Modern technical writing - Andrew Etter 2016

Build a website
Basics

I mentioned earlier that you should build and host a website, not distribute PDFs, but it bears repeating. Even the best documentation, like software, eventually goes out of date. PDFs get downloaded onto hard drives and then sit there like day-old bagels, growing more and more stale until they're actively harmful. You can never update them. Even if someone downloads updated versions, every modern web browser saves the new files as Admin_Guide (1).pdf rather than overwriting the old files. The whole situation gives me the chills. Hosting your content on a website gives you the power to fix inaccuracies almost instantly and keep your content in sync with the latest software release.

Shipping an HTML help system with the software itself is barely better than PDFs. OK, the documentation doesn't go out of date, because it ships alongside its associated software, but you're still unable to fix potentially critical issues until the next software version ships. And that's if you can convince people to upgrade. If you must ship a help system, a minimalist user guide will typically suffice⁴. If you're contractually obligated to provide more... well, I'd recommend following the letter of the law, not the spirit.