Template knowledge base article

You want to make sure the steps actually solve the problem they claim to solve. If the problem can't quite be solved, the steps can help eliminate potential causes or reveal what the root problem is. You'll want to lay out steps specifically for articles that are solving problems or showing how to accomplish a task. For comprehensive guides, you might not need to utilize steps. Instead, you can divide up the text by explaining different aspects under separate headers.

You should end the article by describing what the solution is. After all, since not every problem can be completely resolved, the solution may be an improvement of the problem or an update of a product to avoid a former glitch.

If needed, you can explain why a permanent solution couldn't be attained but that the solution laid out is the best case scenario for improving their situation. If there's no direct solution, or if the end result is self-explanatory, this step may not be needed. Instead, you can reiterate in the final step or paragraph that you've reached the end and that the task has been achieved.

You never know if you've completely exhausted a topic for interested readers. Rather than making them browse through related articles on their own, you can link some of your other articles at the bottom or side of the article. This will help customers gain a more well-rounded education on the topic at hand.

And, it helps get more eyes onto the articles you and your team worked hard to create. The more your readers use your knowledge base, the more they'll trust your organization as a source of accurate information.

These steps can help you create knowledge base articles that are effective and clear. However, not every article will be structured in the same format. Articles can vary in layout and design depending on the solution they're providing. The structure of a knowledge base article plays a major role in the piece's clarity and appeal. Customers are looking for specific and concise answers, and don't want to waste time scrolling through an essay to find it.

Utilizing the common knowledge base article templates can play an instrumental role in determining the effectiveness of your self-service customer support. Source: HubSpot Academy.

How-to articles are typically brief. They show you exactly what steps to take to complete a specific task or perform a certain function. This is usually the type of knowledge base article that helps visitors solve problems they're facing with their products. FAQ articles include a list of questions about the same, related topic on a single page.

This includes general and tool-specific questions. They're usually all listed at the top in a table of contents with anchor links that allow you to jump down the article to the specific question you need to be answered. Then in the article template list, set the Active field to true for one or more templates you would like to activate. The table below lists the fields available in each template and the name of the template table.

For details, see Activate the Knowledge Management Advanced plugin. You cannot delete an article template because article templates have an associated child table. Deleting a template would also require deleting the child table.

Due to the limitations on dropping tables, article templates and template columns are explicitly made non-deletable. Ensure customers searching for help can quickly find relevant results rather than having to trawl through your entire knowledge base. Look how Loco2 , a train booking service, explains exactly what readers can expect in each article:.

For specific topics, be specific. For example, if your article is about solving an error message, discuss the error message in the first paragraph. Quickly explain why your customer is receiving the error message before you jump into solving it. Look how Yoast quickly explains exactly why an error is occurring:. Whenever possible, it might even be a better idea to break up the article into separate, shorter articles.

But if long content is unavoidable, slap a table of contents on it. Check out how MailChimp does it, even on their shorter articles:. Look at how Dropbox writes instructions:. I think so. Below is a simple guide to writing various types of knowledge base articles along with some basic knowledge base article templates you can use to get started.

A knowledge base is an online self-service library containing articles and detailed information about a specific company, its products, or services. It can include a FAQ section, how-to articles, troubleshooting tips, user guides, and video tutorials — anything that helps customers and prospects find answers to their questions and resolve product or service issues on their own without involving customer service.

A knowledge base can provide valuable data for customers, prospects, and even employees. An internal knowledge base can be used to internally distribute all company knowledge and information. To ensure your knowledge base is straight to the point, easily readable, informative, and highly relevant, each knowledge base article should be:. Follow these simple steps for writing effective articles for your knowledge base:. Here are some of the most common knowledge base article titles you can use:.

Though the structure may vary based on the article type, a typical knowledge base article would include a short intro, description of the problem if applicable , outlining the steps to accomplish the task, summarizing the outcome and listing related links.

Longer articles may have a table of contents to help readers find the sections they are interested in and skip any unnecessary information. When it comes to formatting your knowledge base articles, simplicity is key. To make your text easily scannable, you may consider:. If you are walking your users through a step by step guide, you can make your instructions more clear by including screenshots, GIFs, videos, or whatever else may help your readers digest the content easier.

In fact, when writing task-oriented copy, visuals are a must as they enrich your support content and help to keep users engaged. Offer related links for further reading at the end of the article to help readers discover more helpful information. This is especially important when users are likely to want to learn more about a related topic, or when your article covers only one aspect of a larger set of tasks.

Still unsure? No worries, we have created a couple of knowledge base article templates to help you out right away!