The Knowledge Base Article: Types, How-To Steps and Examples for Productive Self-Service

Every customer support team experiences this: a ticket gets submitted requesting help or information that already exists within the system. Because of the new ticket, the service team must follow standard protocol to help the customer. The customer receives help and leaves satisfied. This sounds okay on the surface. But really, it was a waste of everybody's time.

Why was it a waste? Because the customer could have been helped more quickly, and the service team could have used their resources elsewhere if there had been a proper knowledge base article to help the customer instead.

This article discusses Knowledge Base (KB) articles. We'll define what KB articles are, provide examples of types of KB articles, instructions for how to write and manage them, and, perhaps most importantly, measure whether they are working.

Help Desk Agent Creating a Knowledge Base Article

Key Takeaways

• Self-service options are mandatory: Customers are more tech-savvy than ever before, and many prefer them to speaking with a representative.
• Knowledge base articles help in more ways than one: Customers can get the information they need at any time. And Help desk employees can leverage KB articles to solve customer problems.
• KB articles are only effective if they are discoverable: Trackable metrics, like page views and average time on article, highlight their functionality.

What Is a Knowledge Base Article?

A knowledge base article is a searchable, self-service document that gives employees and customers direct answers to common questions, troubleshooting steps, or product guidance without contacting support, serving as the organization's centralized single source of truth. It is intricately crafted to contain information that answers questions and fills gaps in understanding.

Modern service teams manage multiple service channels. For example, email, chat, and telephone. KB articles fall under the self-service umbrella of customer service. They are a single piece of the larger knowledge management system.

Internal vs. External Knowledge Base Articles

Both types share similar structures but their audiences and objectives differ:

• Internal or employee-facing: For example, a support agent gets a ticket about a failed password reset. They can open the relevant KB article and follow the documented steps to verify the customer's identity, resend the reset link, and close the case quickly.
• External or customer-facing: Customers can research their question and find a KB article that provides the answer they are looking for. For example, a customer asks, "How do I reset my password?" and the related KB article is a step-by-step guide titled "How to Reset Your Password" that walks them through the process and common troubleshooting.

More specifically:

Many organizations maintain both types to support employees and customers simultaneously.

4 Types of Knowledge Base Articles

Knowing which articles to write can be tricky. Our recommendation is to start with ticket data rather than guessing. For example, you can craft troubleshooting or how-to articles based on the most common tickets you receive.

Recognizing that each help desk is different, let's look at the four most important types of KB articles that comprise a complete knowledge base system:

1. Informational Articles

   Informational articles are resources that describe a complete system, a specific function, or a feature of your service. They are meant to educate your audience so that they can become more familiar with your offerings. They are not designed to be step-by-step or techy explanations.

   For example, let's assume a customer searches, "What is automated ticket routing?" An informational KB article would explain what the feature is and how it automatically routes cases to the right team based on certain rules (e.g., category, urgency, or department).

   Typical Structural Pattern of an Informational Article

   Informational articles are typically structured in two parts, each section responding to the following two questions:

   1. "What is it?"
   2. "Why does it matter?"

   Example Informational KB Article

   What Is Automated Ticket Routing?

   Definition

   Automated ticket routing automatically assigns incoming support requests to the appropriate team based on predefined rules.

   Why It Matters

   It reduces manual work, speeds up response times, and helps ensure tickets reach the right people quickly.

   Key Concepts

   • Rules determine assignments.
   • Routing can use category, priority, or department.
   • Rules can be updated as business needs change.

   How It Works

   When a ticket is submitted, the system evaluates its details and automatically assigns it to the appropriate support queue.

   Examples of Common Misunderstandings

   Myth: Routing solves issues automatically.

   Reality: Routing assigns tickets, but support staff still resolve them.

   Related Articles

   • How to Enable Automated Ticket Routing
   • Automated Ticket Routing FAQ

2. How-To Articles

   How-to articles are step-by-step explanations of specific setups, workflows, and processes. The most effective how-to articles are granular, in that, they should be limited to a single feature or task. For example, changing a password or adding a new user to an account.

   Typical Structural Pattern of a How-To Article

   How-to articles start with a description of their purpose. From there, they use listicle-style formatting to guide the reader through the article one step at a time. The best how-to articles will include images (e.g., screenshots) or video clips for each step to further assist the reader.

