Screenshots can make technical documentation look helpful. They show the product, break up the text and reassure users that they are in the right place.
But every screenshot also creates a maintenance commitment.
Interfaces change. Buttons move. Fields are renamed. Navigation is reorganised. Branding is refreshed. The written instructions might take minutes to update, while recreating every affected screenshot can take considerably longer.
That does not mean screenshots should never appear in technical documentation. It means they should earn their place.
Screenshots often repeat the instructions
Consider this instruction:
- Enter the customer’s name in the Customer name field.
- Select Save.
If the fields are clearly labelled in the product, a screenshot of the form may not tell the user anything that the instructions have not already explained.
Using the exact interface labels—and making them easy to identify in the text—is usually enough.
Before adding a screenshot, ask:
Would removing this image make the task more difficult to complete?
If the answer is no, the screenshot probably is not necessary.
Screenshots become outdated quickly
A screenshot captures one precise version of an interface at one moment in time.
Even a small product change can make it inaccurate. The written procedure may still be correct, but the image could show:
- An old field name.
- A button in the wrong position.
- Navigation that no longer exists.
- A previous product design.
- Test data that no longer matches the instructions.
- Features that are unavailable to some users.
An outdated screenshot can be worse than no screenshot. Users may assume they are on the wrong page or do not have the correct version of the product—even when the instructions themselves are accurate.
Replacing a screenshot takes more than a few seconds
Taking the image is often the easiest part.
The technical author may first need to:
- Access the correct product version.
- Sign in with the appropriate user role.
- Configure the required settings.
- Create realistic example data.
- Reproduce a particular stage of a process.
- Remove confidential or distracting information.
- Match the dimensions and style of the existing images.
- Reapply annotations or callouts.
- Check every topic in which the image appears.
This is why teams frequently intend to update their screenshots but gradually accumulate a library of obsolete images.
If a business has hundreds or thousands of screenshots and only one technical author, checking every image before every release is not realistic.
Screenshots can make content harder to use
Text is searchable, selectable and easier to translate. It can also adapt to different page widths, themes and accessibility settings.
Text embedded in a screenshot cannot do these things easily.
Screenshots can cause additional problems for:
- People using screen readers.
- Users viewing documentation on small displays.
- Customers using a translated version of the product.
- Organisations offering light and dark themes.
- Products with different interfaces for different roles or plans.
- Teams publishing the same content in several formats.
A screenshot should support the written explanation, not contain information that is essential to completing the task.
When is a screenshot useful?
Screenshots are valuable when recognising or locating something visually is genuinely part of the task.
For example, an image might help a user:
- Find a control in an unfamiliar or complicated interface.
- Distinguish between visually similar options.
- Recognise a particular status or error.
- Understand the position of related controls.
- Confirm that they have reached the correct part of the product.
A cropped image of the relevant area is often more useful than a full-page screenshot filled with unrelated information.
When would text or a diagram be better?
Use text when the user primarily needs to know:
- What to select.
- What information to enter.
- What happens next.
- Why or when to perform the task.
Use a diagram when the user needs to understand:
- A workflow.
- A decision.
- A relationship between components.
- A sequence involving several parts of the product.
- A concept that cannot be seen from one interface page.
Diagrams can still require maintenance, but they explain the underlying idea without being tied to every visual detail of the current interface.
Use screenshots deliberately
Screenshots should not be added simply because documentation is expected to contain pictures.
A sustainable approach is to:
- Write clear instructions using the exact interface labels.
- Add an image only when it provides information the text cannot communicate as effectively.
- Crop the image to the relevant area.
- Store and track the source image properly.
- Connect screenshot reviews to the product-development workflow.
- Remove images that no longer serve a clear purpose.
The fewer screenshots you use, the more attention you can give to the ones that genuinely help.
The easiest screenshot to keep up to date is the one the documentation did not need.
If your documentation already contains hundreds of screenshots, I can help you audit them, decide which images genuinely support users and build a practical process for keeping essential screenshots accurate.
Related Topic
How to keep screenshots in technical documentation up to date