This is a passion project I began working on in late 2019 and continue to build content for. The tool is something I also built but most of the current work is training content to help people use the platform.
The entire knowledge base including help articles is built into a WordPress knowledgebase that can be used from anywhere on the website. The entire library of help is searchable and easy to access in any browser. Instead of separate job aids that require additional steps to access, all help is a click away and fully searchable.
Not only is the content easy to access for users, but it's also searchable by any search engine. That means the content acts as a tool to help users of the SaaS tool but also can be found in searches that bring in potential new users to the platform.
Hover over (or tap on) the above image to scroll.
What is the SaaS tool?
The tool is WPHubSite which is a website building platform specifically for integrating with HubSpot. It makes it easy to build a website that integrates in every way with HubSpot from forms to visitor analytics and chatbots.
What's The Content Made Of?
Plastic. Just kidding, the help content is made up of two parts. One part is the help articles which are made up of written text with corresponding labeled images. The second part is videos that are embedded in each help article as well as available on a YouTube channel. The videos are a minimal viable product (MVP) which is not fully built out and more basic (due to time) as this is a side project.
There is a main getting started guide that lists all the tasks needed to get started with the tool from configuration to creating content. The getting started article links to each specific topic that helps users accomplish a larger goal. These goals range from setting up two-factor authentication to creating a menu.
Each help article has images with the steps needed to accomplish the task. Each step also has a corresponding text description with the step needed and more information about that step in the process.
The example below is an article that walks users through the entire process of updating the WordPress settings in WPHubSite. Hover your cursor over (or tap on) the image and it will scroll for you or you can see the live help article on the WPHubSite help site.
Each help article also has a corresponding video that walks through the process live. I walk through the process in real-time on a live WPHubSite website that I set up for training purposes.
Each help article that has a video has it embedded into the help article at the bottom (but linked in the table of content). This makes it easy for the user to choose their preferred way of accomplishing their task.
All videos are hosted on YouTube and embedded in each corresponding help article also. Each video acts as its own independent help video that's searchable on Google and YouTube. There are even playlists with videos grouped into the same getting started series as on the website.
You can watch a sample of these videos on the getting started video below or watch more samples on the WPHubSite YouTube channel.
Courses and job aids are great if that's what does the job best. If they don't then other solutions for information are needed. This is a case of help content being used for help and search engine optimization (SEO) as well as video content that some prefer which also works well for SEO.