   Example How-To KB Article

   How to Enable Automated Ticket Routing

   Goal

   Enable automated ticket routing within your help desk platform.

   Prerequisites

   • Administrator access
   • Existing support queues

   Numbered Steps in Exact Order

   1. Open Settings.
   2. Navigate to Routing Rules.
   3. Select Create New Rule.
   4. Define routing criteria.
   5. Choose a destination queue.
   6. Save and enable the rule.

   Screenshots

   • Routing Rules Page
   • Rule Configuration Screen

   Expected Outcome

   Tickets matching the criteria are automatically assigned to the selected queue.

   Next Steps & Related Links

   • Troubleshooting Routing Issues
   • Routing FAQs

3. Troubleshooting Articles

   Like how-tos, troubleshooting KB articles are designed to address a specific problem that a customer is facing. The big difference is that troubleshooting articles often provide multiple options for addressing the singular issue, each with its own step-by-step instructions.

   For example, an agent searches the question, "Why can't I see incoming tickets in my dashboard?" A troubleshooting article would explain all the potential issues, like: (1) a filter being applied; (2) the user lacking the right permission; (3) or the queue being misassigned. Each option would contain its own set of instructions. It's then up to the employee to troubleshoot their problem by working through the article.

   Typical Structural Pattern of a Troubleshooting Article

   A typical troubleshooting article follows this structure.

   • Title: names the issue
   • Problem/symptoms: explains what the user is seeing
   • Quick checks: prioritizes the fastest, simplest solutions first
   • Step-by-step fixes: numbered, step-by-step instructions
   • What to do if it still fails: common errors or escalation guidance
   • And related articles: sourcing the next most logical KB article that could be helpful

   Example Troubleshooting KB Article

   Why Aren't My Tickets Routing Correctly?

   Symptoms

   • Tickets remain unassigned.
   • Tickets go to the wrong queue.

   Top 3 Likely Causes

   1. Routing rule is disabled.
   2. Criteria do not match ticket data.
   3. Rule conflicts exist.

   Simple Fixes First

   1. Verify the rule is enabled.
   2. Confirm ticket values match the routing conditions.
   3. Review rule priority settings.

   Decision Paths

   Rule disabled? → Enable the rule.

   Criteria mismatch? → Update the rule conditions.

   Error Messages & Their Meaning

   Error	Meaning
   No Matching Queue	No valid destination exists
   Rule Evaluation Failed	Configuration issue detected

   Escalation Information

   Contact your help desk administrator if the issue persists.

4. FAQ Articles

   FAQ's are KB articles that address the most frequently asked questions surrounding a specific topic, product, or service. The questions are specific and closed-ended. Each question comes with a clearly defined correct answer and brief supporting detail.

   Typical Structural Pattern of a FAQ Article

   FAQ articles are typically structured as long lists of questions. Each question has its related answer and supporting detail. The most effective FAQ pages may also provide related links and additional reading.

   Question: "What is automated ticket routing?"

   Answer: "Automated ticket routing is a feature that sends incoming requests to the right team based on rules like topic, priority, or department. This helps teams respond faster and keeps requests organized."

   Example FAQ KB Article

   Automated Ticket Routing FAQ

   What is automated ticket routing?

   A feature that automatically assigns support requests to the correct team.

   Can routing rules be changed?

   Yes, by users with administrative permissions.

   Why was my ticket routed incorrectly?

   The routing criteria may have matched a different rule than expected.

   Does routing improve response times?

   Yes. It reduces assignment delays and helps tickets reach the right team faster.

   Where can I learn more?

   • What Is Automated Ticket Routing?
   • How to Enable Automated Ticket Routing

KB Article Types Summary

How to Write a Knowledge Base Article

The goal of any KB article is to help the reader find their answer as quickly as possible. With a robust database of well-crafted KB articles, you can provide assistance in just a matter of seconds after the user's initial search:

• Let The Data Dictate Which Topics You Dive Into

  You shouldn't be guessing at a topic when you want to write a knowledge base article. Instead, you need to analyze your data to highlight what topics would be most helpful.

  • Page views and traffic will show you which articles are getting discovered.
  • Embedded surveys that gauge the helpfulness of an article will tell you whether or not the user's question was actually answered.
  • The Average Time on Article will highlight whether users are quickly finding the information they need or struggling through the page.
  • Common search terms that return no results indicate gaps in your knowledge base offerings.
  • The self-service success rate shows you if KB articles reduce or deflect support requests.

