Choosing standalone knowledge base software

At KnowledgeOwl, we consider ourselves standalone knowledge base software. There are a number of different solutions out there you could categorize as knowledge base software. We previously wrote a post comparing the various knowledge base solutions available.

Standalone knowledge base solutions are distinct from full-stack help desk solutions, static site generators and other forms of customer support software. 

A knowledge base is defined as:

“Human readable knowledge bases enable people to access and use the knowledge. They store help documents, manuals, troubleshooting information and frequently answered questions. They can be interactive and lead users to solutions to problems they have, but rely on the user providing information to guide the process.”

Companies are increasingly recognizing the importance of having an online knowledge base to provide support for their customers. Not only does it reduce the burden on their support staff, but also improves customer satisfaction.

70% of customers now expect a self-service solution on a company’s website and 40% prefer self-service to human contact.

So you know you need a knowledge base. The next step is understanding what to look for in your knowledge base solution.

Understanding knowledge base software

All the knowledge base options out there can be terribly confusing. They are often described using different terminology which means you may not be clear on what you’re buying. This increases the risk you won’t be satisfied with your product and wastes valuable time.

This view is backed up when you search for knowledge bases. On popular software review site Capterra, their list of highest rated knowledge management software includes anything from a help desk solution like Freshdesk to knowledge management software that are basically intranets.

But you want a company knowledge base – to store your important information for your customers or employees so it can be available 24/7. It fulfils a very specific function, so you need it to include certain features and exclude others.

You need:

• WYSIWYG content management system
• Article tagging
• Content architecture – unlimited levels within a hierarchy to organize content
• User feedback capabilities (eg comments, ratings or submit a request)
• Search engine with autosuggest
• Editing and approval process
• Restricted content
• Topic-based categories
• Domain forwarding
• Unlimited file storage
• Glossary
• Related articles widget
• Search Engine Optimization

Having lots of extra features will increase the price of your software and are unnecessary to your operations.

This specialization is a primary reason to invest in standalone software – it keeps costs down and makes the software easier to use. Some companies opt for open source knowledge base solutions which can represent a cheaper option, but will usually require development time to install and maintain.

Unless you have the resources to commit to open source, we recommend opting for a standalone SaaS knowledge base.

How to choose the right knowledge base solution

We wrote a post comparing the top knowledge base solutions in their category. But how do you choose the option that is right for your business?

Question 1: What do you want to use the software for?

The type of software you need depends on your ultimate purpose. Some possible purposes could be:

• Customer self-service
• Internal knowledge base
• Integrate with help desk
• Provide static help content
• Show up in-app in SaaS product interface
• Integrate with WordPress

For example, if you want a customer-facing knowledge base then your need for privacy settings may not be as urgent. It may be required to integrate with your existing help desk software such as Groove or Zendesk.

Perhaps you would like to manage your knowledge base in the same system as your main website, such as WordPress.

Question 2: Is there any future development plan that may impact your knowledge base?

The value you get out of your software will depend partly on how it can accommodate your future needs. You need software that can scale as you scale, avoiding the headache of migration if you possibly can.

Factors to consider are:

• Number of users
• Multiple products requiring separate knowledge base
• Future branding change
• Change in software stack

For example, now you may have 1,000 customers but you plan to scale to 10,000 in a relatively short space of time.

If you are going to change your branding in the future you definitely need a knowledge base with a theme that is easy to edit.

If you require separate sites for a number of products then you need software that can host multiple knowledge bases.

Question 3: Who is going to be using your knowledge base?

The software you choose may depend on the number of users who need to have access to the backend interface.

Your users may be:

• A whole team of technical writers
• A single support agent
• A mixture of team members that fluctuates
• Your customers

Perhaps you would like to start off with one user login to manage your knowledge base but eventually plan to expand your documentation team so you will need more users later. You need flexible software that allows you to move between different plans, upgrading or downgrading as needed.

Perhaps you need to allow customers to edit your knowledge base because you’re intending to use a crowdsourcing model for your docs. Choose software that enables you to have your own moderators but also allows any public user to create an account.

Question 4: What is your ideal budget?

You can’t just say the cheapest price possible. You will always get what you pay for but a key factor in the support software market is that most solutions have been developed primarily for the enterprise. This has resulted in many well-known but costly and weighty solutions that don’t represent true value for small businesses. Software companies that don’t list their pricing on their website generally cost upwards of tens of thousands of dollars.

If you go for a SaaS solution you don’t have to make a one-off investment in buying software to install on your servers. You can buy a subscription which means more flexibility for your company. These are what’s known as ‘low-touch’ or DIY SaaS solutions which means you do everything yourself and there is a focus on self-service. High-touch solutions (the expensive ones we mentioned before) will generally mean you get an account manager, concierge onboarding and hefty customizations.

Low-touch knowledge base tools generally cost anywhere between as low as $29 a month for HelpDocs up to $199 a month for Helpjuice. We’ve compared the pricing of different knowledge base solutions in the past.

KnowledgeOwl knowledge base software offers one of the best-value solutions on the market as we only charge you per user and per kb. Every feature we offer is available on every plan and you can upgrade or downgrade your number of users or knowledge bases at any time. Our plans start from $79 a month for one user while extra users can be added for $20 a month each.

If you are a small business you are especially well-placed to benefit from the current wave of specialist knowledge base solutions out there.

The considerations we’ve discussed will all influence the software that you choose.

Think about:

• What you want to use your knowledge base for
• The future development plans that may impact your choice
• Who is going to be using the software
• How much you can afford to pay for a solution

KnowledgeOwl is our very own knowledge base software, perfect for technical writers of many stripes. Take it for a free spin.