Contents

8 Steps for writing a good README file

Contents

Writing a good readme file will help you stand out among the large crowd of developers who put their work on GitHub.

The 8 simple steps:

  1. Project title

Always include your project title in your readme file so people understand what your project is about.

  1. Project description

It’s critical to write a solid description since people need to know what your project is about in order to participate in it.

  1. Installation guide

This is a crucial step that quite a few developers forget. When you are working on advanced projects you always have to have an installation guide so that people are able to try the software out on their own computers thus allowing them to contribute to the project.

  1. Add credits

If you are working with a team always remember to credit them with their GitHub username or maybe even their social media accounts. You should also credit anyone who contributes to the project.

  1. Add a license

DUh

  1. Add badges

Badges are not that crucial but will make your readme file look nicer

  1. How to contribute

If your looking for contributors that can be pretty helpfull.

  1. API Refernce

The reference documentation can be added to the README depending on the size of the project. If it’s small and simple enough, the reference docs can be put in the README. For medium to big applications, at the very least, give a link to the API reference documentation.

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