Help center web addresses
How the addresses of your help center, collections and articles are built under /hc/, what happens when you move or rename an article, and custom domains.
Last updated 1 min readPreview
Every page of your help center has a clean, stable address you can share in emails, macros and your store's menu.
Before you start
- Who can see this: everyone who works on the help center.
- Plan: all plans.
Step by step
- Open Settings > Help center and choose Settings. The switch text shows your address: "Turns on the public pages at …".
- Copy the address, or press View help center to open it.
- To get an article's link, open the article and press View live, then copy the address from your browser.
What happens next
Addresses are built like this:
| Page | Address |
|---|---|
| Help center home | /hc/<store> |
| A collection | /hc/<store>/<collection> |
| An article | /hc/<store>/<collection>/<article> |
| An article without a collection | /hc/<store>/general/<article> |
| Search results | /hc/<store>/search |
<store> is your store's short name, and <collection> and <article> are the Address fields you set. When an article moves to another collection, its old address redirects to the new one.
Custom domains. Using your own domain, such as help.yourstore.com, for your help center is planned. Today it runs under /hc/ on your Hushdesk address.
Tips
- Choose article addresses before you share them; renaming one breaks old links.
- Keep addresses short and keyword-led, such as
returns-policy. - Put your help center link in your store's footer and order confirmation emails.
Troubleshooting
The help center address shows "not found"
Publish the help center is off, or the address is mistyped. Turn it on in Settings > Help center > Settings.
"Use lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens for the address"
Addresses use a to z, 0 to 9 and hyphens only, and start with a letter or number.
"That address is reserved. Pick another one."
search and general cannot be used as a collection's address.
Frequently asked questions
What is the web address of my help center?
Your Hushdesk address followed by /hc/ and your store's short name, for example /hc/luna-swimwear. The short name was set when your workspace was created. The Settings tab of the Help center page shows the full address, and View help center opens it in a new tab.
What happens to links when I move an article to another collection?
Old links keep working. An article's address contains its collection, so it changes when you move the article, but anyone who opens the old link is sent to the new address permanently. Search engines follow that redirect and update their results over time.
Can I change an article's address after publishing?
Yes, in the Address field of the Details panel. The new address applies when you publish the change. Unlike a move between collections, the old address then stops working, so update any links you shared, such as in macros, emails or your store's menu.
Where do articles without a collection live?
Under general, for example /hc/luna-swimwear/general/gift-cards. The words general and search are reserved for the help center itself, so you cannot use them as a collection's address. Add the article to a collection whenever you can, so customers can also find it by topic.
Can my help center use my own domain, like help.mystore.com?
Not yet. Your help center runs on your Hushdesk address under /hc/. Custom domains for help centers are planned. Until then, link to the /hc/ address from your store's menu or footer, and customers move between your shop and your help center in one click.
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Related articles
- Set up your own help centerPreviewPublish a help center for your customers at your own Hushdesk address, with a title, a tagline, collections and articles they can search on their own.
- Organise articles into collectionsPreviewGroup your help articles into collections such as Shipping or Returns, with an icon, a short description, one level of sub-collections and team-only topics.
- Help article SEO, summaries and FAQsPreviewHelp customers find your articles on Google and in search: set a focus keyword, search title and description, follow the live checklist and add FAQs.
- Show your help center in the chat widgetPreviewLet visitors search your help articles from a Help tab in the chat widget, open answers in a new tab, and still start a chat when no article fits.
Still stuck?
Chat with the Hushdesk team. A person answers on every plan.