Useful websites for technical writers
Here you can find a compilation of the best websites for technical writers and anyone who creates technical documentation and software documentation. Plus links to forums, professional associations, and relevant conferences.
Technical documentation, user assistance, information design
General portals, articles, and courses
tcworld
Online magazine for international information development.
https://www.tcworld.info/e-magazine/
technische kommunikation
Selected contributions from the technical journal „technische kommunikation“ are also accessible to non-subscribers (in German).
https://technischekommunikation.info
TechWhirl Tech Writer Today Online Magazine
Online articles and resources for technical writers and technical communicators.
Documenting APIs: A guide for technical writers and engineers
Very comprehensive free course on writing API documentation.
https://idratherbewriting.com/learnapidoc/
Technical Writing Courses
Two free short online courses on technical writing in general, supplied by Google. The courses cover “the critical basics of technical writing” and “intermediate topics in technical writing”.
https://developers.google.com/tech-writing
UA Training
Provides a collection of excellent presentation slides with a focus on software user assistance.
https://uaeurope.com/presentations.html
Dozuki Tech Writing Handbook
Brief online handbook on the essentials of technical writing. Nicely designed but very not very comprehensive.
https://help.dozuki.com/Tech_Writing
Online Technical Writing
Basic online textbook on technical writing.
https://mcmassociates.io/textbook/
Web Writing That Works
If you browse a little you can find some good tips here.
http://www.webwritingthatworks.com
WIKIVERSITY
Provides a basic online course in technical writing.
https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Technical_writing
Indexing user manuals
The British/Irish Society of Indexers provides a number of articles on indexing user manuals (go to “Advice for authors > Advice to technical authors”). There’s also a corresponding usability study available (go to “About indexing > Usability of indexes”).
Fonts Knowledge
Various guides to the world of typography, supplied by Google.
https://fonts.google.com/knowledge
User Experience and information design
Windows User Experience Interaction Guidelines
Comprehensive guidelines published by Microsoft.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/uxguide/guidelines
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/design/
Usability.gov
Usability basics, methods, templates, guidelines and other resources, provided by U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
UI Style Guides
Collection of links to a number of user interface style guides.
https://www.experiencedynamics.com/ui-style-guides/
HCI Bibliography
ACM SIGCHI is the special interest group on Computer-Human Interaction of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). They provide a very comprehensive link collection as well as a bibliography database with more than 50000 listed publications.
InfoDesign
News and links to hundreds of articles and resources on information design.
A List Apart
Hundreds of comprehensive articles, mainly on web design and web technology.
tcworld
Online magazine for international information management.
Boxes and Arrows
Lots of interesting articles on design, including graphic design, interaction design and information architecture.
UXmatters
Following its motto “Insights and inspiration for the user experience community,” UXmatters provides a wealth of excellent articles on user experience and user assistance.
Articles of the Nielsen Norman Group
Frequently publishes articles on web usability. For good reasons this probably is the most frequently linked and cited website in its field.
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/
jnd.org
Many great essays on product design. The section labeled “In Praise of Good Design” illustrates products that have some special positive characteristic worthy of comment.
Userfocus
Collection of comprehensive articles on usability and user experience.
https://www.userfocus.co.uk/articles/
Standards and legal issues
International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
Here you can purchase copies of international standards.
EUR-Lex
Free information and downloads on European law, including the Machinery Directive. Provided by the European Union.
IBF News
News and articles on the topics of CE marking and risk assessment in English and German.
https://www.ibf-solutions.com/en/seminars-and-news/news
https://www.ibf-solutions.com/fachbeitraege
Online help development
Docs Like Code
Collection of info on the docs-as-code approach of documentation development.
MobileRead
Popular forums and comprehensive wiki on ebooks.
helpinfo
Website dedicated to the Microsoft Help format.
Structured authoring according to DITA and other standards
DITA XML.org
The official community and resource for the DITA OASIS standard.
Fluid Topics DITA publications
DITA specification in webhelp format.
Learning DITA
Free online learning courses on the basics of DITA.
Resources for learning DITA on the Oxygen XML blog
Various links and tips and DITA that can be helpful also if you don’t use Oxygen XML as your editor.
https://blog.oxygenxml.com/topics/learnDita.html
DITA Writer
Various DITA-related articles and links.
DocBook
Originally intended for writing technical documents related to computer hardware and software, but can also be used for other sorts of documentation.
http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/
http://sagehill.net/docbookxsl/index.html
iiRDS
International Standard for intelligent information Request and Delivery. Standard for enabling dynamic information request and delivery.
