How To Create A Knowledge Base

Setting up a knowledge base is straightforward. Follow these simple steps when building one, and you’ll effectively provide value for your customers.

Step 1: Determining The Purpose/Need Of Your Knowledge Base

When considering how to build a knowledge base, start by defining its purpose. According to a study by HubSpot, 75% of customers expect a consistent experience across multiple channels, highlighting the importance of clarity in your knowledge base’s objectives. Determine whether it will serve your customers or employees and specify if it’s meant to enhance product understanding, provide tutorials, or address FAQs.

Once your target audience is identified, focus on identifying existing knowledge gaps that justify the need for a knowledge base.

• • Consider the most common customer inquiries and topics.
  • Evaluate if your support team faces frequent information requests.
  • Analyze the current response time of your support team, and monitor any increase.
  • Identify team members whose departure could lead to knowledge gaps within the organization.

Step 2: Establishing The Core Components Of Your Knowledge Base

Investing in proper knowledge base software ensures that essential core elements are readily available. Designing a knowledge base from scratch is unnecessary as the software provides pre-packaged templates for immediate use. The setup process involves simply configuring the knowledge base and adding content.

Key components that should be included in every knowledge base are:

• • FAQ Section: This section should contain a list of commonly asked questions arranged in alphabetical order.
  • Search Bar: A search bar facilitates easy navigation for customers who already have a specific topic in mind, providing predictive suggestions and generating relevant results.
  • Contact Support: Including a direct link to customer support ensures that users can quickly seek assistance when needed.

The specific core elements required for your knowledge base may vary depending on your company’s needs. For instance, you may consider incorporating a “most read articles” widget on the homepage or a “related articles” section at the end of each article, accompanied by a feedback form. Additionally, integrating a live chat app can enhance accessibility for customers seeking immediate assistance.

Ultimately, the setup of your knowledge base should prioritize customer-centricity and align with your company’s objectives.

Step 3: Establishing The Framework For Your Knowledge Base

Ensure your knowledge base serves its purpose beyond mere information storage; usability is paramount. Constructing a well-thought-out knowledge base structure facilitates content organization and seamless navigation for users. Various innovative approaches exist for structuring your knowledge base, with one effective method being tailored to your intended audience.

For instance, if you’re developing an internal knowledge base, consider structuring it around specific audience segments:

• • Organizational knowledge
  • New employee onboarding
  • Human Resources
  • Marketing
  • Sales
  • Customer Support
  • Product
  • Design
  • Engineering

When crafting your customer service knowledge base, prioritize clarity and accessibility. A haphazard arrangement of articles only frustrates users attempting to locate information. Design the structure with your users in mind, creating categories that house individual articles. Categories can be organized by product type, user actions, or any other relevant criteria.

Consider organizing categories based on user roles (e.g., beginner, advanced, expert) or their stage in the user journey (e.g., Getting Started, Upgrading Account, Product Tutorials).

Step 4: Crafting Content for Your Knowledge Base

Once you’ve organized your knowledge base, it’s crucial to carefully consider the topics you plan to cover and start gathering information.

To begin, review your customer support queue for frequently asked questions. Take note of any standard responses frequently used by support agents and consider using them as potential topics for your knowledge base.

Next, engage in discussions with your support team to determine which topics they believe should be documented. Additionally, solicit input from the sales and marketing departments regarding common inquiries from potential customers.

Create a comprehensive list of topics in a spreadsheet, and identify any subject matter experts needed for content creation. Document existing content and pinpoint areas that require further development to fill any gaps.

Step 5: Organize Knowledge Base Content

After refining your content, the next crucial step is to arrange it into categories. This means assigning an appropriate category to each piece of content, ensuring it fits neatly within the framework of your knowledge base.

You can also create subcategories to make navigation smoother, allowing for up to 6 levels of categorization. However, it’s essential to steer clear of overly complicated structures, as they might make it difficult for customers to find information efficiently.

Step 6: Write New Articles For Your Knowledge Base

When it comes to crafting knowledge base articles, the key is to create content that is both informative and user-friendly. Unlike blog posts or novels, documentation should prioritize clarity, conciseness, and easy navigation.

Title Structure

When writing articles for your knowledge base, it’s important to carefully consider the title. Users typically search using simple terms, so avoid excessive jargon. Opt for action-oriented titles such as “How to…” or “Using…” to align with customers’ search habits.

Content Tone

Maintain a straightforward tone throughout your articles to cater to readers with varying levels of expertise in the subject matter.

Paragraphs

Keep paragraphs brief, consisting of no more than two or three sentences each. This facilitates easy skimming and helps users quickly locate the information they need.

Links

Rather than repetitively explaining concepts, incorporate links to related articles within the content to provide additional context for interested users.

Highlighting with Bold and Italics

Use bold and italics sparingly to emphasize critical points. Call-outs can effectively draw attention to essential information without overwhelming the reader.

Bullet Points and Lists

Structure procedural steps using bullet points and lists to improve readability and clarity.

Adding Visuals

Supplement written content with images and informative videos to break up text and enhance user engagement.

Proofread

Before publishing, thoroughly proofread your articles to ensure accuracy and clarity. Consider having a colleague review the content for an additional layer of scrutiny.

Step 7: Optimize Your Knowledge Base For SEO

Ensuring your knowledge base is readily discoverable by search engines such as Google is crucial. According to a study, 75% of users never scroll past the first page of search results, highlighting the importance of high search engine visibility. This enhances the chances of prospective customers locating valuable information about your business while browsing online.

Indexing your knowledge base enables it to draw in new customers who may encounter your brand for the first time, providing an opportunity to make a favorable impression.

For optimal search engine visibility, integrate pertinent keywords into your article URLs and meta descriptions. Many knowledge base software options provide SEO settings for tailoring to your needs. If privacy is a consideration, you can deactivate indexing to restrict public access to your knowledge base.

Step 8: Publish Your Knowledge Base

It’s time to launch your knowledge base. Before launching your knowledge base, consider:

• • Domain/Subdomain: Choose between a separate domain, subdomain, or a folder on your main site. Examples include help.mycompany.com or mycompany.com/help.
  • Integrations: Opt for knowledge base software that integrates with popular apps like help desks, live chat, and analytics. This enhances functionality and allows seamless documentation creation within existing workflows.
  • User Access Levels: Determine who can edit, read, or have write-only access to your documentation. Setting user access levels ensures security against unauthorized changes.

After addressing these points, launch your knowledge base. Remember, it’s a continuous project requiring updates and improvements.

Step 9: Gather Feedback And Improve

Begin collecting feedback on your content once you’ve established your knowledge base. Use the knowledge base software’s built-in analytics to assess content performance and identify areas for development.

Analyze the frequency of searches yielding no results to generate ideas for new content. For articles with notable numbers of negative ratings, undertake revisions for improvement. Respond promptly to customer comments on your knowledge base and implement suggestions to enhance your articles.