Why Are Release Notes Important?

You’ve spent months building a new feature. The team has tested it, refined it, and worked through every possible scenario. The launch goes smoothly. But then ... nothing.

Users aren’t engaging with it.

This is a common problem—not because the feature isn’t valuable, but because users don’t realize it exists, don’t understand how to use it, or don’t see why it matters. Or maybe all of the above.

Many SaaS companies still treat release notes as an afterthought. Updates are:

• Buried in a help center, making them difficult to find.
• Overloaded with technical jargon, leaving non-developers confused.
• Either too high level to be useful or too in the weeds to be relevant
• Presented without visuals, forcing users to guess how a feature works.

Without effective release notes, product adoption lags, users get frustrated, and support tickets increase.

• Boost feature adoption by surfacing updates inside the product.
• Reduce confusion with clear explanations and visuals.
• Improve retention by keeping users engaged with product evolution.

This guide breaks down how to write release notes that users actually read and act on, with real-world examples from Webflow, Slack, Notion, Intercom, and Candu (hey, that’s us! 👋).

What Are Release Notes?

Release notes communicate product updates in a structured way. They serve two key purposes: documenting product evolution and guiding users through changes. While traditional release notes act as a historical log, modern best practices transform them into an engagement tool—helping users discover, understand, and adopt new features effortlessly.

What Makes an Effective Release Note?

The best release notes are clear, structured, and action-driven. Rather than just listing updates, they help users quickly understand what’s changed, minimizing time to value.

1. Use Clear, User-Friendly Language

Many release notes fail because they rely on vague, technical, or overly formal phrasing. Terms like "various bug fixes" or "performance enhancements" lack context and don’t communicate impact. Instead, effective release notes:

• Explain the update in practical terms (e.g., "We've redesigned search to help you find documents faster.").
• Highlight the benefit of the change ("Now you can filter search results by date, making it easier to locate recent files.").
• Avoid unnecessary complexity: Users care about what’s different, not the backend process behind it.

2. Include Visuals

Text-heavy release notes get skimmed—or worse, ignored. Well-placed visuals break up content, improve clarity, and reinforce key changes.

The best release notes include:

• Screenshots to highlight UI updates.
• GIFs or short videos to demonstrate workflows.
• Icons or callouts to draw attention to critical changes.
• Code blocks to provide practical implementation examples for new features and fixes.

For example, if a navigation bar has been redesigned, a before-and-after screenshot allows users to immediately recognize the change.

3. Provide Direct CTAs

Release notes should guide users to explore new features, not just inform them about updates. A well-placed CTA (Call to Action) ensures they can immediately engage with the change.

Good release notes include:

• “Try It Now” buttons linking directly to the feature.
• “Learn More” links for users who want additional guidance.
• Feedback prompts so users can share their thoughts on the update.

For example, if an update introduces a new automation tool, the release note should contain:

• Buttons that open the automation feature immediately.
• Short demo GIFs to show how it works.
• Help center links for advanced settings.

By eliminating friction, release notes shift from passive documentation to an interactive experience.

How Release Notes Fit in a Help Center

Many companies store release notes in their help center to keep them organized and accessible. However, this approach has drawbacks that can limit engagement. Without strategic placement, users may overlook important updates entirely. Here are some common issues with relying solely on a help center for release notes:

• Audience matters: Non-technical users may overlook help centers for new features, viewing them as problem-solving tools. However, developers and technical users often associate them with bug fixes, making help centers a logical touchpoint.
• Search-based discovery is limited: Users only find release notes if they actively search, meaning key updates can go unnoticed. If a feature doesn’t immediately address a need, many won’t seek out the documentation, missing valuable improvements.
• Static documentation doesn’t encourage engagement: Traditional release notes present information passively, relying on users to sift through text. Without contextual prompts or interactive elements, users are less likely to explore new features or grasp their full value.

A More Effective Approach

For better visibility, release notes should be surfaced in multiple locations rather than being confined to a single page. Relying on just one channel can result in lower engagement and missed updates. To ensure users see important changes, consider these key distribution methods:

• Inside the product: Banners, a "What’s New" tab, or embedded UI prompts keep updates front and center.
• In the help center: An archive of past changes provides a structured reference for users who need detailed documentation.
• Through proactive messaging: Email updates, changelog digests, and in-app pop-ups ensure users are notified about important updates without needing to search for them.

Common Naming Conventions for Release Notes

How you label your release notes directly impacts engagement and shapes how users interact with updates. The terminology you choose can set expectations about the level of detail, audience, and purpose of the updates. Here are some common naming conventions and how they influence user perception:

• Release Notes: A structured, chronological log of updates that provides a clear historical record of changes.
• Changelog: Often used in developer tools, emphasizing transparency and technical improvements.
• Product Updates: A more user-friendly approach that highlights new features and enhancements rather than just backend changes.
• What’s New: Designed to encourage casual exploration, making updates feel more like announcements than technical documentation.
• Help Center: Some companies categorize release notes as part of their broader documentation, treating them as reference material rather than active engagement tools.

