The dirty secret of docs is that it’s rare for folks to actually sit down and read the manual. Devs engage with our docs via search, support, and stack overflow. I’ll share strategies for creating paths to our docs and how we make it easy for users to efficiently navigate our docs once they arrive.

1. Write your Docs
Like Nobody Reads Them
1 @ShyRuparel
API The Docs Chicago
April 8th 2019
1

2. Shy Ruparel
Developer Evangelist | Contentful
@ShyRuparel
He/Him
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3. How do folks engage with documentation?
@ShyRuparel3

4. Not always by reading it
@ShyRuparel4

5. RTFM
@ShyRuparel55

6. When you use RTFM, you’re saying, “Not only am I not going
to help you, but I also want to make sure that you feel
ashamed about your inability to help yourself.”
-April Wensel
medium.com/compassionate-coding/its-time-to-retire-rtfm-
31acdfef654f
@ShyRuparel6

7. 7 @ShyRuparel7
How do people engage with
documentation?

8. 8 @ShyRuparel8
How do people learn?

9. Reading/Writing Learning
@ShyRuparel9

10. Visual Learning
@ShyRuparel10

11. Auditory Learning
@ShyRuparel11

12. Kinesthetic learning
@ShyRuparel12

13. Contentful Documentation
13 @ShyRuparel13

14. Contentful
@ShyRuparel1414

15. Areas of documentation
15 @ShyRuparel

16. What part
of the
manual?
@ShyRuparel1616

17. Reducing Friction around
Information Discovery
17 @ShyRuparel17

18. Developer Empowerment
18 @ShyRuparel18

19. Content Discovery
19 @ShyRuparel19

20. Coding is at
least 50%
knowing
how
to google
20 @ShyRuparel20

21. Documentation
Discovery
@ShyRuparel2121

22. Internal Search
@ShyRuparel22

23. Internal Search
@ShyRuparel23

24. Documentation doesn’t need
to just be static content
24 @ShyRuparel24

25. Clicking Things
@ShyRuparel25

26. Copy/Paste
ready
samples
@ShyRuparel2626

27. Video
@ShyRuparel27

28. Don’t be
afraid to
delete
content
when it
gets stale
28 @ShyRuparel28

29. Extending your Docs
29 @ShyRuparel29

30. Developer Community
30 @ShyRuparel30

31. Let’s chat
about
Stack
Overflow
@ShyRuparel3131

32. Developers Use Stack Overflow
@ShyRuparel32

33. Stack Overflow is better at SEO than I am
@ShyRuparel33

34. Optimize your time spent on
Stack Overflow
34 @ShyRuparel34

35. Link back
to your
own docs
when you
answer
questions
@ShyRuparel3535

36. Developer
Portal
@ShyRuparel3636

37. Chatrooms
37 @ShyRuparel37

38. Slack
@ShyRuparel3838

39. Automation
@ShyRuparel3939

40. Spend Time with your
Community
40 @ShyRuparel40

41. Meetups
41 @ShyRuparel

42. Log where
folks are
struggling
42 @ShyRuparel42

43. Create
Content to
reduce
struggle
@ShyRuparel4343

44. Support Different
Learning Styles
● Video
● Search
● 1-click API Calls
● Copy / Paste ready
samples
● Deprecated stale
content
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● Reading/Writing
● Visual
● Auditory
● Kinesthetic
More than Text Beyond the Docs
● Stack Overflow
● Slack
● Meetups
● Document and Evolve
Summary
@ShyRuparel

45. Questions?
@ShyRuparel
Slides: github.com/shy/talks