How weird is this to be reading a guide about writing a guide? Well anyways, if you are placing guides or tutorials onto your website, there are a few things you should know and keep in mind.
Grammar
One of the most important things to take seriously when writing a guide or tutorial is your grammar. Don't chatspeak. Use full sentences when you can, spellcheck, and feel free to write a second draft. If you use poor language, it is possible that a visitor wouldn't understand your guide and would turn to another site for help. Is that what you are hoping for? Probably not. So just write in full sentences, don't use chatspeak, and spellcheck.
To Image or Not To Image
When writing a guide or a tutorial, you often want to include some images to guide the reader through the process. However, you should always keep the images to the bare minimum. Don't use screenshots in for simple tasks. You can use text directions for most things. Just use images when it would be difficult to understand by mere text direction. Keep the images small, too. Don't make them full sized..nobody needs to see it all. Crop the screen shot down to just the main focus of the tutorial or guide.
Clear and To The Point
When writing a guide you should try to stay on topic as much as possible. You should try to remember the goal of the guide and focus solely on that. That is the main objective. You want to teach someone so they can learn. They are choosing to learn by the name of the tutorial they clicked on. So that tutorial should be just that. If something is really difficult to explain, break it into smaller tutorials.
Afterword
So I hope this little guide to writing guides has helped you. I may not be an expert, but I have written hundreds of guides I do believe in my time and have gained much knowledge of them, too. I am a reader, a learner, a teacher and a writer. That is what you have to be to write guides and tutorials!
-Shalane