• Cover a Complete Range of Article Types

  A knowledge base database needs to cover topics from various angles. The best way to do that is by covering the content using the four types we discussed above: informational, how-to, troubleshooting, and FAQ. And by creating both customer and employee-facing articles.

  Here are some samples for an IT help desk:

  Employee-Facing Example Versions

  1. Informational: "What is automated ticket routing?": Explains what the feature is, how it works, and why it helps customers get faster support.
  2. How-to: "How do I enable automated ticket routing for my support requests?" Walks the customer through the steps to enable the feature in their account.
  3. Troubleshooting: "Why aren't my support tickets being routed correctly?" Helps customers diagnose issues such as missing rules, incorrect priorities, or inactive queues.
  4. FAQ: "Can I change where my tickets get routed?" Gives a short answer about whether routing rules can be edited and by whom.

  Agent-Facing Example Versions

  1. Informational: "What is ticket routing in our help desk system?" Explains the internal process, what routing rules do, and how agents benefit from them.
  2. How-to: "How do I update routing rules for a new support queue?" Shows employees how to configure the system when team structure or coverage changes.
  3. Troubleshooting: "Why are tickets landing in the wrong queue?" Helps staff investigate rule conflicts, assignment logic, or setup errors.
  4. FAQ: "Who can edit routing rules?" Answers a quick internal access question with minimal detail.

  In addition, robust knowledge bases include KB articles on policies or standards, templates, and examples.

  • Policies and standards: shipping procedures, refund policies, approval processes, and documentation requirements.
  • Templates and examples: SOPs, checklists, email templates.

• Format the Articles to Be Skimmable

  Skimmable KB articles are more effective. They strike the perfect balance of providing the user with the information they require while not being too dense. Here are some tips to follow:

  • Use short paragraphs
  • Number the steps for how-tos and troubleshooting articles
  • Bold text for critical information
  • Include visuals, like images, videos, diagrams, and tables
  • For any task-based article, include a prerequisites line, such as a list of the permissions, account access, or tools the reader needs before they begin the steps

• Structure KB Articles Strategically

  Effective KB articles are well-organized and cover a single topic.

  It all starts with a descriptive, search-friendly title that mirrors how users phrase their actual question, typically as "How do I...", "What is...", or "Why is..." to match real search intent. From there, always provide a direct answer toward the top. This is especially true for informational and FAQ-style articles.

  As you develop the article, avoid the urge to cover multiple topics or search intents. And don't mix in unrelated tasks. Instead, always finish with a related article for further reading.

• Position Your KB Articles in a Central Location

  Everyone should know where to go to access the KB articles. In addition to centralization, you want the information to be easily accessible. You're trying to avoid people having to search through old emails, PDFs, or chat channels.

  For example, the customer-facing option is a central help center or support portal. On the other hand, an internal employee-facing database is also critical for productive help desks.

The Knowledge Base Article Lifecycle

It's a common misconception in the help desk industry that KB articles are a one-time deliverable. You create the article and post it on your page. Done. However, that's incorrect.

KB articles are ongoing or living documents. They must be maintained. For example, the same article that deflects 50 tickets a month when it is accurate becomes a source of user frustration when it goes stale.

All of this is to say that most teams have a creation process, but few have a maintenance process. To drive this point home, we want to walk you through the lifecycle of a KB article, from creation to maintenance to eventual retirement.

Knowledge-Centered Service (KCS)

KCS is the industry methodology for creating KB articles from resolved support interactions in real time. It's a practice where support agents create and maintain KB articles as a natural part of their service, rather than as a separate documentation task. The process includes drafting, approving, and publishing KB content, as well as maintaining it until it's ready to be retired:

• Drafting

  There are three distinct roles in the knowledge article workflow: the writer, the reviewer (subject matter expert), and the publisher.

  The knowledge article writer is charged with crafting the initial draft in clear, user-friendly language. Typically, they target topics that address new service tickets, product changes, and onboarding needs. They focus on making sure the piece is easy to scan, accurate in tone, and helpful to the target reader.

• Review and Approval

  The approver, or subject-matter expert, is distinct from the writer and publisher. The reviewer checks the draft for technical accuracy, policy correctness, and completeness. They may also handle editorial changes, such as flagging gaps, errors, or confusing phrasing. The completeness of an article is assessed using a reviewer checklist or set of criteria.

