Introduction
When customers have questions about your product, you need to make a good first impression. They need to be able to solve their problems, answer questions and start using your product before they give up or get frustrated.
This means they need quick access and an attractive, user-friendly interface.
A help center is a self-service knowledge base that provides customers with the information they need to solve problems and answer questions. In this article, we share a list of the best help center examples and features that make them interesting and effective.
TL;DR: Help center examples
- This blog post provides examples of 10 real-life help centers that have been successful in providing effective customer support.
- Each example is described in detail, highlighting the unique features and strategies used by the respective brands.
- The key features of a good help center include comprehensive coverage, easy navigation, step-by-step guides and tutorials, and up-to-date content.
- Tips for building a good help center include identifying customer needs, choosing the right software platform, and regularly testing and updating content.
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10 real-life help center examples
Here are ten examples of brands that crushed their help centers to inspire you.
1. Scribe
Scribe is a unique example because the AI-powered process documentation tool helps you automatically generate visual, step-by-step help center content in seconds. With Scribe, you can create quick reference guides, FAQ pages, troubleshooting guides, how-to guides and more.
Simply install the Scribe extension, click record, and go through the process you want to document. Scribe will record every step you take, the buttons you press, and the interactions you make, automatically generating easy-to-follow instructions in seconds.
For example, here's how Ui.Marketing's help center uses Scribe to create step-by-step guides on how to use their product:
Alyssa Sanchez, Senior Customer Support Manager at Gong, shares how Gong uses Scribe to provide tailored white-glove customer support and help center resources to their customers.
You can use Scribe to create helpful resources like:
- How-to guides with step-by-step instructions on how to perform specific tasks with your product or service.
- Troubleshooting guides to help users to identify and resolve common problems with your product or service.
- User guides with comprehensive information about your product or service, including features, specifications, and instructions on how to use it.
- FAQ page and an external knowledge base—all in one platform.
... and so much more.
With Scribe Pages, you can seamlessly combine your individual guides into visually appealing, interactive guides with video, images and more.
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2. Zapier
Zapier helps you integrate web applications and automate tasks across SaaS tools using if/then workflows. In other words, you can change a task’s status in Asana (from Doing to Done), and Zapier will automatically update your Calendar, send out an email, alert your teammates in Slack, etc., once you set the conditional triggers that make it work.
Currently, the platform supports a catalog of 5k+ applications where you can build end-to-end connections, sync your work, and automate manual tasks.
But supporting such a wide range of third-party applications means you have to create an equally extensive content library to account for all the how-tos and edge cases users may encounter.
- Autocomplete search bar on every page, where you can find related articles with a tiny string of keywords; search results are grouped by category for easier filtering.
- Page explorer address bar for tracking down parent articles: Let’s say I’m trying to format a CSV file with Python, and I navigate to the Python Code examples in Zaps page. At the top, you’ll see breadcrumbs at the top of the page, like this:
- Help articles are grouped by topic (Zaps, Apps, Interfaces, Apps, Your Zapier Account, Product Updates) so they’re easy to find.
- Under each topic, there are different folders for beginners (how to get started, why does Zapier need my account, etc.), and instructions for users trying to connect specific applications (How to get started with Asana).
3. HubSpot Help Center
HubSpot's CRM platform supports five different product verticals (Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, Service Hub, CMS, and Operations Hub) with several secondary tools (meeting scheduler, website builder, newsletter builder, etc.). Building a help center design for their entire library is a significant undertaking.
- Universal search bar with an autocomplete feature that suggests the pages you might be looking for.
- Community groups for content, email, video marketing, inbound sales, and revenue operations, with 25k members combined—members who can’t narrow down the resources they need with search can explain their challenges in detail and ask the HubSpot community for help.
- Links to relevant support articles within each tool's interface, so users don't have to navigate back to the help center to find answers.
- HubSpot Academy is linked on the Help Center homepage so users can better understand the HubSpot ecosystem with courses on SEO, email, content marketing, etc.
- Read through technical documentation if you’re a developer looking for help with building an application (on HubSpot’s ecosystem), a custom integration, or a website.
- A directory of agencies and consultants that can help you set up HubSpot.
4. Tally
Tally is a form builder that bills itself as "the simplest way to create forms." Unlike alternatives like Typeform and Jotform, Tally works like a doc, and 90 percent of its features are available to all users for free and without limits, including integrations, webhooks, unlimited forms, payments, etc.
