Interactive experiences
The final non-text addition to documentation is a little harder to define, but it builds upon everything else covered in this chapter. There are certain products and concepts you need to explain that are harder or more abstract for readers and potential users to understand. Maybe it’s a new paradigm, or it consists of many interrelated components, or the sheer number of possibilities makes it hard for people to understand where to start.
In these cases, an interactive way of showing concepts can help as it’s a way for people to experiment with your product and see results directly. Many people learn by trying and practical experimentation. While code examples people can copy and paste are one aspect of this, they are also a place to lose people as they dive into their text editor and the trials and tribulations of running applications locally. Replicating a way for people to do the same directly inside documentation keeps them inside the documentation...
