Knowledge Base Article Templates That Unweight Your Writing Burden

Ah, you’re being on the right track at long last. The fitting software is chosen and everything is all set for the trouble-free customer self-service. Wait a minute…do you get the feeling something is missing?

Well, yes, indeed! After you check all the boxes, there is just another “bare minimum” to fulfill – to actually write knowledge base articles. That’s right. The hardest part is yet to come.  

How to understand what content you should include? What structure should you use? And what if you want to write a simple how-to article and call it a night? Fear not. We know the answers.

Here you will find out about some prevalent knowledge base templates you could leverage in your work and, thus, save yourself the trouble. And believe me, that “trouble” might be huge. Let’s get cracking!

5 most common knowledge base article templates to focus on

A pre-made knowledge base article template is a surefire way to streamline the whole writing process. You just see the structure, blocks needed, and insert the information about your product or service.

But this is the tricky part. You shouldn’t lump the entire content under a general umbrella. Each template will depend on the type of article you’re working on. Decide how you want to convey the information: is it a Q&A section or maybe a detailed product overview?

With that in mind, we’ve collected here 5 widely spread knowledge article templates that can help you harmonize the info across your company.  

1. Straight-to-the-point FAQ section

If I were to ask, I would say that an FAQ page is the most popular pattern when it comes to choosing a knowledge base article template. Generally, it consists of common questions existing customers or website visitors have. 

Given that this knowledge base article format usually occurs as a “Question & Answer” bundle, it can also function as self-sufficient articles: you see a question and then you instantly get an answer.

The whole layout goes like this (yeah, it’s pretty easy):

• Title: Question
• Introduction: More detail to the question in the title or a short description of what you’re going to talk about
• Answer (covering only the crux)

When using this pattern, make sure you don’t waffle. I mean, there is no redundant information and everything you say is up to the point. To structure the content, ask your customer service team to provide you with their one-touch common cases and the ways they solve them. This will help you omit unnecessary fluff and keep your FAQ page as beneficial as possible.  

2. Vivid how-to article

If you don’t know how to explain some process connected to your product, demonstrate it! This knowledge base template is the easiest way to actually show a user how your product or service needs to operate.  

In fact, such a pattern is sometimes called a step-by-step guide or a tutorial. But the point stands still. For instance, we at HelpCrunch have this totally helpful how-to article on adding a live chat to a website. There you can watch the explanatory video containing all the important steps to take. Besides, everything is backed by the accompanying text.

Make sure you follow the pattern:

• Title, where you specify the topic 
• Introduction, where you briefly explain the chase in 2-3 sentences
• Main body, where you show how this and that should be implemented. 

Step 1..
Step 2..
Step 3…

• Conclusion, where you sums the info up and provide further instructions (additional material) 

Another great example here would be Miro’s article on how to export a board in different formats. Not only is this template packed with images, graphics, and numerous asterisks, but it also has this little hack at the end of the article: an FAQ section. 

3. Customer onboarding routine

There is no second chance for a first impression. That’s why when a new client signs up or makes the first purchase with you, use all your charms to tell how much you care for them from day one. 

Consider welcome emails a part of your onboarding flow and infuse the next knowledge base article template:

• Title, for instance, “Getting started with [company]”
• Introduction, where you show the brand’s basics or history 
• Main body, where you enlist of steps or instructions that can help a user get the ball going quicker
• A small knowledge base section with some common questions about the product or service
• Conclusion, where you specify other company resources that might be of help 

This basic knowledge base article template can comprise diverse walkthroughs, tutorials, or even short versions of FAQs – in other words, everything you think matters to a customer that is digging into your product. That is exactly how Document360 has developed its article below👇🏻

4. Troubleshooting guide

Have you ever faced troubles being right inside a service and with no help around? Imagine your clients are stuck with some issue inside your interface without any assistance. 

In the best-case scenario, they will try to reach out to you first (which disagrees with proactive customer service, by the way). And in the worst-case scenario, this customer will take their adieu to you. Now, choose your plausible scenario.  

Anyway, of all knowledge base templates, I would say a troubleshooting guide could be more in-depth. It stands between an ordinary FAQ section and a how-to article. You can add it to your knowledge base and leave links to it throughout the customer journey. 

Speaking of its structure, you might want to go with: 

• Title, where you name the issue 
• A quick introduction, where enlist possible reasons why this could happen in the first place
• Main body, where you provide solutions to the problem 
• Conclusion, where you mention some alternative ways to handle the problem 

A perfect template example would be the one from Wrike. The team created a special section in their knowledge base called Troubleshooting, where they keep all possible mishaps a user might face. Such articles are highly structured and have step-by-step instructions. Way to go!

5. Product or service overview

Your active customers might know the ropes of your product or service pretty well. But how to ensure prospective leads get familiar with it too? 

For that, include granular overviews and descriptions while framing your knowledge article templates. They will help those customers who just want to start their journey with you, and already existing ones – dive deeper into your brand. 

To illustrate, there is Fibery and the way they provide their product use cases in the knowledge base. The guys have a separate section for that – Why you need Fibery?, where you can read and watch all the company’s essentials and understand it better. 

The given example follows this simple pattern (you can do the same):

• Title, where you mention the product feature/use case/etc. 
• A short description of the article
• Introduction 1, where you give all the necessary info about the first feature/use case/etc.
• Video 1, to show a vivid example of everything you’ve just talked about (you can make not only a video but also images or even a whole gallery to depict the foregoing)
• Introduction 2, with everything a customer should know about the second feature/use case/etc.
• Video 2, or any other material you think fit to describe the nub  
• Conclusion, where you might want to provide some other material about your product or service, and give your contact details  

What’s vital to note here is Fibery’s videos explaining the key product development processes in the company. You might want to do the same when choosing your knowledge base article template so that your content isn’t cobbled-together but organized. 

Start with your knowledge base article template in mere minutes 

Now that you know the score, time to actually create an article using one of our knowledge base form templates. But remember that there is no one-size-fits-all option. Everything is up to your company’s image, the content you want to shape, and the goal to achieve. 

Not to waste another minute, take a look at HelpCrunch – a platform to build customer relations – and its well-oiled knowledge base. With our text editor, you will forget the words “generic“, “scattered“, and “hectic“. Create a free account to start building the knowledge base of your dreams (a 14-day trial, no strings attached).