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Open Source Knowledge Base

Sharing Knowledge with an Open Source Knowledge Base

What is an open source knowledge base?

An open source knowledge base is a repository of structured content built with open source knowledge base software. When companies wish to offer their customers a self-service system for finding important information, they typically provide a knowledge base. Open source software, which is free, can seem like a good option for building a knowledge base. However this forces the company to use its own resources to create and troubleshoot the knowledge base.

Because Zendesk is versatile, knowledge bases can be customized and branded, so the knowledge base will look like it’s been built from scratch, offering a far better experience for the company and the customers.

A different approach

A knowledge base is a great way to let customer and employees find the information they need. Written by subject matter experts, both within and without the company, a good knowledge base covers a wide variety of subjects, and grows over time as new articles, comments, and edits are made.

Some companies, particularly smaller ones, sometime choose an open source knowledge base for self-service management, because the source code used to build it is free. Plus, there is the often false assumption that using open source knowledge base software is the only way to build a customized knowledge base.

Ultimately, an open source knowledge base can actually cost more in resources than paid knowledge base software, because the company that uses it will have to use internal resources to build and update the open source knowledge base on their own, and when problems arise, will also have to rely on themselves to troubleshoot.

Did you know?

A good quality hosted knowledge base will have the benefits of an open source knowledge base without the downside of need to be built from the source code up. Doing so will not only save time and resources, but will allow companies to look for specific features that they require in a knowledge base, such as:
  • Multilingual support
  • Customization services
  • Access to customer success and technical support
  • Metrics and reporting
  • Enterprise level security

The right time

Larger companies looking to scale their growth should provide their customers with a high-quality knowledge base that helps them find what they need and offers a great experience. Likewise, smaller companies that want to ensure their customers are being supported but cannot afford to grow their support staff would greatly benefit from providing a knowledge base.
Camera Obscura's help center example of an open API knowledge base through Zendesk.

How Zendesk helps

Zendesk, along with providing other self-service options, helps companies offer their customers a knowledge base. And because Zendesk is versatile, knowledge bases can be customized and branded, so the knowledge base will look like it’s been built from scratch, but offers a far better experience, for the company and the customers. This includes Zendesk’s customer success and technical support and the flexibility to integrate with other software thanks to an open API.

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