Best Practices for Writing Release Notes

1. Make Release Notes Easy to Find

If users have to search for release notes, they won’t engage with them. Updates should be surfaced naturally within the product rather than being hidden in secondary menus. Webflow takes a structured approach to release notes, ensuring updates are available, but their placement still impacts visibility and accessibility.

How Webflow Handles Release Notes

Webflow presents release notes in two ways:

• A dedicated "Updates" section in the account dropdown menu. This ensures updates are archived in a central location, but since it’s tucked inside the menu, many users may not check it regularly.
• A modal-style "What’s New" pop-up in the dashboard. This is a stronger approach because it places updates where users are actively working, though it still requires users to engage with it before it disappears.

This dual-layered approach helps Webflow surface updates both persistently and in the moment, but there are ways to improve discoverability and engagement.

Best Practices for Enhancing Release Notes Visibility

To make release notes more prominent and actionable, many platforms, including Webflow, can benefit from additional best practices:

• Provide persistent access to the "What’s New" modal. A dedicated dashboard icon or history panel would allow users to revisit updates after closing them.
• Use contextual tooltips to highlight key changes. These surface information naturally as users interact with new features, reducing reliance on a modal.
• Incorporate subtle UI nudges, such as badges or notification dots on updated features, to draw attention without overwhelming users.

By layering multiple update channels, Webflow can ensure users engage with release notes at the right time, without disrupting their workflow.

Try the Product Releases Carousel Template →

2. Deliver Updates Where Users Already Work

Users shouldn’t have to pause their workflow to find out what’s new. The best release notes integrate directly into the user experience, surfacing information when and where it’s needed. Unlike Webflow’s structured archive and modal system, Slack focuses on continuous, real-time engagement.

How Slack Surfaces Updates

Slack’s approach is fluid and embedded within the workspace, ensuring updates feel like a natural part of the user experience. This includes:

• A "What’s New" section embedded in the Help panel. This ensures updates are easy to access without leaving the app.
• Banners and notification highlights for major changes. Updates appear in high-visibility areas to ensure users don’t miss critical improvements.
• Inline tooltips and guided steps. Rather than relying on a single announcement, Slack introduces updates as users interact with relevant features.

By weaving release notes directly into the user experience, Slack minimizes disruption while maximizing visibility.

Best Practices for Communicating Updates in a Real-Time Environment

• Keep updates accessible through persistent UI elements. A dedicated "What’s New" section ensures updates don’t disappear after a single interaction.
• Use subtle notification indicators like badges or highlights. These provide passive awareness without interrupting workflow.
• Offer contextual guidance through tooltips and interactive prompts. Updates should feel like a natural part of using the product, not an external announcement.

By balancing real-time awareness with non-intrusive delivery, Slack ensures that updates are visible, relevant, and seamlessly integrated into daily workflows.

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3. Automate & Personalize Release Notes

Users engage more with product updates when they’re relevant, timely, and seamlessly integrated into their workflow. Generic release notes often get ignored, especially if they don’t apply to a user’s specific needs. The best approach is to deliver updates contextually, ensuring users see the right information at the right time.

How Intercom Manages Release Notes

Intercom provides a highly personalized, in-app approach to release notes by integrating updates directly into user workflows rather than relying on external channels. Key features include:

• Segmentation ensures updates reach the right audience. Instead of broadcasting all updates to all users, Intercom allows companies to target release notes to specific user roles, actions, or feature adoption levels.
• In-app messages highlight key changes at the right time. Whether it’s a banner notification, tooltip, or chat-based announcement, Intercom surfaces updates exactly when users need them—not buried in a help center.
• Customizable alerts make updates more engaging. Teams can adjust messaging styles, visuals, and timing to match the importance of a release. Minor UI tweaks may get a subtle tooltip, while major features may be introduced with interactive onboarding flows.

This layered, behavior-driven approach improves feature adoption while reducing notification fatigue, ensuring users get the updates that are relevant to their experience.

Best Practices for Contextual, Targeted Release Notes

• Use segmentation to avoid overwhelming users. Not all users need to see every update—targeting ensures relevance and engagement.
• Surface updates contextually, within the UI. A well-placed tooltip or announcement makes release notes more discoverable than a static documentation page.
• Combine passive and proactive notifications. Some users prefer real-time pop-ups, while others check a dedicated “What’s New” page when it suits them. Offering both options prevents users from missing important updates.

By automating and personalizing release notes, companies can significantly increase engagement without adding unnecessary friction to the user experience.