  The reviewer checklist:

  • The title conveys what problem the article addresses
  • Technical accuracy of the subject matter
  • Structure progresses from start to finish and is easily skimmable
  • Quality of the visual aids, like screenshots and videos
  • Related links towards the next logical piece of content, users can continue helping themselves

  After the review process, knowledge articles are slated for publication.

• Publication

  The publisher prepares the article for release and makes it live in the centralized knowledge base. If the article is for internal agent use, the publisher can set permissions so that end users cannot see unfinished or sensitive content. When publishing for end-users or customers, the goal is discoverability.

  The discoverability of knowledge articles hinges on categorization, tagging, and metadata. This publication step for knowledge articles is extremely important. That's because if articles are indexed in the wrong category or have weak metadata, they are practically unfindable. Even when the content is excellent.

• Maintenance

  Great knowledge base articles are maintained. It's critical to update articles after a product or process change, after an agent flags inaccuracy, or when helpfulness scores drop below a certain threshold.

  But in our opinion, it's better to be proactive. Rather than relying on anyone to notice an article's staleness, we recommend setting a review date at the time of publication. For example, review every 6 months. Most teams skip this step and end up inundated with a backlog of service tickets and a resulting outdated knowledge hub.

• Retirement

  There will come a time when even a well-structured knowledge base article will need to be retired. For example, when the information is permanently outdated, the topic no longer applies, or has been superseded by a better article.

  Retiring means the article is removed from active search and moved to an archive, but the record still exists for reference. This differs from deleting the KB article. Deleting removes the record entirely, which can break inbound links and eliminate the item from the system.

  When an article is retired, it should not simply disappear from user searches. Instead, it is best practice to redirect a user to the next logical help content. At the very least, there must be a replacement note.

How to Measure Whether Your Knowledge Base Articles Are Working

Having a centralized knowledge base for internal employees and customers is only half the battle. The other half is making sure your articles are working. In other words, ensuring that they are searchable and discoverable, and that once the user is actively on the page, they leave having found the correct information as quickly as possible.

Let's look at some metrics you can track to measure the effectiveness of your knowledge articles:

• Self-Service Success Rate

  The self-service success rate, or ticket deflection rate, is the percentage of users who resolve their own issues using the customer knowledge base instead of submitting service tickets.

  Self-service success rate = Users who viewed articles and didn't submit a ticket / Total KB visitors

  The ticket deflection rate is one of the most important metrics to track. But the difficulty is that there is no clean way to prove a ticket was not submitted because of a KB article. To account for this, many IT help desk teams use a before/after comparison for specific topics rather than a precise measure.

• Knowledge Item Usefulness Rating

  The usefulness rating of a KB article indicates whether users find it helpful. It's collected and tracked through a survey linked in the article. For example, a thumbs-up/thumbs-down or "Was this article helpful?" question.

• Page Visits

  Page visits indicate if people are finding and using the centralized knowledge base. High traffic indicates discoverability and interest in the self-service topics your knowledge hub covers. On the other hand, low traffic could suggest a number of issues stemming from poor SEO, naming, or categorization and tagging.

• Bounce Rate vs. Time on Page

  A very helpful metric for gauging the effectiveness of an external knowledge base is the relationship between your bounce rate and users' time-on-page statistic.

  Bounce Rate	Time on Page	What It Means
  High	Low	Users leave without finding answers
  Low	Low	Users get quick answers
  Low	High	Users read carefully, but may be struggling

• Failed Search Rate

  The failed search rate is the percentage of searches that yield no useful results. This is an important metric to pay attention to because it reveals gaps in your knowledge base, weak tagging, or ineffective SEO.

  Failed Search Rate (%) = Number of failed searches / Total number of searches X 100

