Organize your knowledge base with categories

Last Update: Oct 2024 • Est. Read Time: 3 MIN
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Categories are a system for grouping and referencing articles, and let you organize the content in your knowledge base in a way that makes sense to your customers. Your articles can exist in more than one category. If you have multiple brands in your organization, you can have the same article appear across the knowledge base for each brand.

Who can access this feature?
User typesContent administrators can access knowledge base settings.


In this article

Create a knowledge base category

You can create up to 100 categories for your knowledge base.

To create a category:

  1. Go to Settings > Knowledge Base > Categories.
  2. If you have more than one brand configured, select the brand for which you are creating the category from the drop-down menu. By default, your default brand is shown.
  3. Select Add Category.
  4. Enter a name for a parent category. By default, the URL slug will be the same name you enter. You can change this, if needed.
    When creating categories, make sure to pick category names that mean something to your customers. For example, you can name a parent categories by area, such as Ordering & Shipping.
  5. Optionally, enter a description.
  6. If you have any other languages turned on for your org, select the additional languages that the category will be shown in.
  7. Select Create. The new category will appear in the Categories page.

    Note: All categories will remain in draft form until you publish them.

  8. To add a subcategory, select the Add Category icon next to the category you want to nest it under.
    When creating subcategory, consider how your customers will search for content. You can organize your subcategories by customer action, such as Shipping & Handling. Using that example, the Ordering & Shipping category will contain all of the articles that provide information on topics such as shipping & handling and payment options.
  9. To view all subcategories that are nested under a parent, select next to the category name.
    Tip: You can easily tell if a category has subcategories by the color of the folder. A category with a blue folder icon indicates there are subcategories nested under it.
  10. You can change the order that both parent and subcategories appear by dragging and dropping the category to its new location. You can also move articles from one category to another.

    Notes: 

    • You can not drag a subcategory outside of its parent category.
    • If you have implemented custom sorting via your theme, such as sorting by date, changes in these settings will not occur.
  11. Once you have created all of your categories, select Publish All Updates. You can now add articles to any of these categories. For more information, see Add articles to brands and categories.

Edit an existing category

  1. Navigate back to the Categories page. If you have more than one brand configured, select the brand for the categories you want to edit. 
  2. Hover over the category or subcategory you want to edit and select Edit Category .
  3. Enter your desired changes and select Update and then select Publish All Updates.

Delete an existing category

  1. Navigate back to the Categories page. If you have more than one brand configured, select the brand for the categories you want to delete. 
  2. Hover over the category or subcategory you want to edit and select Delete Category .
  3. Select Delete and then select Publish All Updates.

    Note: Deleting a category also deletes its subcategories.

Add a category icon

You can add icons to each of your categories to help your users better distinguish between them. The category icons will be visible on your knowledge base home page.

  1. Hover over the category or subcategory you want to add an icon to and select Edit Category .
  2. Select the Category Icon tab.
  3. Select Upload and then either drag and drop an image to the uploader or choose Select File to upload an image file. The recommended image height and width is 200px and the following image file types are supported: PNG, JPG, and GIF.
  4. You can use the bar underneath the uploaded photo to zoom in and out of the image to better fit the upload area.
  5. Select Update Photo. The icon now appears in the category grid on your knowledge base.