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Organise articles into collections

Group 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.

Last updated 2 min readPreview

On this page

Collections are the topics on your help center's home page. Good collections help customers find an answer in two clicks instead of searching.

Before you start

  • Who can do this: owners and admins.
  • Plan: all plans.
  • Time: a few minutes.

Step by step

  1. Open Settings > Help center and choose the Collections tab.
  2. Press New collection.
  3. Fill in the dialog ("Collections are the topics on your help center’s home page."):
    • Name, for example "Shipping";
    • Address, the part of the web address, for example shipping;
    • Description, one sentence about what is inside;
    • Icon, picked from the row of icons;
    • Inside: Top level, or a collection to nest it under;
    • Who sees it: Everyone or Team only;
    • Order: lower numbers come first.
  4. Press Create collection. A message confirms: "Collection created".

To change one later, press the pencil next to it, edit and press Save. To remove one, press the delete button next to it and confirm "Delete “Shipping”? Its articles stay, without a collection."

What happens next

Public collections appear as cards on your help center's home page, each with its own page at /hc/<your store>/<address>. Articles join a collection from the Collection menu in their Details panel. See Help center web addresses.

Tips

  • Name collections the way customers think: "Orders and delivery", not "Logistics".
  • Five to eight collections is plenty for most stores.
  • Keep internal guides in a Team only collection, so your team finds them next to the public answers.
  • Leave gaps in Order (10, 20, 30) so new collections fit in between.

Troubleshooting

"Name the collection"

The name is empty. Type a name.

"Use lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens for the address"

The address can only contain a to z, 0 to 9 and hyphens, for example returns-and-exchanges.

"That address is reserved. Pick another one."

search and general are used by the help center itself. Pick another address.

"Another collection already uses this address"

Each collection needs its own address. Change it, for example shipping-uk.

"Collections nest one level deep: pick a top-level parent"

You chose a sub-collection under Inside. Pick a top-level collection instead.

"Only owners and admins can change collections"

Agents can write articles but not change collections. Ask an owner or admin.

Frequently asked questions

What is a collection in a help center?

A collection is a topic that groups related articles, such as Shipping, Returns or Sizing. Collections appear as cards with an icon on your help center's home page, and each one has its own page listing its articles. An article belongs to one collection, or to none.

Can I put collections inside other collections?

Yes, one level deep. When you create or edit a collection, choose a top-level collection under Inside to make it a sub-collection. A sub-collection cannot hold another sub-collection, so keep your structure to topics and, where needed, one layer of more specific topics.

What happens to the articles when I delete a collection?

The articles stay. Deleting a collection removes the topic only; its articles remain in your help center without a collection, and published ones stay published. Hushdesk asks you to confirm first. Move them into another collection afterwards from each article's Details panel.

Can I hide a collection from customers?

Yes. Set Who sees it to Team only. The collection and its topic page are then left out of your public help center, while your team still sees it in the editor. Set the articles inside it to Team only as well, because each article keeps its own setting.

How do I change the order of collections?

Give each collection a number in the Order field. Lower numbers come first on your help center's home page. Leave gaps, such as 10, 20 and 30, so you can slot a new collection in between later without renumbering all the others.

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