Quickstart
KWIK-start
A concise, step-by-step guide that gets a developer from zero to a working implementation in the shortest time possible.
A quickstart is the shortest path from zero to a working result. It strips away everything non-essential and focuses on one thing: getting the developer to their first success as fast as possible.
The best quickstarts are under 5 minutes and under 10 steps. Each step has one action and one expected result. Code samples are copy-pasteable. Prerequisites are minimal. The developer should be able to follow the quickstart without any prior knowledge of the product.
Quickstarts are the single most important piece of documentation. They are the first thing developers read and the primary driver of activation. A confusing quickstart kills adoption before it starts.
Examples
A 4-step quickstart for a deployment platform.
Step 1: Install the CLI (npm install -g platform-cli). Step 2: Login (platform login). Step 3: Deploy (platform deploy). Step 4: Visit your live URL. Total time: 2 minutes. The developer has a live website before they have time to get confused.
A quickstart with language-specific tabs.
The quickstart page has tabs for Python, Node.js, Go, and Ruby. Each tab shows the same 5-step flow with language-specific code samples. Developers see exactly their language without wading through examples in other languages.
A team tests their quickstart with new developers.
They ask 5 developers who have never used the product to follow the quickstart while being observed. All 5 get stuck at step 3 (authentication). The team simplifies step 3 and retests. The next batch completes the quickstart without issues.
In practice
Read more on the blog
Frequently asked questions
How long should a quickstart be?
Under 10 steps, completable in under 5 minutes. If your quickstart is longer, you are including non-essential steps. Defer advanced configuration, optional features, and edge cases to other documentation. The quickstart should do one thing: get the developer to their first success.
Should a quickstart use a sample app or the developer's own code?
Start with a sample app. The goal is speed to first success, and a sample app removes all variables. After the quickstart, provide a guide for integrating with existing projects. Two separate paths for two different goals.
Related terms
Written resources that explain how to use a product, including guides, tutorials, API references, and troubleshooting information.
A step-by-step guide that teaches a developer how to accomplish a specific task or build a specific project using a product.
The time it takes a developer to go from first visiting your site to getting their first working result with your product.
The process of guiding a developer from first discovery through to productively using a product in their workflow.
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