Content publishing
Add useful navigation to a long guide
List the tasks readers arrive with, then link each to the heading that answers it. Label every link by the content it leads to. Where a reader task has no matching section, record the gap instead of forcing a link.
A text to start with
Here is the outline of a long guide: [headings in order]. Readers usually arrive wanting to [list of reader tasks]. Propose a short set of jump links, each with a label and the heading it leads to. Point out any reader task that no heading answers. Use plain labels that describe the destination, and do not rewrite the guide itself.
Example request. Change the details to fit your situation.Navigation plan for a long guide
Guide title and URL: [ ] Reader task: [ ] Destination heading: [ ] Jump-link label: [ ] Does the label predict the destination? [ ] Reader task: [ ] Destination heading: [ ] Jump-link label: [ ] Reader task with no matching section: [ ] Section to add and its owner: [ ] Links that break if headings change: [ ] Date links last tested: [ ]
Labels that hide the destination
A clever label can read well at the top of a page and still tell a reader nothing about where it goes. A link called Start here may not say whether it leads to setup, an overview or an example. Test each label by covering the heading and asking whether the label alone predicts the content. Check that each jump link lands on a heading that exists, since renamed sections break links without warning. A short guide may not need navigation at all, and a link that only repeats the table of contents without helping a specific reader can go.
Ask another agent to check the result
Review each jump-link label and the heading it points to. Name every label that is clever but does not describe what the destination covers, and propose a plain replacement. Check that each link target matches a heading in the outline I supplied, and list any reader task left without a destination.
Test the links with a real task
Pick two reader tasks from your list and try them yourself, starting at the top of the page. Note how many steps it takes to reach the answer and where you hesitate. Fix any link that lands in the wrong place. Add the missing sections to a to-do list with an owner, and recheck the links after the guide changes.