Content Creation Best Practices for Developers

Chapter 2 · Practice 2 of 5

Structure posts so skimmers find the answer fast

From Write technical blog posts

Why it matters

Most readers skim first, then read the part they need. Help them:

  1. Start with the answer or result in the first paragraph. Put the background after.
  2. Use descriptive headings that say what each section does.
  3. Show prerequisites up front: versions, tools, assumed knowledge.
  4. Keep paragraphs short and use lists for steps.
  5. End with a summary and links to the official docs.

A reader who lands from a search should know within ten seconds whether the post solves their problem. If they have to scroll past your life story to find out, they leave.

Do

  • Put the answer in the first paragraph
  • List versions and prerequisites at the top

Avoid

  • Long personal introductions before the useful part

Example

MARKDOWN
# Fix "too many connections" in PostgreSQL

Short answer: add a connection pool and cap it below max_connections.

## Prerequisites
PostgreSQL 16+, Node.js 22, the pg package.

## Why it happens
## Step 1: Check current connections
## Step 2: Add a pool
## Step 3: Set the pool size
## Summary and further reading