- Help articles are grouped under subheaders on a one-pager where you can navigate easily.
- Everything is explained in simple English (how to grow your newsletter) instead of corporate jargon (assess our pain points and learnings 🥱).
- Although Tally’s help articles are light on text, they use images and contextual GIFs to show users which buttons to click and how to navigate their product visually.
- A minimalist, black-and-white interface that helps users focus on the content instead of confusing design elements.
- A universal search bar on every page that suggests pages you might be looking for with autocomplete.
5. HelpScout Support
HelpScout is a customer experience platform that offers a shared inbox, help center, and live chat for businesses looking to engage customers online. What better way to promote a product for building help centers than to have an outstanding example? HelpScout’s help library combines excellent design, accessible formatting, and searchability into a help center experience that’s easily one of the best on our list.
- A live chat widget on the help center page so that (potential) customers who can’t find what they’re looking for can contact support instead.
- Each article contains a table of contents for easier navigation.
- Universal search (with autocomplete) on every page.
- Uncluttered interface with legible fonts and minimalist text on white background.
- Content pages are grouped by product (Help Desk, Beacons, Docs) and subject (Working with Conversations, Copying email to HelpScout, Reporting, Productivity, etc.).
- Users can rate whether an article was helpful (Did this answer your question?) with a simple Yes (😀) or No (🙁)
- Screenshots and GIFs of HelpScout’s UI to add context to articles.
6. Salesforce
Like HubSpot and Zapier, Salesforce offers various software products across verticals such as sales, marketing, support, and e-commerce.
To support users across such a large ecosystem, Salesforce maintains a vast library with articles, guided coaching videos, and community groups where thousands of users can help their peers from around the world.
- Browse and register for upcoming salesforce events globally.
- Get step-by-step guidance for completing specific actions (e.g., setting up multi-factor authentication, personalizing and segmenting campaigns, building, testing, and sending emails) from the Salesforce Success Center.
- Help articles and resources are grouped by product verticals (Sales, service, Marketing, Commerce, Platform, Einstein AI, etc.) and Salesforce brands (Slack, Mulesoft, Heroku, and Tableau).
- Universal search bar.
- Access Salesforce Trailhead, a collection of interactive online tutorials and groups that teach beginners and intermediate developers how to navigate the platform and build in-demand skills to work (get hired) in the Salesforce ecosystem. Supported learning paths include Administrator, Analyst, Architect, Developer, and Marketer.
- A library of recorded webinars, expert video tutorials, and Salesforce’s YouTube channel (with 350+ videos) are all linked to the help center.
- Read trending topics, such as release notes, company news, and product documentation pieces that might be relevant to your product experience.
Salesforce’s help center is information-rich, almost to the point of being cluttered. It shows you all of Salesforce’s varied learning paths from the get-go.
7. Amazon
With $514 billion in sales in 2022, Amazon is the world’s largest e-commerce retailer. That amounts to over 1.6 million items sold daily across the 12 million products Amazon stocks. And if you guessed it, you’re right—an operation of that size needs an equally humongous customer support infrastructure, whether it’s for customers reporting that they didn’t receive a package or asking to cancel their Prime subscription.
- Help articles are grouped by easy-to-understand topics, such as Prime Day, Security & Privacy, Payments, Pricing, and Promotions.
- Contextual screenshots of the Amazon account UI explain how to troubleshoot issues step by step.
- A "Was this information helpful?" widget to track customer satisfaction with help center articles.
- A "Quick Solutions sidebar" that points to help articles for issues customers will most likely face, such as tracking orders, managing Amazon Prime, payment methods, and account settings.
- Multichannel support—users can chat with a support rep, request a phone call, or send an email.
- In-app help center for mobile users with support for orders, devices, Prime membership, and more, including relevant help articles.
- Dedicated help libraries for specific Amazon service verticals, such as Amazon Pharmacy, Fresh and Groceries, physical stores, AWS, and help for Amazon sellers.
8. Google Cloud Support Hub
As a cloud computing provider, Google Cloud handles mind-boggling amounts of compute, storage and networking traffic for over a million organizations building products that serve 300+ million end-users. To run a platform of that scale effectively, you need a massive content library that covers basic how-tos and technically complex obscure edge cases, all built on a user-friendly content-first interface.
- Dedicated help libraries for related products like Firebase, Chronicle SOAR, Cloud Identity, and Apigee.
- FAQs are prominently displayed on page 1 for customers who are trying to cancel their accounts or contact a live customer service agent.
