Roper
Get started

Help center article templates for SaaS

5 copy-and-edit templates. Replace each {{placeholder}} with your own details before you send.

By the Roper team · Published

The short answer

A help center article should answer one question, with the question as the title and the answer in the first paragraph. Use a how-to for tasks, a troubleshooting article for errors, an FAQ for short answers, a billing article for plans and payments, and a feature overview for what something does. Keep one topic per article, use your customers' words, and put exact steps and limits in the text so both people and an AI bot can quote them.

Roper is made by the team that wrote this post. Figures for other tools come from their own public pages, listed under Sources, and are list prices in US dollars that can change.

Five article skeletons

Copy the one that matches the question. Delete any line that does not apply.

  • How-to: a task with steps

    Title: How do I {{do the task}}?

Short answer: {{one sentence that completes the task or says where to go}}.

Before you start
- {{what they need, such as a plan, role or setting}}

Steps
1. {{Go to X}}.
2. {{Click Y}}.
3. {{Enter Z and save}}.

What you should see
{{the result, so they know it worked}}

If it didn't work
See {{link to the troubleshooting article}} or write to us from the chat.

    Name buttons and menus exactly as they appear in your product.

  • Troubleshooting: an error or a problem

    Title: {{Exact error message or symptom}}

Short answer: This usually means {{cause}}. {{The fix in one sentence}}.

Causes and fixes
1. {{Most common cause}}: {{fix}}.
2. {{Second cause}}: {{fix}}.
3. {{Third cause}}: {{fix}}.

Still stuck?
Contact us and include {{what to send: browser, steps, screenshot}}.

    Use the real error text as the title so search and the bot can match it.

  • FAQ: short answers in one place

    Title: {{Topic}} FAQ

Q: {{Question in the customer's words}}?
A: {{Direct answer, one to three sentences}}. {{Link to the full article if there is one}}.

Q: {{Next question}}?
A: {{Answer}}.

Q: {{Next question}}?
A: {{Answer}}.

    Keep an FAQ to one topic. A grab bag of unrelated questions is hard to search. See help center vs knowledge base vs FAQ.

  • Billing and policy: plans, payments, refunds

    Title: {{Billing topic, for example: How does billing work?}}

Short answer: {{the rule in one or two sentences}}.

What applies
- {{Plans and what they cost, or link to your pricing page}}
- {{When you charge and how}}
- {{What happens if a payment fails}}
- {{How to cancel and when access ends}}
- {{Refund policy summary and link to the terms}}

Who to contact
{{how to reach a person for billing problems}}.

Last reviewed: {{date}}

    Keep this identical to your terms. Link to them. Date it so customers know it is current.

  • Feature overview: what it does and does not do

    Title: {{Feature name}}: what it does

Short answer: {{Feature}} lets you {{outcome}}.

What you can do
- {{capability one}}
- {{capability two}}

What it doesn't do
- {{honest limit one}}
- {{honest limit two}}

How to turn it on
{{steps or link to the how-to article}}

Related
- {{link}}
- {{link}}

    The "doesn't do" list prevents tickets. Customers would rather learn a limit here than after they've built on it.

Writing rules that make articles work

  • One question per article. A page that answers five things answers none well, and the bot cannot cite the right part.
  • The question is the title, in the words customers use. Check your sent messages for the phrasing.
  • Answer in the first paragraph. Detail goes below.
  • Be exact. Use real button names, limits and numbers. The bot cannot cite what the article does not say.
  • Add a last-reviewed date to anything about money or rules, and review it on a schedule.
  • Publish, then watch handoffs. Each conversation where the bot handed off is an article you have not written yet. See how to train an AI chatbot on your help center.

Questions

Common questions

How long should a help center article be?
As short as it can be while fully answering one question. Most how-to articles are 100 to 300 words plus steps. If you need more, it is probably two articles.
How many articles do I need to start?
Five to ten covering your most common questions is enough to start. Add one each time you answer the same question twice.
Should I add screenshots?
Add them where text is not enough, and always describe the result in words too. Screenshots go out of date when your interface changes.
Do these work for an AI chatbot?
Yes, they are written for it. A direct title, an answer in the first paragraph and exact steps give a bot something it can quote and cite. See AI answers.
Where do I publish them in Roper?
In the inbox under Articles. Published articles appear in your public help center and are what the bot answers from. See the help center feature.

Sources

Answer the repeat questions once, and keep the human path open.

One inbox, one help center, one flat price. $19 a month for Pro.

Get started Try the live demo