A single support call costs you $8-12. A knowledge base article costs pennies to maintain — and it answers questions at 3 AM on a Sunday without anyone on your team lifting a finger.
The best part? Customers actually prefer it this way. Most people would rather find the answer themselves than wait in a support queue. Give them a searchable library of help articles, guides, and tutorials inside your portal, and watch your ticket volume drop.
Why a Knowledge Base Is Essential
A knowledge base isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s one of the highest-ROI features you can add to a customer portal. Here’s why:
- 91% of customers would use a knowledge base if it met their needs (Coleman Parkes Research)
- Self-service via knowledge base costs roughly $0.10 per resolution vs. $8-12 per phone support interaction (Gartner)
- Customers prefer it — They’d rather find the answer themselves than wait in a queue or for an email reply
The compound effect is significant: every article you write continues to deflect tickets indefinitely. An article written today might resolve 5 tickets this week, 20 next month, and hundreds over the next year.
What Good Knowledge Base Content Looks Like
Task-oriented articles
Focus on what customers are trying to do, not on your product’s feature list. “How to export your monthly report” is better than “Export feature documentation.”
Clear structure
Each article should follow a consistent structure: what, why, steps, troubleshooting. Use headings, numbered steps, screenshots, and short paragraphs.
Search-optimized
Use the language your customers use, not your internal jargon. If customers search for “change password” but your article is titled “credential rotation,” they won’t find it.
Up to date
Outdated knowledge base articles are worse than no articles. They lead customers down wrong paths and generate frustrated support tickets. Build a review process to keep content current.
Integration with the Portal Experience
A knowledge base works best when it’s integrated with other portal features:
- Search integration — When customers search the portal, knowledge base results should appear alongside account information, documents, and support options.
- Contextual help — Show relevant knowledge base articles based on where the customer is in the portal. If they’re on the billing page, surface billing-related articles.
- Ticket deflection — When customers start to create a support ticket, suggest relevant knowledge base articles that might answer their question.
- Feedback loops — Let customers rate articles (“Was this helpful?”) and track which articles have low satisfaction so you can improve them.
Building a Knowledge Base
Step 1: Mine your support history
Look at your last 500 support tickets. Categorize them. The topics that come up most frequently are your first articles.
Step 2: Start with the top 20
You don’t need to write 200 articles before launching. The top 20 topics probably account for 60-80% of your support volume. Write those first.
Step 3: Organize by task, not by department
Customers don’t care about your org chart. Organize articles by what they’re trying to accomplish: “Getting Started,” “Account & Billing,” “Troubleshooting,” etc.
Step 4: Iterate based on data
Track search queries, article views, satisfaction ratings, and ticket volume. Use this data to identify gaps (what are people searching for but not finding?) and quality issues (what articles have low satisfaction?).
For a deeper dive, see our article on how to create a customer knowledge base.
Knowledge Base Software
If your portal platform doesn’t include a built-in knowledge base, dedicated tools include:
- Zendesk Guide — Knowledge base integrated with Zendesk Support
- Intercom Articles — Help center integrated with Intercom messaging
- Freshdesk Solutions — Knowledge base within the Freshdesk platform
- Document360 — Standalone knowledge base platform
- Notion — Can be used as a lightweight knowledge base with public page sharing
- GitBook — Documentation platform popular with developer-focused businesses