S1000D
Specification for technical documentation related to defense systems, civil aviation products, construction industry products, and ship industry products.
Some less well-known or emerging initiatives are:
https://diataxis.fr (NEW ENTRY)
https://thegooddocsproject.dev (NEW ENTRY)
Outstanding blogs and podcasts
I’d Rather Be Writing
“A blog about the latest trends in technical communication” by Tom Johnson.
Technical Writing is Easy, Technical Writing is for Everyone
Blog by Kesi Parker with a monthly digest.
https://medium.com/technical-writing-is-easy
Cherryleaf Technical Authors Blog
Blog on a wide spectrum of topics related to user assistance.
https://www.cherryleaf.com/blog/
Scriptorium Publishing
Blog and Podcast on technical communication in general but with a focus on technology-related topics.
https://www.scriptorium.com/blog/
https://www.scriptorium.com/category/podcast/
CyberText Newsletter
“Official newsletter and blog of CyberText Consulting: Technical communication specialists.”
https://cybertext.wordpress.com
Intelligent Information
Blog run by tekom with posts from various authors, both in English and in German.
https://intelligent-information.blog/en/
ffeathers
“A technical writer’s blog” by Sarah Maddox.
https://ffeathers.wordpress.com
The Content Wrangler Channel
“The Content Wrangler Channel” by Scott Abel. Hundreds of presentations and conversations on methods, tools and technologies of designing and delivering the right information, to the right people, at the right time, on the right device, in the right format and language.
https://www.brighttalk.com/channel/9273
Technical Communication Center
„Tipps, Trends und Anleitungen zum technischen Schreiben und zur Kommunikation“, von Ugur Akinci.
“Technical Writing & Communication Tips, Trends & Tutorials” by Ugur Akinci.
https://technicalcommunicationcenter.com
Docu + Design Daube
Numerous FrameMaker resources.
https://www.daube.ch/docu/fmaker00.html
ClickStart
Various tips on Captivate, CSS, Flare, HTML, dynamic help, and web-based help.
Style guides, writing aids
Mere style guides
Microsoft Writing Style Guide
The most frequently used style guide for software documentation. Replaces the Microsoft Manual of Style and is now free of charge.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/style-guide/welcome/
Apple Publications Style Guide
Complete, downloadable style guide in PDF format (approx. 200 pages). To find the guide on the website, enter “publications style guide” into the search box.
https://help.apple.com/applestyleguide/
Google Developer Documentation Style Guide
Comprehensive style guide that also includes a detailed word list.
https://developers.google.com/style/
Red Hat Technical Writing Style Guide
Very comprehensive. Also includes a usage dictionary.
Salesforce Style Guide
Comprehensive style guide for documentation and user interface text. Can also be downloaded as a PDF (approx. 110 pages).
Splunk Style Guide
Intended for anyone who writes or edits customer-facing content. Can be downloaded as a PDF (approx. 120 pages).
https://docs.splunk.com/Documentation/StyleGuide
MongoDB Documentation Style Guide
Contains many tips on writing good technical documentation.
https://www.mongodb.com/docs/meta/style-guide/
Jorsek Content Development Style Guide
Style guide from the manufacturer of a component content management system.
https://github.com/Jorsek/jorsek-cdg
GNOME Documentation Style Guide
Writing style guide specifically for writing software documentation.
https://developer.gnome.org/documentation/guidelines/devel-docs.html
SUSE and openSUSE Style Guides
Style guides for documentation and texts within the user interface.
https://doc.opensuse.org/products/opensuse/Styleguide/opensuse_documentation_styleguide_sd/
Drupal Handbook Style Guide
Brief guide with some basic tips.
https://www.drupal.org/governance/documentation-policies
Wikipedia Manual of Style
Brief style guide for writing wiki entries.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style
IEEE Computer Society Style Guide
Comprehensive style guide, published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ Computer Society.
https://www.computer.org/publications/computer-society-style-guide
National Geographic Style Manual
Detailed guide to the preferred National Geographic Society style.
https://sites.google.com/a/ngs.org/ngs-style-manual/
Web Style Guide
Comprehensive style guide and textbook on online information design in general.
The Elements of Style
Well-known, brief, classic reference.
https://www.bartleby.com/lit-hub/the-elements-of-style/
IBM developerWorks editorial style guide
(This is an archived version. The guide is no longer maintained).
Simplified Technical English
Here you can request a free copy of the ASD-STE100 Specifcation. This document contains many good writing tips and rules that can be applied to any project.
Writing enhancement and proofreading
OWL Online Writing Lab
Collection of handouts and exercises on general writing concerns, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and professional writing.
