Quick Start Guide

This guide will walk you through setting up your HelpGuides knowledge base from scratch. By the end, you'll have a live help center with at least one published article that your customers can access.

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Step 1: Set Up a Category

Before creating articles, it helps to organize your content into categories. Categories are like folders — they group related articles together so customers can browse your help center more easily.

To create your first category:

1. Click Categories in the left sidebar.
2. Click + New Category.
3. Enter a name for your category (for example, "Getting Started", "Billing", or "Features").
4. Optionally add a description and an icon.
5. Click Save.

You can create as many categories as you need. Common categories include Getting Started, Account & Billing, Troubleshooting, and Integrations.

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Step 2: Write Your First Article

With a category in place, you're ready to write your first help article.

1. Click Articles in the left sidebar.
2. Click + New Article in the top right corner.
3. Fill in the Title — this is the headline customers will see.
4. The Permanent URL will auto-generate from your title, but you can customize it.
5. Select a Category from the dropdown.
6. Optionally add Tags (comma-separated) to improve search results.
7. Write a short Description — this appears in search previews and helps with SEO.
8. Write your article content in the editor below.
9. When ready, click Publish — or Save as Draft to continue editing later.

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Step 3: Customize Your Portal

Make your help center look like it belongs to your brand.

1. Click Settings in the left sidebar, then select Customize Portal.
2. Upload your logo and set your brand colors.
3. Configure your custom domain if you want the help center to live at something like help.yourcompany.com.
4. Preview how your portal looks by clicking View Site → in the top navigation.

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Step 4: Add FAQs (Optional)

FAQs are a great way to address your most common questions in a compact, scannable format.

1. Click FAQs in the left sidebar.
2. Click + New FAQ.
3. Enter your question and answer.
4. Publish when ready.

FAQs appear as a dedicated section on your public help center.

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Step 5: Invite Your Team (Optional)

If others on your team will be writing or managing documentation:

1. Click Users in the left sidebar.
2. Click Invite User.
3. Enter their email address and assign a role.
4. They'll receive an invitation to join your HelpGuides workspace.

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Step 6: View Your Live Help Center

Once you've published at least one article, your public help center is live. Click View Site → in the top navigation to see how it looks to your customers. Share the URL with your team and start adding it to your product, emails, and support flows.

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You're All Set

Your knowledge base is live. As your product grows, keep adding articles, FAQs, and product updates to keep your customers informed. The more content you add, the less time your team spends answering repetitive support questions.