Creating a New Article

How to Create a New Article

Articles are the core of your knowledge base. Each article answers a specific question, explains a feature, or walks a customer through a process. This guide covers everything you need to know to create a polished, published article in HelpGuides.

Getting to the New Article Editor

Click Articles in the left sidebar.
Click the + New Article button in the top right.

The New Article editor will open, ready for you to fill in.

Filling In the Article Details

Before you start writing, complete the article metadata at the top of the page:

Title The title is the headline of your article. Keep it clear and specific — customers should know exactly what they'll learn just from reading the title. For example:

✅ "How to Reset Your Password"
❌ "Password Help"

Permanent URL The URL slug is auto-generated from your title. You can edit it manually if you want a shorter or cleaner URL. Once published, avoid changing the URL to prevent broken links.

Category Select the category this article belongs to. If you haven't created categories yet, click away, go to Categories, create one, and come back. Categorizing articles is important — it determines where the article appears in your public help center's navigation.

Tags Add comma-separated tags to make your article easier to find via search. Use terms your customers are likely to type, such as: billing, invoice, payment, subscription.

Description Write a one or two sentence summary of what the article covers. This appears in search engine results and in article preview cards on your help center. A good description improves both discoverability and click-through rates.

SEO Settings

Click the SEO Settings section to expand it. Here you can customize the SEO title and meta description independently from the article title and description. This is useful if you want a different headline for search engines than the one displayed to readers on your site.

Writing Your Article

The rich text editor is where you write your article content. It supports a full range of formatting options:

Text Formatting

Bold (B), Italic (I), Underline (U), Strikethrough
Headings: H1, H2, H3 for structuring sections
Paragraph (P) for body text

Lists

Bullet lists for unordered items
Numbered lists for sequential steps or instructions

Media and Embeds

Images — Insert screenshots and diagrams to illustrate your steps.
Code blocks — Display inline code or multi-line code snippets with proper formatting.
Tables — Present structured data in rows and columns.
Blockquotes — Highlight important notes or tips.

Links Use the link tool to add hyperlinks to other articles, external resources, or specific sections within your content.

Dividers Use horizontal dividers to separate major sections of a long article.

Writing Tips for Great Help Articles

Start with the outcome — Tell the reader what they'll be able to do after reading the article.
Use numbered steps for any process with a sequence. Customers follow steps in order; numbered lists make this clear.
Use screenshots generously — A screenshot is worth a thousand words in documentation. Annotate them to highlight what the reader should click or notice.
Keep sentences short — Help documentation is not literature. Short, direct sentences are easier to scan.
One article, one topic — Don't combine multiple subjects in one article. If an article is getting too long, split it into multiple articles and link between them.
Use H2 and H3 headings to break the article into scannable sections. Many customers skim before they read.

Previewing Before Publishing

Click Preview in the top right to see how your article will look on the public site. Preview mode shows the formatted article exactly as customers will see it, without any of the editor chrome.

Use this step to catch formatting issues, broken links, or awkward phrasing before going live.

Saving as a Draft

If your article isn't ready to publish, click Save as Draft. Draft articles are saved privately and are not visible to customers. You can return to them from the Articles list, where they'll appear under the Draft tab.

Drafts are useful when:

You're writing a long article across multiple sessions.
You need a colleague to review the content before it goes live.
You're working on documentation for a feature that hasn't launched yet.

Publishing Your Article

When your article is ready, click the Publish button. The article will immediately appear on your public help center under the category you selected.

After publishing, the article will appear in the Published tab of your Articles list, along with the date it was last updated and who made the change.

Editing a Published Article

You can edit a published article at any time without taking it offline. Changes save and publish instantly when you click Publish again. If you want to make larger edits without affecting the live version, save your changes as a draft and publish when ready.

Deleting an Article

To delete an article, go to the Articles list, find the article, and click Delete in the Actions column. Deleting is permanent — the article will be removed from your help center immediately. If you're unsure, consider saving as a draft instead.

What's Next?

Now that you know how to create articles, explore these other areas of HelpGuides:

Categories — Keep your content organized as you add more articles.
FAQs — Add quick-answer content for your most common questions.
Product Updates — Keep customers informed about new features and changes.
Chatbot — Enable AI-powered answers based on your published documentation.
Customize Portal — Make your help center look like your brand.