Knowledge Article Templates

Overview

Articles generally fall into one of a few types and templates have been built so that the correct font, font size, spacing, headings, and color scheme have already been preset.

• Article Quick Start: A simplified template for rapid production of knowledge base articles. 
• How-to: These articles provide step-by-step instructions for completing a task. Keep articles brief and focused. For complex topics, break content into multiple articles with links to related steps. Avoid long, overly detailed articles.
• Informative/About: These articles offer general information on a topic. They don't include troubleshooting steps or instructions. However, they may link to related how-to articles.
• Policy: Use this template for policies to ensure consistency and clarity. When including University of Alaska Board of Regents (BOR) policies, retain original headers and subheaders from the source document.
• Standard Operating Procedures: Use this template when writing internal articles that document specific procedures that should be followed in accomplishing a specific task.

In this article:

• Create Article with Template
• Template Sections

Create Article with Template

Templates help you create articles quickly and ensure key web accessibility features are included. Templates for different article types are available under the Templates drop-down menu. When creating a new article choosing the correct template helps speed up KB authoring, and with with practice makes authoring more efficient.

1. To create a new article, click New Article.
   
2. On the formatting bar, click Templates to display available templates.
   
3. Templates for various article types are available in the Templates drop-down menu, choose the appropriate template.
   

Template Sections

The various article templates have different sections headers specific to content they are designed for. The following covers the "Quick Start" template as it illustrates the sections used and the styling applied. These are comparable to the sections available within the other templates.

Title / Subject

An effective title is simple, clear, and focused on the customer. If readers can't tell the article solves their problem, they won't click on it.

Titles matter because most of the traffic comes from searches either on the Knowledge Base or through search engines like Google. A good title improves visibility and helps users find answers faster. Avoid jargon and abbreviations. Use plain language that anyone can understand. Review the Knowledge Article Title Strategies article for additioanl information on creating good article titles.

Within the Enterprise Service Management (ESM) system, the Subject becomes the article's H1 heading. No other section should use H1 formatting. Using Headings correctly helps the article be accessible to screen readers and other assistive technology.

Issue

A short 2-3 sentence description using plain language in the way your customer would describe the issue.

Solution

Include steps to resolve the issue. There are several quick format reminders to follow:

• Use a numbered list to format if the steps happen in order. If the steps do not need to happen in order, use a bullet list. 
• State the action in a format to easily follow along. (e.g. Click the OK button.)
• Make sure any photos or video clips have alt-text 
• Add links where appropriate to help customers navigate quickly with text that tells them what the link leads to (e.g. Go to Blackboard login page)
• Add Tips directly above or below with simplified format like the example below.
  
  Tip: Blackboard works best with Firefox or Chrome browsers.
  
  Alternatively a 'tip' call out template can be used.
  Tip

  Blackboard works best with Firefox or Chrome browsers.

Additional Technical Information

This is additional technical information another service desk person may refer to and is typically more information than the customer is seeking to solve their issue. 

Cause

An optional section to include the cause of the issue where the information may be useful to confirm the issue for the service desk technician.

Next Steps

An optional section to help break up a long and complex topic into multiple shorter articles with links to the next article(s) or other information to explore.

Need more help?

Provides customers with quick access to the appropriate service form allowing them to reach out and request assistance from the relevant group.