User manuals are a useful resource that helps users understand your product, service, or process. Potential customers will browse your user manual before asking questions about your products. If they can’t find the information they are looking for in your user manual, they will contact customer support. A well-designed user manual both relieves customer support and makes it easier for users to find what they are looking for. User manuals are essential for the products and services your company offers. If you don’t know what a user manual is and how to create one, we’ve got you covered!

In this article, we will explain what a user manual is and how to create one.

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TL; DR

  • User manuals are documents that aim to help users with a particular product, service, or system.
  • User manuals are divided into 7 different types according to their usage area and purpose.
  • To create a user manual, you must first analyze the target audience and produce solutions to their problems.
  • The steps you add to the user manual should be written in clear and easy-to-understand language.
  • If you want to simplify your user manual creation process and increase the quality of your user manuals, you can use templates.
  • If you want to increase the quality of your user manuals and create customized user manual templates for your company and users, TextCortex is the solution for you.

What is a User Manual?

A user manual is a document designed to help users of a particular product, service, or system. It is also known as an instruction manual or a user guide. User manuals cover information about operations, standards, guidelines, troubleshooting, functionalities, set-up guides and more.

User manuals contain step-by-step guides and help users solve any problems they encounter or obtain the information they need. User manuals are not designed to be read from beginning to end; they should be equipped with tables, data, and information that will help the user when needed. When creating a user manual, it will be useful for the user to add a table of contents that indicates the relevant headings for navigation.

7 Types of User Manuals

There are 7 types of user manuals that you should consider when preparing technical manuals, which you can choose from according to their purpose and content.

  • Instruction Manual: Tells users how to use the product in the best way possible.
  • Training Manual: Tells users how to complete a process.
  • Service Manual: Tells users how to keep a product running.
  • User Manual: Used to support users about the product & service.
  • Operational Manual: Describes your company's roles, vision, and mission.
  • Organizational Policy Manual: Describes the company's policies and procedures.
  • SOPs Manual: Tells members of the organization how to complete certain processes.
7 Types of User Manuals

What to Include in User Manuals?

If you are preparing a user manual, there is content that you need to include that will benefit users. For example, you can add visuals that are appropriate for the user manual so that users can visually understand what they need to do. You should write user manuals using clear language so that readers can easily understand what is being explained. You can also make your user manuals searchable by adding things like a table of contents.

How to Create a User Manual?

The main thing you need to know to create a user manual is how to write one. If you want to write a user manual and don't know where to start, we have prepared a guide for you!

1. Identify the Audience

Before you start writing a user manual, you need to determine exactly who your target audience is. When determining target users, you should analyze demographics, user needs, problems, and initial requirements. Figuring out who your target audience is a critical factor in determining what to include in your user manual and how to design it.

2. Focus on Solutions

The general purpose of user manuals is to solve problems that users may encounter and provide support. When writing a user manual, you need to think as a user and add solutions to potential problems to the document. In this way, you can create a useful manual for users and indirectly lighten the workload of customer support. If a user can find the solution they are looking for in a user manual, they will not need to write to customer support.

3. Use Sequential Steps

User manuals should be divided into steps that can be easily understood by each user. So users of all ages can easily understand and apply it. Break down the solutions you offer in the user manual into sequential steps by explaining them in simple sentences. Your goal should be to make it easy for users to follow the instructions. You should also tell what will happen after completing the current step before moving on to the next step.

4. Map the User Manual

Experience how users use your product or service firsthand, get feedback, and conduct research. This way, you can see what problems your users might encounter firsthand and use this data to create the information you will add to your user manual. Your main goal is to see your product or service through the eyes of the user and create a user manual that is useful to them. For example, if your users are experiencing your product’s interface for the first time, you can add a user manual section that introduces the interface.

5. Create a Template

One of the most effective ways to create a user manual is to use a template that will guide you. Creating a standardized template for your company's products and services increases both stability and user trust. You can add the following to a user manual template:

  • Introduction
  • Sections and subsections
  • Sequential steps
  • Warnings
  • Conclusion

If you need a user manual template and want to create a customized one for your products and services, you can use TextCortex. TextCortex provides a knowledge base to which you can add your product and service documents, and ZenoChat, a conversational AI that works with it. With ZenoChat, you can generate customized user manual templates that use your product and service information.

6. Use Clear and Easy-to-Follow Language

The user manual should be written in a language that is easy to understand and appeals to people from all demographics. User manuals should include easy-to-follow steps, ensuring that users do not have difficulty during the application and appealing to users of all ages. When writing a user manual, you should assume that users do not have technical knowledge, and you should prepare a guide with plain language that appeals to everyone, for casual users.

7. Explain the Symbols, Icons and Numbers Early

If your user manual contains instructions that contain technical information and you have indicated them with symbols, icons, or numbers, we recommend that you put the explanations on the first pages. This way, users can learn in advance what the symbols they encounter mean and can go back and check if they forget. This allows you to create an easy-to-use user manual and inform users about the symbols and icons in advance.

Create User Manuals via TextCortex

Creating a user manual is a long process that requires care. If you need a user manual template or user manual ideas and want to generate custom templates for different user manuals, then TextCortex is designed for you. TextCortex offers its users a user manual template generation solution that they can use with multiple LLMs, powerful RAG, image generation, knowledge bases and web search.

Using TextCortex’s knowledge bases, you can upload or connect your project, service, or product information to TextCortex. Then, using ZenoChat integrated with your knowledge base, you can generate custom user manual templates and simplify the language of the content. Once you integrate TextCortex into your business, you can increase your staff performance by providing them with a multifunctional conversational AI ZenoChat. Check out the results from one of our case studies:

  • Reduction of internal expertise search time from minutes to seconds
  • 10-12% more efficient proposal creation
  • Employee confidence in working with AI improved from 8/10 to 10/10
  • Employee enthusiasm toward AI increased from 25% to 67%
  • 94% of employees report that AI improves their work quality

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I create a simple user manual?

You can easily create user manuals in 7 steps:

  1. Identify the Audience
  2. Focus on Solutions
  3. Use Sequential Steps
  4. Map the User Manual
  5. Create a Template
  6. Use Clear and Simple Language
  7. Explain the Symbols and Icons Early

How do I create a user-friendly manual?

To create a user-friendly manual, you need to conduct research that prioritizes user experience and focuses on the first problems the user will encounter. Second, you should use a language that every user can easily understand. You can also make navigation easier by dividing your user manuals into sections and headings.

What is the purpose of a user manual?

The common purpose of user manuals is to inform and assist the user about a topic, product, service, or system. User manuals offer solutions to potential problems that users may encounter and introduce them to the product.