B2B SaaS product teams are constantly shipping updates.
How does your organization announce these changes? Who do you announce these changes to?
How you tell users about product updates impacts adoption rates.
Some organizations use changelogs to communicate product changes. Others use release notes. A few use a combination of the two.
And many, many organizations don’t know the difference between the two terms.
This “changelog vs release notes” confusion creates mixed messaging for different audience segments and causes the announcements to miss their mark.
So, why don’t we delve into the distinctions between a changelog and release notes so your organization can reach the right audience with the right message – and drive product adoption in the process!
As the name implies, a changelog is a log of changes. It’s a super orderly log, though.
A changelog documents all software product enhancements or modifications in reverse chronological order. You'll see the most recent change first, followed by the second-most recent entry, and so on.
Changelog entries also follow a structured format with version numbers and change categories.
Typical changelog categories include:
Changelogs usually live on a SaaS brand’s website as a subdomain or externally on a version control system like Git (and shared publicly on GitHub). Posting changelogs on GitHub makes changes trackable for developers and allows for community engagement through comments and issue tracking.
If updates include terms like SDK, API, webhooks, and endpoints, you’ll see them in a changelog. These terms represent some of the code-level changes developers make and need to track when updating or integrating with software systems.
External technical stakeholders depend on changelog entries to keep their systems and workflows functioning smoothly when interacting with your product. A client’s development team must know about any changes to a SaaS product’s integrations or API.
Inside SaaS organizations, teams rely on changelog technical documentation to stay aligned. For example:
Release notes offer summaries of key product updates that highlight value and impact. Unlike changelogs, release notes focus on what matters most to end users.
These curated announcements emphasize new capabilities, improvements, and resolved user experience issues. The explanations are more wordy than changelogs, yet written in a friendlier tone geared to general, non-technical audiences.
Where changelogs are text heavy, release notes are more design-oriented and may feature highlighted screenshots or how-to screencasts.
They’ll also provide links to a new feature page or help center documentation to give readers additional context.
Release notes get distributed through various channels, including email newsletters, in-app notifications, blog posts, or dedicated product update pages. Condensed release notes are put on App Store/Google Play Store for related mobile app changes.
Social sharing icons are often on release notes so readers can help spread the word about new features of a SaaS product.
Release notes create tangible value for non-technical audiences:
First, customers discover how updates directly improve their experience, making adoption more likely.
Internal SaaS teams use release notes to coordinate customer-facing activities and maintain consistent messaging about product improvements. Marketing teams gain material for content like feature pages, explainer videos, and ad copy. Customer success managers also educate users about relevant improvements to increase retention and reduce support tickets.
Understanding the differences between changelogs and release notes helps SaaS teams select the proper communication method for each audience.
This comparison highlights both announcement types' audience, purpose, and structure.
Knowing when to deploy each product announcement type helps you target the right audience with information that matters to them. Here are some guidelines for choosing the best method for delivering product updates.
Choose changelogs when precise technical documentation serves your audience better than marketing-oriented messaging.
Technical precision. Changelogs work best when you need to be exact rather than telling a story. Your dev team needs them to track every code and bug fix made.
Frequent updates. For products that update often, changelogs help organize small changes that would be too much to tell users about individually.
Transparency. Changelogs build credibility by documenting all system changes. Public changelogs let users see exactly what changed and why, creating accountability between product teams and technical users who depend on system stability.
Compliance and troubleshooting. Changelogs create a record of every version, which helps when you need to meet legal requirements or fix complex problems by tracking exactly when and how something changed.
Opt for release notes when to highlight user benefits and drive feature adoption across your customer base.
General audience communication. Release notes are an effective communication tool to connect with non-technical users who care about outcomes, not the tech-y fine print..
Feature adoption. By introducing new features with helpful details and visuals, release notes provide context and encouragement to increase adoption rates.
Marketing materials. Release notes provide marketing teams instant material to show product improvement and innovation to customers.
Business stakeholders. For situations where non-technical stakeholders need to understand product evolution, release notes explain changes in a “what’s in it for you” style they can appreciate.
Smart SaaS companies use changelogs and release notes to inform different audiences. Let's look at real-world examples of how this works in practice.
HR management platform Gusto maintains a developer-focused changelog that presents technical updates in a structured format. Hosted on docs.gusto.com, changelog entries document API changes, endpoint updates, and backend improvements using terminology developers need (and understand).
Gusto creates its “Feature Focus” release notes in a more engaging format for a wider audience. These release notes include explanatory videos and allow filtering by plan type or topic.
Technical users of the website builder Webflow access the changelog at developers.webflow.com, where API changes and technical implementations are documented.
Non-technical users get the latest release notes on Webflow’s visually rich “Updates” pages.
Each update page has an explainer video, links to try out the spotlighted feature, and a link to help documentation.
Like we’ve seen with Gusto, these release notes also provide social sharing options to spread the news about the SaaS tool’s new features.
The generative AI platform Writer uses reciprocal linking on its changelog and release notes to ensure that everyone finds the product announcement type that’s right for them.
Located at dev.writer.com, Writer’s changelog displays version numbers with dated technical updates focused on SDK changes.
On top of the page, a highlighted callout encourages non-developers to visit its "What's New" page for more accessible product announcements.
Writer’s “What’s New” release notes provide feature screenshots, benefits-focused descriptions, and links to explore the updates. This page returns the internal link favor with a "P.S." note pointing technical users to the changelog for API and SDK updates.
Try these practical strategies to help your changelog and release note teams maintain consistency while serving different audience needs.
To maintain consistency, save time, and reduce inefficiencies, teams should write the changelog first. Then, extract and tweak relevant information into user-focused release notes.
Establish design and writing guidelines to allow clear differentiation between the two announcement types.
First, create design templates for both so it’s clear that one is a changelog and the other is a release note. In the design, add a cross-reference to the other announcement type for folks wanting more information, as we saw in the Writer example.
To address writing standards, determine what terminology and categories should stay with changelogs and which can be shared with release notes. This is another way to ensure that each audience receives the most relevant information.
To prevent information silos or misunderstandings, establish a Slack or Teams channel for smooth communication among changelog writers, release notes writers, and other internal stakeholders.
This dedicated channel lets changelog and release note writers announce when an entry has been published. Colleagues can take to the channel to ask questions about either announcement type.
If you’re excited to promote product updates, Appcues can help.
Instead of relying on a single announcement that users might miss, deliver your message where your users actually engage—via in-app messaging, email, and mobile push notifications.
Appcues’ multi-channel messaging capabilities let product users see updates across multiple channels. Each touchpoint reinforces your product announcement at different moments in the user’s journey.
And, by tapping into user behavior data, Appcues’ automated workflows deliver product announcements to the right users at the right place and time.
The combination of product-usage-based reinforcement and guidance promotes higher adoption rates, often leading to higher customer satisfaction and, ultimately, higher retention rates.
Matching the right communication tool to your audience matters.
Changelogs provide technical precision for developers tracking code changes and bug fixes, while release notes highlight value and benefits for end users.
Smart SaaS teams publish both product announcement types. They produce detailed changelogs for technical stakeholders and benefit-focused release notes for customers.
Tips for aligning both announcement types include sharing source materials, building clear design templates, and incorporating cross-references between documents.
This coordinated approach creates a consistent narrative about your product's evolution. When users understand not just what's changed but why it matters to them, they’re more apt to adopt new features and stick around.
Appcues’ multi-channel messaging platform helps B2B SaaS companies turn product announcements into opportunities for deeper engagement.
To deliver product updates that reach users where they engage most, start your Appcues free trial today
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