Plain English Campaign
Collection of free guides in PDF format.
https://www.plainenglish.co.uk/free-guides.html
Plain Language Action and Information Network
Collection of resources that are aimed to help you write more clearly and more concisely.
Proofreaders’ Marks
Brief reference of proofreader’s marks.
https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/help-tools/proofreading-marks.html
Terminology
Microsoft language resources
Windows terminology for many languages.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/globalization/reference/Microsoft-Language-resources
IATE
Provided by the European Union. Gives translations between almost all European languages.
WIPO Pearl
Multilingual terminology portal that provides access to scientific and technical terms derived from patent documents.
https://www.wipo.int/reference/en/wipopearl
Electropedia
Large electrotechnical vocabulary in most European Languages plus Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Russian. Provided by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
MyMemory
Offers machine translations as well as translation suggestions from a huge, freely accessible universal translation memory. The translation suggestions from the translation memory can provide important clues, especially when in doubt.
https://mymemory.translated.net
Google Books Ngram Viewer
Shows how often a particular word or phrase is used within the books indexed by Google Books. This information is helpful when deciding which term to use in a document (typically, used the more common one).
https://books.google.com/ngrams/
https://books.google.com/ngrams/info
Google, Bing, Yahoo
When in doubt about how to write or use a word, a simple approach can also be to compare the frequency of use of the alternatives. Enter the alternatives within quotes into the search field of a general search engine and compare the number of results. The version that has the most results is probably the most common one and should therefore be preferred.
Forums, online communities
On LinkedIn, there are numerous groups related to technical documentation and technical communication. The groups with the most members and the most activity include:
Documentation and Technical Writing Management
Technical Writing & Content Management
UX Writers & Content Designers
Other LinkedIn groups with less activity include:
The Content Wrangler Community
Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators
Technical Writers, Authors, and Documentation Professionals - Global Jobs and Apprenticeships
Betriebsanleitungen im Maschinenbau
Social Documentation - Docs 2.0
On Reddit, there are the following communities in the field of technical documentation and technical communication.
https://www.reddit.com/r/technicalwriting/
https://www.reddit.com/r/techwriting/
https://www.reddit.com/r/documentation/
On Facebook, there are the groups:
Write the Docs
Global technical documentation community: Slack network, conferences, local meetups.
TECHWR-L Email Discussion Group
Long-established online community in the field of technical communication.
http://www.techwr-l.com/about-technical-writing-discussion-groups.html
ProZ
Large directory and community for translators and for finding translators and translation agencies.
Techshoret- the Israeli Technical Writer's Forum
Forum for technical writers, marketing writers, translators, web designers, graphic artists, and associated professions in Israel.
https://groups.io/g/Techshoret
HATT group
Group on online documentation tools, techniques, and concepts.
DITA users group
Group dedicated to supporting users of DITA (Darwin Information Typing Architecture).
https://dita-users.groups.io/g/main
Organizations, education
Organizations with a distinct focus on technical communication (in alphabetical order)
ASTC
Australian Society for Technical Communication.
ATTW
Association of Teachers of Technical Writing.
ISTC
Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators (UK).
JTCA
Japanese Technical Communicators Association.
TechCommNZ
Technical Communicators Association of New Zealand.
Tech Writers Without Borders
Global community of technical communicators helping non-profit organizations to improve the quality and effectiveness of their instructional materials.
https://www.techwriterswithoutborders.org
tekom
German professional association for technical communication and information development and European Association for Technical Communication.
https://www.technical-communication.org
Other
Organizations in other countries (websites in local languages):
- Finland – STVY: https://www.stvy.fi/en/
- Italy– COM&TEC: https://www.comtec-italia.org
- Switzerland – tecom Schweiz: https://www.tecom.ch
Related organizations (in alphabetical order)
ACES
American Copy Editors Society.
ACL
Association for Computational Linguistics.
ACM SIGDOC
Association for Computing Machinery, special interest group on design of communication.
ACM SIGCHI
Association for Computing Machinery, special interest group on computer human interaction.
AIGA
Professional association for design.
aiip
Association of independent information professionals.
AMWA
American Medical Writers Association.
ANZSI
Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers.
asis&t
American Society for Information Science and Technology.
asja
American Society of Journalists and Authors.
ASP
Association of Support Professionals.
ATD
Association for Talent Development.
ATA
American Translators Association.
Chartered Institute of Linguists
Has four divisions representing members from the professional backgrounds of translating, education, interpreting, and business.
EFA
Editorial Freelancers Association.
