Getting Started with a Knowledgebase
Introduction
The knowledge base plugin is a powerful tool
to display frequently asked questions, support articles and more on your
website. The structure of the knowledge base is entirely customizable
to your department's needs. Two plugins are required to correctly build a
knowledge base on your website. They are:
- BWL Knowledge Base Manager
- Templify KB - Knowledge Base Addon
If these two plugins aren't present on your website, please contact us. Once you have located these two plugins, activate them.
Step 1. Configure Settings
Navigate to your WordPress dashboard. Hover over the "BWL KB" tab on your left sidebar and select "Option Panel."
Configure your settings exactly as described below. For any settings that aren't highlighted below, leave the value as its default.
General
Configure your settings exactly as described below. For any settings that aren't highlighted below, leave the value as its default.
General
- Login Required - OFF
- Load Font Awesome - ON
- Display Sticky Button - OFF
- Hide External Question Submission Form - OFF
Knowledge Base Page
- Enable Comment - OFF
- Display Last Modified Date - OFF
- Display Share Button - OFF
- Display Date - OFF
- Display View Counter - OFF
- Display Author Name - OFF
- Display Category - ON
- Display Topics - ON
Theme Options
- Category/Tags Heading Color - #000000
- Category/Tags Heading Hover Color - #000000
- KB List Style Type - Square Box
- Box Border Color - #0039a6
- Disable Heading Separator - ON
- Icon Background - #0039a6
- Active Icon Background - #0039a6
- Hide Voting Box for Accordion Layout - ON
- Results Background - #0039a6
- Results Text Color - #FFFFFF
Voting Options
- Disable KB Voting - ON
- Disable Down Vote - ON
- Disable Feedback Form - ON
Tipsy Settings
- Show Tool Tip - OFF
Advance
- Custom Slug - This is up to you, but common slugs include knowledgebase,help or faq.
- Display Only Category Name in Page Title - ON
- Additional Title Text - EMPTY
- Display Only Tag Name in Page Title - ON
- Additional Title Text - EMPTY
- Custom CSS: https://pastebin.com/DRQYr1HG
- Auto Update Notification - OFF
Template Settings
- Disable Template Own Stylesheet - OFF
- Use Theme Bootstrap Framework - OFF
- Enable KB Category Template - ON
- Category Page Heading - " " (SINGLE SPACE)
- Display Category Description - OFF
- Category Page Layout - LEFT SIDEBAR
- KB Category Page Sidebar - BKBM Custom Sidebar
- Category List Style Type - Square Box
- Enable Pagination - 10
- Enable KB Tag Template - ON
- Tag Page Heading - " " (SINGLE SPACE)
- Display Tag Description - OFF
- Tag Page Layout - LEFT SIDEBAR
- KB Tag Page Sidebar - BKBM Custom Sidebar
- Tag List Style Type - Square Box
- Enable Pagination - 10
- Enable Single KB Post Template - ON
- Single KB Page Layout - LEFT SIDEBAR
- Single KB Page Sidebar - BKBM Custom Sidebar
- Hide KB Post Navigation Box - ON
- Enable Breadcrumb - ON
- Knowledge Base Home Page Title - Your choice, but make it match your slug you used in Advance.
- Knowledge Base Home Page Slug - Same slug as your slug in Advance.
Step 2. Create Your Landing Page
In
the previous step, there were several configuration options that
required a "URL slug". If you're launching an FAQ on your website, you
might have made that slug "faq". Now, you need to create a page with the
"/faq" URL.
You're welcome to design this page however you would like, but there are some key elements that must be included:
Search Box
This is included by using the following shortcode: [bkb_search /]
Category Box
You can include a specific category box with the following shortcode:
[bkb_category categories="YOUR-CATEGORY-HERE" limit="5" orderby="date" order="DESC" box_view="1" /]
You're welcome to design this page however you would like, but there are some key elements that must be included:
Search Box
This is included by using the following shortcode: [bkb_search /]
Category Box
You can include a specific category box with the following shortcode:
[bkb_category categories="YOUR-CATEGORY-HERE" limit="5" orderby="date" order="DESC" box_view="1" /]
Step 3. Create Your Sidebar
Your
category pages and individual article pages include a custom left
sidebar. This sidebar is auto-created and can be found on your WordPress
Dashboard under Appearance > Widgets. Select "BKBM Custom Sidebar"
and add the custom information you desire.
Many sidebars include the following:
Search BoxThis is included by using the following shortcode:
[bkb_search /]
Category and Tag ListThese can be added to your sidebar by dragging the
BKBM Categories Widget and BKBM Tags Widget into the sidebar.
Step 4. Populating Your Knowledge Base
Once installed, create your individual knowledge base items by selecting BWL KB > Add New KB on your dashboard.
Fill in the relevant information for this item, including Title/question, the Body/answer, the KB Category and KB Tags (which will be used to list multiple items on a single page), and change the SEO options (under "Yoast SEO Premium") by adding in a more descriptive "Snippet" to help your standings on Google. You can also add any KB Attached files you may need to include. You can make the KB item link to an outside URL instead of your answer by adding a custom URL at the bottom of the page under "Page Links To".
Once you have multiple KB items created and categorized, you can view them all under "All KB Items" on the dashboard. You can select the items you'd like to list by Title, Author, Date Published, Category, Tags, etc. You can even search for specific items using the search field in the top right.
Fill in the relevant information for this item, including Title/question, the Body/answer, the KB Category and KB Tags (which will be used to list multiple items on a single page), and change the SEO options (under "Yoast SEO Premium") by adding in a more descriptive "Snippet" to help your standings on Google. You can also add any KB Attached files you may need to include. You can make the KB item link to an outside URL instead of your answer by adding a custom URL at the bottom of the page under "Page Links To".
Once you have multiple KB items created and categorized, you can view them all under "All KB Items" on the dashboard. You can select the items you'd like to list by Title, Author, Date Published, Category, Tags, etc. You can even search for specific items using the search field in the top right.
Step 5. Adding Your Knowledge Base to a Page
To
list a group of KB items on a specific page, open up the page in
question in the editor and decide where on the page the KB will appear.
Place a Text Block in that location and select the BWL Knowledge Base
Manager icon.
You will then be able to choose if you want a Search Box with your KB listing, which Categories, and/or which Tagged KB items you want to display on your page. The dropdown menu for Categories and Tags will display all the Category and Tags you've already created for your kB items.
Once you add the shortcode and then save the page, you will be able to see your KB items on the page where you placed them.
If you need to change the items' titles or the copy inside, simply go back into the BWL KB section in your dashboard, select All KB Items, find and open the item you need to change, and then make and save the changes required. The changes will be available immediately.
From the All KB Items page, you can also see how many views each item has gotten.
You will then be able to choose if you want a Search Box with your KB listing, which Categories, and/or which Tagged KB items you want to display on your page. The dropdown menu for Categories and Tags will display all the Category and Tags you've already created for your kB items.
Once you add the shortcode and then save the page, you will be able to see your KB items on the page where you placed them.
If you need to change the items' titles or the copy inside, simply go back into the BWL KB section in your dashboard, select All KB Items, find and open the item you need to change, and then make and save the changes required. The changes will be available immediately.
From the All KB Items page, you can also see how many views each item has gotten.