> Canonical URL: https://codingcat.dev/podcast/turning-documentation-into-a-product-best-practices-for-success # Turning Documentation into a Product: Best Practices for Success ![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/5XP0uwMFP20/sddefault.jpg)[![Alex Patterson](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/hfh83o0w/production/a606dfaa381aab08ddbe16a33fe1d3e1fb37c927-400x400.jpg?w=48&h=48&fit=max&auto=format)Alex Patterson](/author/alex-patterson)[![Vincent (Wen Yu) Ge](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/hfh83o0w/production/8fdc25c89bcfba8c9cde534e91241600fad30258-400x400.jpg?w=48&h=48&fit=max&auto=format)Vincent (Wen Yu) Ge](/guest/vincent-wen-yu-ge)July 17, 2024 ## Listening Options [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/episode/7qtsrU9Z6VhgYF9jb8rg0i)[Apple](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/4-18-turning-documentation-into-a-product-best/id1491655542?i=1000662472089)[YouTube](https://youtu.be/5XP0uwMFP20)[Pocket Casts](https://pca.st/episode/b9ac2575-9697-4500-92b4-6d090421af43)[Castbox](https://castbox.fm/episode/id2508485-id719959740)[Castro](https://castro.fm/episode/kioujT)[Overcast](https://overcast.fm/itunes1491655542)[RSS](https://anchor.fm/s/115b203c/podcast/rss) ## Sponsors [![CodingCat.dev tutorial cover image](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/hfh83o0w/production/058754a4a1b521789ae5582b3c8ac8943e0f29b0-2400x1350.png?w=1920&h=1080&q=80&fit=max&auto=format) ### Cloudinary The Image & Video API to build and transform visual experiences at scale.](https://cld.media/codingcatdev)[![CodingCat.dev tutorial cover image](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/hfh83o0w/production/b6b01384aa98407d8fcc5b726afc2553445cffcf-1200x630.jpg?rect=40,0,1120,630&w=1920&h=1080&q=80&fit=max&auto=format) ### Algolia Enterprises and developers use Algolia’s AI search infrastructure to understand users and show them what they’re looking for.](https://www.algolia.com?utm_source=codingcatdev) ## Introduction and Tech-Related Banter - **Technical Setup Issues**: The video begins with the host experiencing some technical difficulties related to the pre-roll video. - **Guest Introduction**: Vincent, the guest, is introduced. He recently changed jobs and shares some light-hearted banter with the host. ## Vincent's Journey into Tech - **Career Path**: Vincent explains his unique journey from aspiring to be an electrical engineer to becoming involved in software development. He cites his initial influence from a Minecraft streamer. - **Role Transition**: He details his transition from electrical engineering to mobile QA, firmware development, product management, and finally technical writing and developer relations. ## Challenges in Technical Writing - **Language Barriers**: Vincent discusses the nuances of English as a second language and how it impacts his technical writing. - **Writing Style**: He emphasizes the importance of clear, simple language in technical writing to ensure comprehensibility. Complicated language often makes documentation less accessible. ## Importance of Documentation - **Product Discovery**: The discussion includes how crucial it is for documentation to aid in the user journey from discovering the product to effectively using it. - **Feedback Loop**: Vincent shares his practice of testing documentation clarity by walking through it with colleagues or new hires to identify pain points. ## Analyzing Documentation Layouts - **Various Documentation Sites**: The host and Vincent review different documentation sites (Cloudinary, Algolia, Appwrite, and Stripe) highlighting strengths and weaknesses. - **User Experience**: They discuss how the organization and presentation of documentation significantly affect user retention and education. ## Treating Documentation as a Product - **Investment in Documentation**: Vincent suggests documenting like a product, highlighting the importance of making a business case for comprehensive documentation. - **User Journey in Docs**: He explains that documentation should be tailored to closely follow the user journey, from first-time use to advanced usage scenarios. ## Pain Points and Best Practices - **Design Collaboration**: He advises integrating documentation writing within the product design phase to ensure that both documentation and product flow are aligned from the beginning. - **Measuring Effectiveness**: Vincent talks about using analytics to track user engagement with documentation, identifying drop-off points, and iterating based on these insights. ## Future of Documentation and AI - **AI Integration**: The conversation veers into the future role of AI in generating and maintaining documentation. Vincent believes that while AI can assist, human-written documentation will always be required for niche, complex use cases. - **Role Transition**: He envisions AI handling more straightforward documentation tasks with technical writers focusing on nuanced, detailed, and unique documentation needs. ## Personal Insights and Preferences - **Preferred Tools**: Vincent suggests starting with markdown-based documentation tools like Starlight from Astro for their flexibility and ease of migration. - **Tips for New Businesses**: He recommends keeping documentation simple and generic initially to allow for future adjustments and scalability. ## Documentation Tools [https://www.gitbook.com/](https://www.gitbook.com/) [https://docusaurus.io/](https://docusaurus.io/) [https://starlight.astro.build/](https://starlight.astro.build/) [https://vuepress.vuejs.org/](https://vuepress.vuejs.org/) ## Episode Summary Turning Documentation into a Product Best Practices for Success: Hey, everyone! Join us on CodingCat.dev as Vincent shares his journey from electrical engineering to tech writing. It's a fun chat with plenty of laughs and insights into the tech world. Don’t miss out and remember to share it with your friends! https://codingcat.dev/podcast/turning-documentation-i — Welcome back to codingcat.dev where we give you cats the freshest dose of dev snacks brought to you by Cloudinary. Build faster with AI-powered image and video APIs. Need better search? Try Algolia powering discovery. Ooh. There you go. Found the right pre-roll? That's exciting. It's uh it's always a challenge of mine to like get all these videos up ahead of time. So, Vincent, you're getting like... ## Picks ### Alex Patterson - [NVIDIA NIM](https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/ai/) ### Vincent (Wen Yu) Ge - [NEEWER RGB62 Magnetic RGB Video Light](https://www.amazon.ca/NEEWER-Magnetic-2500K-8500K-Rechargeable-Photography/dp/B0C85X5KW1/ref=asc_df_B0C85X5KW1/?tag=googleshopc0c-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=682829231008&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=18341803986277322630&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9191659&hvtargid=pla-2194970273414&mcid=1b0eca1134fa37f7ba408e5719edc269&gad_source=1&th=1) ## Recent Podcasts [View More](/podcasts/page/1)[![GenAI for Engineers, What](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/hfh83o0w/production/3e48f44739be2aabf3aaa805e51b3a6328979153-1920x1080.png?w=1920&h=1080&q=80&fit=max&auto=format)](/podcast/genai-for-engineers-what-s-real-what-s-not-and-what-s-coming) ### [GenAI for Engineers, What's Real, What's Not and What's Coming](/podcast/genai-for-engineers-what-s-real-what-s-not-and-what-s-coming) November 19, 2025 Curious about GenAI for engineers? 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