How can you make your API documentation accessible to non-technical users?

1 Define your audience

Before you start writing your API documentation, you need to know who your target audience is, what their goals and needs are, and how familiar they are with your API and the technical terms related to it. This will help you tailor your content, tone, and style to suit their preferences and expectations. For example, if your audience is mainly business users who want to integrate your API into their workflows, you may want to focus on the benefits and use cases of your API, rather than the technical details and code examples. On the other hand, if your audience is mainly developers who want to customize your API, you may want to provide more technical information and code snippets, but also explain the logic and reasoning behind your design choices.

3 Organize your content logically

Another key factor in making your API documentation accessible to non-technical users is to organize your content logically and consistently, so that your readers can easily find what they are looking for and follow the steps to use your API. You can use headings, subheadings, tables of contents, navigation menus, and breadcrumbs to structure your content and create a hierarchy of information. You can also use labels, categories, tags, filters, and search functions to help your readers sort and filter your content according to their needs and interests. You should also provide an overview or a summary of each section or page, and link to related or relevant content within your documentation or external sources.

4 Provide examples and scenarios

One of the best ways to make your API documentation accessible to non-technical users is to provide examples and scenarios that demonstrate how your API can be used in real-world situations. Examples and scenarios can help your readers visualize how your API works, what it can do, and what the expected outcomes are. They can also help your readers learn by doing, and test your API in a sandbox or a live environment. You can use code snippets, screenshots, videos, or interactive tools to show your examples and scenarios, and explain the steps, inputs, outputs, and parameters involved. You should also provide multiple examples and scenarios for different use cases, platforms, languages, and frameworks, and highlight the best practices and common pitfalls to avoid.

5 Solicit feedback and update regularly

The final tip to make your API documentation accessible to non-technical users is to solicit feedback and update your documentation regularly, to ensure that it is accurate, relevant, and helpful. You can use surveys, polls, ratings, reviews, comments, forums, or social media to collect feedback from your users, and ask them what they like, dislike, or need from your documentation. You can also use analytics, metrics, or testing tools to measure the performance, usability, and satisfaction of your documentation, and identify the areas that need improvement or clarification. You should also update your documentation whenever you make changes to your API, such as adding new features, fixing bugs, or changing policies, and inform your users about the changes and how they affect them.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?