Learning Guild
Community for Learning Professionals.
ELIA
European Language Industry Association.
EUATC
European Union of Associations of Translation Companies.
GALA
Globalization and Localization Association.
HFES
Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.
IABC
International Association of Business Communicators.
IDA
Information Design Association in the UK.
http://www.informationdesignassociation.org.uk
IEEE PCS
Professional Communication Society.
IIID
International Institute for Information Design.
Indexing.ca
Indexing Society of Canada / Société canadienne d’indexation.
Interaction, the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) Group
British HCI group, a specialist group of the British Computer Society.
https://www.bcs.org/membership-and-registrations/member-communities/interaction-specialist-group/
JAT
Japanese Association of Translators.
ISPI
International Society for Performance Improvement.
ITI
Institute of Translation and Interpreting.
ITIA
Irish Translators’ and Interpreters’ Association.
https://www.translatorsassociation.ie
IxDA
Interaction Design Association.
OASIS
Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards.
PACT
Professional Association for Computer Training.
PLAIN
Plain Language Association International.
https://plainlanguagenetwork.org
CIEP
Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading.
Society of Indexers
British and Irish professional body for indexing.
UXPA
User Experience Professionals Association.
Xplor International
Association of users and suppliers of products and services that create, modify and deliver customized information.
Education
If you are looking for a colleges, universities, or schools that provide programs in technical communication, the following databases can help:
Information provided by tekom
tekom provides a number of comprehensive surveys of academic institutions in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
https://www.tekom.de/technische-kommunikation-das-berufsfeld/aus-und-weiterbildung/studienangebote
https://www.tekom.de/technische-kommunikation-das-berufsfeld/aus-und-weiterbildung
Conferences, trade fairs
Most important conferences on technical communication
tcworld and tekom conferences
Organized by the German tekom. The conferences are combined with the tekom trade fair. The language of the tcworld conference is English, the language of the tekom annual conference is German. There are also some additional tcworld and tekom conferences in other countries, such as in India, China, and northern and southern Europe.
https://www.technical-communication.org
Technical Communication UK (TCUK)
Organized by the ISTC.
MadWorld
Commercially organized technical communication and content strategy conference.
https://www.madcapsoftware.com/madworld-conferences/
UA Europe Annual Conference
Conference for software user assistance professionals. Commercially organized.
https://uaeurope.com/conference/
Other conferences with a distinct focus on technical communication (in alphabetical order)
ASTC Conferences
Annual conference of the Australian Society for Technical Communication.
Evolution of Technical Communication (ETC)
Annual gathering event for technical communicators in Bulgaria.
Information Energy
Aimed at bridging the gap between technical documentation, marketing, and content departments.
https://www.technical-communication.org
MEGAComm
Annual conference for technical communicators, held in Jerusalem.
TC Camp
Unconference focused on Technical Communications issues and the various applications used by technical communicators.
TechCommNZ Conference
Conference of the Technical Communicators Association of New Zealand.
UX Writer Conference
Virtual conference centered on UX writing.
https://uxwriterconference.com
Write the Docs
Focused on documentation systems, tech writing theory, and information delivery. Commercially organized.
https://www.writethedocs.org/conf/
Some conferences on related subjects (in alphabetical order)
AIIP Annual Conference
Conference of the Association of Independent Information Professionals.
https://www.aiip.org/conference/
ACES Annual International Conference
Conference of the American Copy Editors Society.
https://aceseditors.org/conference
Confab
Commercially organized conference on content strategy.
CDIM conferences
Several commercially organized conferences with an emphasis on DITA and information development.
https://www.infomanagementcenter.com
ConveyUX
Commercially organized conference about making software easier and more enjoyable to use.
Content Marketing World
Commercially organized conference on the marketing of content.
https://www.contentmarketingworld.com
IEEE International Professional Communication Conference (ProComm)
Discussions about communication and learning.
https://www.ieee.org/conferences/index.html
ContentTECH Summit
Commercially organized conference on the effective use of technology and processes to create, manage, deliver and scale enterprise content.
LavaCon
Commercially organized conference on digital media and content strategies.
LocWorld
Conferences and exhibitions for localization and translation professionals.
Learning Guild Conferences
Conferences and exhibitions on (mobile) learning.
Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading annual conference
Conferences of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading.
https://www.ciep.uk/events.html
The AMWA Annual Conference
Conference of the American Medical Writers Association.
https://www.amwa.org/events/event_list.asp
UPA Conferences
Conference of the Usability Professionals Association.
https://uxpa.org/conferences-events/
World Usability Congress
Commercially organized by an Austrian company.