You don't need a hundred articles to launch a help center. Start with these ten: they cover questions almost every customer asks at some point, so they're useful from the day you publish.
For each one, you'll find why it matters, what to include and a few title ideas.
1. Getting started
Why: it's the first thing new customers look for, and it shapes their first impression of your product.
Include: what to set up first, in order, up to the moment the product becomes useful. Link each step to its detailed article.
Titles: "Get started", "Set up your account", "Your first week"
2. Sign-in and account access
Why: a customer who can't sign in can't do anything else, so these are some of the most urgent questions you'll get.
Include: how to sign in, reset a password, use two-factor authentication and change the account's email address, and what to do when they're locked out.
Titles: "I can't sign in", "Reset your password"
3. Plans, pricing and billing
Why: money questions need precise answers, and customers want them in writing.
Include: what each plan includes, when and how you charge, taxes, where to find invoices, and how to change plans.
Titles: "Plans and pricing", "Download your invoices", "Change your plan"
4. Cancellations and refunds
Why: people look for this even if you don't publish it. A clear answer builds trust. A hidden one turns a simple task into an angry email.
Include: how to cancel, what happens to their data, your refund policy in plain words, and alternatives such as downgrading, if you offer them.
Titles: "Cancel your subscription", "Refund policy"
5, 6 and 7. Your three most common tasks
Why: these are the questions your team answers every week, so each article saves time from the day it's live.
Include: one article per task, with numbered steps. To find the three, go through a few weeks of support conversations and count the "how do I" questions.
Titles: start with a verb, such as "Import your clients", "Add your logo to invoices" or "Send payment reminders".
8. Your most common problem
Why: people read troubleshooting articles when they're most frustrated, so a good one makes a real difference.
Include: the symptom in the title, the exact error message if there is one, the likely causes with a fix for each, and when to contact you.
Titles: "A client didn't get their invoice", "Card payment declined"
9. Privacy and security
Why: businesses ask before they buy, and people ask before they trust you with their data.
Include: what data you store and where, who can access it, how you protect it, how customers can export or delete their data, and links to your privacy policy and terms.
Titles: "How we protect your data", "Export or delete your data"
10. How to contact you
Why: self-service works best when people know a person is there if they need one.
Include: the ways to reach you, your hours, the response times you can keep, and what details to include so you can help in your first reply.
Titles: "Contact support", "Get help from our team"
Where the ten go
Ten articles fit into a handful of categories. For example:
Get started: your getting started guide and your three most common tasks.
Account and billing: sign-in and account access, plans and billing, cancellations and refunds.
Troubleshooting: your most common problem.
Policies and contact: privacy and security, and how to contact you. Link the contact article from your help center's header or footer too.
As you add articles, your common tasks will move into categories of their own. See Plan your help center's structure.
Check that they're working
A few weeks after you publish, look at which articles people read, what they search for without finding anything, and which questions still reach your team. An article that people read but still write in about is missing something. A search with no results is your next article.
What to write next
Once the first ten are live, add what fits your product:
Integrations: what your product connects to, and how to set up each connection.
A glossary: your product's terms in plain words, each linked to its article.
Orders, shipping and returns, if you sell physical products.
What's new: release notes that link to the articles you updated.
Your next most common tasks and problems, guided by what people search for.
Write them fast
Start from answers you've already written. Saved replies and good support emails make excellent first drafts.
Use a template so every article has the same shape and nobody starts from a blank page.
Keep one topic per article, and link related articles to each other.
Publish when it's correct, not when it's perfect. Ratings and searches will show you what to improve.
For writing tips, see How to write help articles people actually read.
How HelpCenter.io helps
The HelpCenter.io editor includes templates that fit this list: Getting started checklist, How-to guide, Troubleshooting flow and Policy page. Start a new article from a template, or insert one into an article you've already begun. You can also save your own articles as templates for your team. Your new help center comes with a draft article titled "What is [your company]?". Rewrite it as a short overview that links to your getting started guide, or delete it. See Start from an article template and Write and publish your first article.
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