Common Knowledge Base Article Mistakes to Avoid

• Missing Clear Headings: Use descriptive, action-oriented titles and subtitles. Your goal is to help users instantly recognize the topic and skip to the relevant section.
• Overly Long Answers: KB articles are not blogs! Keep the core solution in the first paragraph. Your users should find the answer quickly without reading a full article.
• No Step-by-Step Instructions: How-tos and complex troubleshooting articles need numbered steps. If you bury the instructions in paragraphs, users lose clarity.
• Inconsistent Terminology and Structure: Use consistent product names and labels to avoid confusion and improve search effectiveness. Hone your tone, use plain language, and the active voice. And beyond wording, standardize the structure by using the same template for each article type so users know exactly where to find information regardless of which article they land on.
• No Visuals for Complex Tasks: Text alone can't explain. Even if it could, nobody wants to slog through a wall of text. In addition to skimmable paragraphs, you need to have screenshots, diagrams, or short videos.
• Missing Related Links: KB articles should not be individual, stand-alone documents. Instead, include links to related articles so users can continue learning or solve follow-up issues without starting a new search.
• Outdated Content: KB article maintenance is critical. You must regularly review and update articles. Outdated steps or features frustrate users and reduce trust, leading to more service tickets.
• Weak Search Keywords: Add relevant keywords and synonyms so articles appear in user searches and help centers. In addition, ensure that the article is properly tagged and categorized.

Knowledge Base Article FAQs

• What is the difference between a knowledge base article and a FAQ page?

  All FAQ pages are knowledge base articles, but not all knowledge base articles are FAQs. In other words, FAQs are just one type of self-service content. Other self-service options are informational articles, how-tos, and troubleshooting articles.

• How long should a knowledge base article be?

  There's no perfect word count for KB articles. But in general, all self-service resources should be as concise as possible. The goal is to help the user find the information as quickly as possible by titling the piece correctly and providing clear information.

• How often should knowledge base articles be reviewed and updated?

  Above, we recommended that help desk teams update knowledge base articles every six months. But really, it depends on the type of content. Standard articles could be reviewed annually, while highly dynamic content may need to be revisited monthly.

• Can AI write knowledge base articles?

  The short answer is, yes, AI can help write knowledge base articles. The longer answer is that AI works best as a drafting and optimization tool, not a fully autonomous replacement for subject matter experts or publishers. For example, AI can draft initial versions, summarize case notes, suggest titles, and speed up updates, but a human should still review the content.

• What is the difference between an internal and external knowledge base article?

  The core differences between internal and external KB articles are the audience and access. The audience for internal articles is employees. The material is not visible to the public and requires role-based permissions to access. On the other hand, external KB articles target customers or end-users. The information is public, free to access, and no login is required.

• What is KCS (Knowledge-Centered Service) and how does it relate to knowledge base articles?

  KCS is a help desk methodology that treats knowledge as a core business asset and integrates knowledge creation and maintenance directly into the help desk workflow. The goal of KCS is to create, structure, and reuse knowledge articles as a natural tool for solving customer issues, rather than treating article creation as a separate activity.

Related Giva Resources

• 10 Top Knowledge Base Benefits and How to Choose the Best Software
• Building Knowledge Bases: How to Make Them Excellent
• Guide to ITIL Knowledge Management
• Knowledge Management Best Practices, Tools and Features

Building a Knowledge Base, One Article at a Time

A centralized knowledge base is like a library, and each knowledge article is a book. The library's purpose is to give people independent access to answers so they can find them on their own instead of waiting for a librarian to pull them out. The result is a self-service experience where people can navigate with ease, locate answers quickly, and leave feeling confident.

Building the knowledge base takes time. And maintaining it requires even more. But when the help desk team invests in KB articles and commits to maintaining their quality, they reap both external and internal benefits. Ticket volumes decrease, and self-service success rates climb. Internally, the customer support team has clear, concise information to deliver the best possible service experience.

Streamlining Support with Giva's Integrated Knowledge Base Solution

Every support request has a cost. When users can find answers on their own, your team gets time back for the issues that actually need a human.

A support team can reap great, ongoing dividends by investing in the following:

• Getting your knowledge base articles right
• Clear titles
• The right format
• An active lifecycle
• A way to measure effectiveness

Giva's Help Desk Software and Customer Service Software include built-in knowledge management that make it straightforward to create, organize, publish, and maintain your KB articles as part of your existing support workflow. It connects directly to your ticketing and service desk system, so your team can capture new knowledge from resolved tickets, track article performance, and set review reminders without using a separate tool.

Giva's AI-driven KB Copilot is one of Giva's most impactful features. Besides presenting users with a list of articles to search through, it generates a direct answer from your knowledge base and links back to the supporting source content.

For customers, through our self-service portal, this means faster access to the information they need and fewer support requests. For agents, it means immediate access to trusted answers during live interactions, helping them resolve issues more efficiently without interrupting the customer experience.

For more, get a demo to see Giva's solutions in action, or start your own free, 30-day trial today!