How to make a tutorial video by recording your screen

To make a tutorial video by recording your screen, capture the steps in your browser, then turn the recording into a narrated video. With ScreenDub you record the screen, it writes a narration script and voices it, and you export a finished tutorial with a matching step-by-step PDF guide. There is no editing software to learn and no microphone to set up, and the whole thing runs in your browser.

Why record first and narrate after

Narrating live while you record is the hard way to make a tutorial. You have to perform the steps and explain them at the same time, so one slip means starting the whole clip over. Recording the screen silently and adding the narration afterward splits that into two simple jobs. You focus on clicking through the steps cleanly, then focus on the words as text you can read and fix.

It also makes the tutorial easy to keep alive. When the interface changes, you re-record the part that moved and edit the line that describes it, instead of redoing the entire video. The narration sounds consistent every time, which matters when you are building a set of tutorials rather than a single one.

What you need

• A free account. No credit card is needed to start.
• A recent version of Chrome or Edge, which handle in-browser recording best.
• The app or page you want to show, open and ready in a clean window.

How to record and narrate, step by step

1. Open what you want to show. Get the app or page ready, close anything unrelated, and run through the steps once so you can move without stopping.
2. Record your screen. Start a recording and choose a tab, window, or full screen. Recording runs in the browser, so there is nothing to install. Move at a steady pace and pause briefly on each key screen.
3. Let the script get written. ScreenDub splits the recording into steps and drafts a narration line for each, timed to the moment it happens. You start from a draft instead of a blank page.
4. Polish the wording. Edit any line, trim a slow part, or reorder steps. Cut lines that only describe what is obvious on screen and keep the ones that explain why. The first correction on each step is free.
5. Pick a voice and export. Choose a voice and accent, preview it, then render the tutorial to an MP4. You also get a PDF guide built from the same recording.

Recording tips for clear tutorials

• Close notifications and extra tabs before you record, so nothing pops in mid-take.
• Move at a steady pace and pause on each key screen, giving the narration room to land.
• Record at a high resolution so small text and menus stay sharp.
• Keep each tutorial to one task. Make a short series for longer flows.
• Use realistic example data, not placeholders, so steps match what viewers will see.

Frequently asked questions

Record your first tutorial free. Get started, or read the Quickstart.