Try the Product Announcement Carousel Template → 

4. Making Release Notes Part of Everyday Workflows

How Notion Shares Release Notes

Notion's "What's New" section keeps release notes accessible within the product, allowing users to find updates without disrupting their workflow. Key features include:

• Dedicated "What’s New" Section: Found in the help menu, this central hub gives users a structured way to explore past and recent updates.
• Embedded in the Help & Documentation Menu: Release notes are surfaced alongside support resources, reinforcing them as part of users’ learning process.
• Persistent Access: Because updates aren’t tucked away in a blog or external site, users can revisit them anytime without leaving the app.

By keeping release notes within the help menu, Notion ensures that updates remain visible and referenceable, helping teams adopt new features at their own pace.

Best Practices for Surfacing Release Notes in Productivity Tools

• Place release notes where users naturally look for help. A persistent "What’s New" section ensures updates stay accessible.
• Integrate updates into support resources. Positioning release notes near documentation helps users find guidance when they need it.
• Keep past updates available. A structured log of changes gives teams a way to track feature improvements over time.

Try the Release Notes Sidebar Template → 

Bringing It All Together: How Candu Does Release Notes

Each company approaches release notes differently, but the most effective strategies share common principles—making updates visible, timely, and actionable. At Candu, we take inspiration from best practices across the industry to ensure release notes are seamlessly integrated into the user experience.

Embedding Updates Where They Matter

Rather than relying on external changelogs or email notifications, we make updates a natural part of the product experience. Like Slack, we provide persistent access to release notes while also surfacing key updates contextually. Similar to Intercom, we enable in-app messaging to deliver targeted announcements based on user behavior.

A Multi-Layered Approach to Release Notes

Candu’s release notes strategy blends multiple methods to maximize visibility and engagement:

• Persistent "What’s New" Section: A dedicated space where users can revisit past and current updates.
• Contextual Modals & Tooltips: Updates appear where they’re most relevant, like inside workflows or near updated features.
• Interactive Announcement Widgets: Unlike static changelogs, our updates include embedded videos, links, and CTAs to drive immediate engagement.

This approach mirrors companies like Webflow, which surfaces updates inside the product but also ensures they remain accessible over time.

Refining the Process Through Real User Interaction

Because we use Candu for our own release notes, we continuously refine what works best. We analyze:

• Placement & Format: Do users engage more with banners, modals, or tooltips?
• Messaging Effectiveness: Do brief updates work, or do users need more detailed explanations?
• User Interaction Data: How often are release notes accessed, and what drives the most engagement?

By applying these insights, we ensure that updates are both informative and actionable—helping users discover new features without disrupting their workflow.

Best Practices for In-Product Release Notes

From our own experience and industry examples, we’ve found these principles to be the most effective:

• Keep release notes where users already work to reduce friction in discovering updates.
• Balance persistent and real-time updates so users can engage with new features on their own terms.
• Make updates actionable by including direct CTAs to encourage immediate exploration.

Key Takeaways for Effective Release Notes

Release notes are key for getting users excited about what's new. To make them work, we need to shift our focus to the user. By making release notes accessible, relevant, and personalized, we can create notes that people actually want to read. This means more people will use new features, they'll be happier with the product, and they'll feel more informed and empowered overall.

Ultimately, we want release notes to become a core part of the user experience, ensuring that every update is seen, understood, and put into action.

Make them easy to find:

• Obvious Location: Put release notes somewhere users can easily find them, like an "Updates" or "What's New" page, a noticeable banner, or a notification center.
• In-App Notifications: For important updates or new features, use in-app notifications or tooltips to grab users' attention.
• Email Announcements: For major releases or users who don't check your product often, send emails with a summary of key changes and links to more details.
• Social Media and Community Forums: Use social media and community forums to share release news and connect with users about new features and improvements.

Make them easy to understand:

• Plain Language: Write in simple terms and avoid technical jargon that might confuse users.
• Visual Hierarchy: Use headings, subheadings, bullet points, and bold text to organize information and emphasize key points.
• Visual Aids: Add screenshots, images, or videos to visually demonstrate new features or changes.
• Structured Formatting: Use tables, lists, or code blocks to present information clearly and neatly.
• Categorization: Group changes by feature, impact, or user type to help users quickly find what's relevant to them.

Encourage Action:

• Call-to-Action Buttons: Include clear and compelling CTAs that encourage users to try new features, explore updates, or give feedback.
• Direct Links: Provide direct links to relevant documentation, tutorials, or support resources.
• Interactive Demos or Tutorials: For complex features, consider providing interactive demos or tutorials that walk users through the new functionality.
• Feedback Mechanisms: Include feedback forms or surveys within the release notes to gather user input and insights.

Your release notes are like a history book of the value you’re delivering to users. Make sure they tell that story clearly. Beyond keeping users in the loop, it’s about inspiring them to try new features. When they do, it leads to better product adoption and happier users.