How to make a tutorial video that people can follow along with

Here is how to make a tutorial video in short: pick one task the viewer wants to complete, outline every step with the exact values they'll need, record your screen at a pace they can follow along with, then add zooms on small UI, captions, and a short recap. The goal is different from a demo: the viewer should be able to pause the video and do the same thing in their own copy of the software. Here's a seven-step process that works for help centers, internal training and courses.

Tutorial vs demo: why the difference matters

A demo shows what's possible and skips the dull parts. A tutorial teaches, which means the dull parts are the content. If you skip "click Save" because it's obvious, someone will get stuck there. That shift in purpose changes how you plan, how fast you move, and what you cut.

If you're after the persuasive kind, see how to make a product demo video instead.

How to make a tutorial video: plan it

Step 1: Define one task

Write the title before anything else, phrased as the viewer would search for it: "How to set up a recurring invoice," not "Invoicing overview." One task per video keeps tutorials short, easy to find, and easy to update when the UI changes. If you find yourself writing "and," consider two videos.

Step 2: Outline every step

List each action in order, including the exact text, values and settings you'll use:

1. Open Billing, then Invoices.
2. Click New invoice.
3. Choose customer "Acme Ltd" from the dropdown.
4. Toggle Recurring, set Monthly, start date the 1st.
5. Click Save, then confirm the schedule on the summary screen.

Then add what the viewer needs before starting: prerequisites, permissions, sample files. Say those in the first 15 seconds so nobody gets halfway and discovers they can't finish.

Step 3: Set up a clean environment

• Start from the state your viewer will be in. If they're new, use a fresh account, not your power-user setup with custom settings.
• Size the window for video. Around 1920 by 1080 with browser zoom at 110 to 125 percent keeps UI readable.
• Remove distractions: close tabs, hide bookmarks, mute notifications.
• Prepare sample data so you're not inventing names on camera.

More setup detail is in screen recording tips for crisp video.

Record and edit the tutorial

Step 4: Record at a follow-along pace

This is where most tutorials go wrong: the author knows the software, so they move too fast.

• Say it, then do it. "Now click New invoice in the top right," then click.
• Pause on each new screen for a second or two so viewers can orient themselves.
• Read out values you type or select.
• Show the result of each important step, such as the confirmation message, before moving on.
• Record in sections if the task is long. It's easier to redo one section than the whole video.

Click & Record is a free Chrome extension that makes this easier. It has a 3-2-1 count-in that isn't recorded, pause and resume, and it logs every click during recording. Afterwards, each click becomes a zoom keyframe, so a small menu item becomes readable without you doing any manual editing. When you type, the zoom holds while the burst lasts; only the timing of typing is recorded, never the keys themselves.

Step 5: Edit for clarity, not flash

• Review every zoom. In a tutorial, zooms should guide the eye, not dazzle. In Click & Record each automatic zoom can be retimed, made gentler or stronger, re-aimed or deleted, and you can add manual zooms. See how to zoom in on a screen recording.
• Cut mistakes and waits, but don't cut steps. Speed up long loads instead of removing them so viewers know to expect a pause.
• Keep the cursor visible and avoid jump cuts that make it teleport mid-step.

Finish and publish

Step 6: Add captions and a recap

Captions matter more for tutorials than almost any other kind of video: learners pause, rewind and look for exact terms. Click & Record generates subtitles on your device with a built-in Whisper model, with word-level timings you can correct and SRT or VTT export for platforms that want a sidecar file. For accessibility guidance, read accessible tutorial videos with captions.

End with a ten-second recap of the steps and one pointer to the next tutorial. A recap feels redundant when you record it, but it helps viewers who skipped ahead, and it confirms that what they see on their own screen matches what they should have. If the task has a common mistake, such as a setting that resets when you switch tabs, mention it here too.

Step 7: Publish where learners look

• Help center articles: embed the video above the written steps. Some people prefer to read.
• In-app help: link the tutorial from the screen it describes.
• YouTube: titles phrased as questions and chapter markers help discovery; see recording software tutorials for YouTube.
• Course platforms and LMSs: export MP4, the most widely supported format.

Keep a list of which tutorials show which screens, so you know what to re-record when the UI changes. Short, single-task videos make this cheap: when one dialog is redesigned, you replace one two-minute tutorial instead of re-recording a long course module.

Summary

Knowing how to make a tutorial video comes down to respecting the learner: one task, every step, a pace they can copy, zooms that point at the right thing, and captions they can rely on. If you have an existing recording, you can edit it in the free browser editor without installing anything. To record new tutorials with automatic zooms and on-device subtitles, try Click & Record.