How about a glossary of common terms? Or an overview of your product’s core features?

Or, imagine your users are moving from one piece of software to yours. What information might they need to make the transition easier? Think about things like differences in menu trees, icons, feature names, etc.

All of those things (and WAY more) can be accomplished with a quick-reference guide.

But, obviously, all of those are very different applications. Learn your audience’s needs and expectations and then create the content they need to succeed.

Help your users get up and running quickly with your product.

Similar to a quick-start guide, but offers an overview of how to use your product or service’s most basic or core features.

Once your users are ready to take things to a new level, use a quick-reference guide to introduce them to other functionality or features.

Did your software recently update? Use a quick-reference guide to walk your users through the changes.

Instagram Template

Got a process you need to explain? Show it!

If your product doesn’t require a huge manual, a quick-reference guide may be all the documentation you need.

Essential elements to creating a great quick-reference or quick-start guide

The more of these blogs I write, the more I become aware of consistent themes. Creating the content your audience wants (and not necessarily what you want to tell them) is one of the most consistent.

As noted in this article about how to create more effective customer education content, there are a number of ways to figure out exactly what that is, including online forums, customer surveys, or even from your own technical support staff.