Some of us love to use parentheses. Unfortunately, some readers ignore anything that appears in parentheses, so don't put important information in parentheses if you can help it.
Even for less important information, whenever you're inclined to use parentheses, consider whether they're necessary. Sometimes they are; however, the sentence or paragraph might work just as well if you remove the parentheses and set off the phrase or sentence by using commas, dashes, semicolons, or periods.
If you need to include parentheses in the middle of a sentence, keep the parenthetical thought short. Otherwise, consider using two sentences.
Recommended: Enter a name for the instance—for example, my-instance-99.
Recommended: Enter a six-digit hex number (for example, 228B22), and then click OK.
Recommended: Enter a six-digit hex number, and then click OK. For example, if you want the color forest
green, enter 228B22.
Not recommended: Enter a name for the instance (for example, my-instance-99).
Not recommended: Enter a six-digit hex number (for example, if you want the color forest green, enter
228B22), and then click OK.