Technology has always helped businesses work better by increasing efficiency, reducing complexity, and cutting costs. And it has almost always improved the customer experience by making purchases easier, decisions more reliable, and services more transparent.
The fax replaced the letter. Email replaced the fax. E-commerce replaced the catalog. Online booking replaced call centers. Each advanced helped streamline business, creating new opportunities for companies and more advantages for customers.
But instruction creation has been left behind. The last major innovation was the PDF, launched in 1993. Convenient for companies and designers (“create it once!”), but frustrating for consumers now trying to navigate static documents on phones and screens they weren’t designed for.
The result of instructions being in a technological backwater is that companies are wasting money with inefficient processes that delay product launches, increase costs, and deliver poor outcomes for end users.
In this article, we explore three of the biggest challenges in instruction creation and show how StepAlong transforms them.
Challenge 1: Rushing to Meet Shipping Deadlines (and Spending LOTS on Paper)
The Old Way
Instructions must be ready, translated, and printed before the product ships — then you wait 6–12 weeks for containers to arrive. This means high upfront costs and no flexibility once the boxes leave the factory.
The StepAlong Way
StepAlong helps you go digital-first. Most clients reduce printing to the essentials — a QR code linking to full instructions, safety advice, and sometimes a quick-start guide. This frees you from treating print deadlines as the final word.
The benefits:
- Cut Costs: Print less, spend less.
- Use Transit Time: Finalize, refine, and polish instructions while products are en route.
- Work Smarter: Focus on creating clear, helpful instructions instead of wrestling with document layouts.
StepAlong helps you go digital-first. Most clients reduce printing to the essentials — a QR code linking to full instructions, safety advice, and sometimes a quick-start guide. This frees you from treating print deadlines as the final word.
The benefits:
- Cut Costs: Print less, spend less.
- Use Transit Time: Finalize, refine, and polish instructions while products are en route.
- Work Smarter: Focus on creating clear, helpful instructions instead of wrestling with document layouts.
Challenge 2: Localization is Hard
The Old Way
Translation is costly and chaotic. Word files fly back and forth between agencies and distributors. Errors are made. Some languages need a lot more pages than others. And when sales suddenly needs another language your brittle process breaks. This complexity often leads companies to limit language support — leaving customers to “figure it out” in English or from textless diagrams.
The StepAlong Way
StepAlong uses high-quality, context-aware AI to deliver near human quality translations, quickly and cheaply. These can then be refined by agencies or in-house teams directly on the platform. Glossaries ensure product names and other protected terms stay consistent.
The benefits:
- Save Time & Money: AI handles the first draft, cutting cost and turnaround.
- One Platform: Creation, translation, and revision all happen in StepAlong — no more lost files or endless email chains.
- No Re-Layout: Translations automatically adapt into the StepAlong format, no manual design work required.
Challenge 3: Updating Printed Instructions Is Difficult
The Old Way
Mistakes happen: the wrong diagram, a missing certification, an outdated support email. Or worse, customers leave bad reviews about confusing steps that you can’t fix until the next production cycle. With printed manuals, errors linger for months (or years), damaging compliance and customer satisfaction.
The StepAlong Way
With StepAlong, your instructions live online — linked by a QR code in the box. Even if you still print full manuals, customers can always access the most up-to-date version.
The benefits:
- Update Anytime: Fix errors instantly — both online and in downloadable PDFs.
- React to Feedback: Adjust unclear steps before they generate a wave of bad reviews.
- Add Languages Easily: Expand to new markets without cost or hassle.
From Static PDFs to Living Instructions
Instructions are the last priority of many companies and as a result their production can be costly and create delays and often the end result frustrates customers.
By transforming your instruction creation process, StepAlong turns your instructions into a living asset: always current, always clear, always ready to support your business and your customers. And