- The Google Cloud community allows users to join dedicated discussion spaces on AI/ML, Google Cloud developer tools, data analytics, integrations, Kubernetes, Anthos, etc.
- A documentation folder that contains in-depth tutorials, guides, tips and tricks, and reference architecture for engineers building on the Google Cloud Platform.
- Escalate support requests after you can’t find a fix.
- 24/7 live support.
- Universal search bar with intelligent autocomplete suggestions.
9. Dropbox
Like Tally’s minimalist help center, Dropbox’s help library has few bells and whistles, so it’s easy to focus on the content. Like Amazon, users have different support channels available, and like Salesforce, there’s a thriving community of Dropbox users and product evangelists to help you diagnose issues and work out a solution.
- A popular articles section for users who want to reset their password, change their billing information, use Dropbox Backup, or share files and folders in Dropbox.
- Help articles are grouped by product, such as Transfer, Passwords, Capture, Backup, Shop, and Replay
- A universal search bar on every page.
- Users can rate help articles on a 1 - 5 scale using emojis (1: ☹) (2: 🙁) (3: 😐) (4: 🙂) (5: 😀).
- Related articles are linked at the end of every page in case you still need help.
- Navigate to an article’s parent page through the address bar.
- Dropbox Learn is a library of free courses and training sessions you can view at your own pace to learn how to maximize Dropbox for different use cases.
10. Freshdesk
Freshdesk has a rich library of how-to articles, video guides, and a vibrant user community where customers can troubleshoot their issues or search for previous questions and answers.
- System status page—track Freshdesk’s status (Operational, Degraded Performance, Partial Outage, Under Maintenance) to see whether a feature is not working for you or for everyone.
- Release notes where you can keep tabs on new features, updates, and product changes.
- Share ideas, ask questions, and troubleshoot issues on Freshdesk community forums.
- Freshdesk’s knowledge base is grouped by product features (live chat, phone channel, integrations, reporting and analytics, social, advanced configurations, etc.).
- A categorized video library where users can watch screen recordings that explain how to convert emails to tickets, set up a sandbox, build custom automation rules, etc.
- A searchable, 25k-strong community organized by topics such as Freshworks Academy, Platforms & Integrations, Sales and Marketing, etc.
- Universal search for all help articles and community discussions.
Help articles are grouped by subtopic and contain step-by-step product screenshots, related articles, and product plans for which specific articles apply.
Help center FAQs
Why are help centers important?
Creating a help center that answers your customers' FAQs can:
- Reduce support tickets
- Increase customer satisfaction.
- Give your support team more bandwidth to tackle previously uncataloged issues.
What is a good help center?
Some of the key features of a good help center include:
- Covers all aspects of the product or service, from basic troubleshooting to more advanced topics.
- Easy to navigate, with a clear search bar and well-organized categories.
- Well-written.
- Up-to-date.
How do you build a good help center?
Follow these tips for building a help center:
- Identify your customers' needs.
- Choose a help center software platform that's right for your needs and budget.
- Group related content together and use clear and concise headings and subheadings.
- Ensure content is well-written and easy to understand.
- Use screenshots, diagrams, step-by-step guides, and videos to explain complex topics or show customers how to do something.
- Provide a contact form or live chat feature on your help center pages.
- Test and update your content regularly.
What should be on a help center page?
When designing a help center, include these key elements on your help pages:
- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
- Search functionality.
- Categories and subcategories.
- Step-by-step guides and tutorials.
- Contact information.
- Links to additional resources.
How do you structure a help center?
When structuring a help center, keep these best practices in mind.
- Organize content in a logical and intuitive manner.
- Categorize information into relevant sections or topics, like "Getting Started," "Troubleshooting" and "FAQs."
- Provide clear and concise navigation through menus, search functionality and breadcrumbs.
- Provide step-by-step instructions or tutorials when necessary.
- Use visual aids like screenshots or videos to convey information effectively.
Wrapping up: help center examples
A help center does more than serve as a library for your customer support assets. Our list of help center examples can help you transform your support model to self-help by default by giving your customers the resources they need to understand your product better and resolve common issues.
Scribe helps growing teams build self-help libraries with engaging step-by-step guides, SOPs, and technical docs users can navigate on-demand. That way, you can scale your support team's reach, reduce repetitive tickets, and increase customer satisfaction.
Sign up for Scribe and build a proactive customer support model that answers questions before your customers ask them.
