Build your help center

Create your help center (portal) for your customers

📍 Where to find it: Help Centers → Create a help center A help center is a public site of support articles that your customers browse on their own (FAQ, guides, tutorials). In Madyis Hub we call it a "portal". You can create one or several, each with its own name, address and appearance. How it works When you create a portal, Madyis Hub gives it a public web address built from an "identifier" (slug). The portal is hosted by Madyis Hub: no technical installation is needed. You then add categories and articles to it, and customize it. Step by step 1. In the left-hand menu, under "Channels & configuration", click "Help Centers". 2. Click the "Create a help center" button. 3. Enter the "Name" of your help center (e.g. "Atelier Lumière Help"): it will appear at the top of the public page. 4. The "Identifier" (slug) fills in automatically from the name; you can change it. It appears in the portal's web address, shown just below the field. 5. Click "Create": you land directly on the articles page, ready to add content. Good to know - The identifier can only contain lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens (no spaces or accents). - The brand color is set by default to Madyis cyan; you can change it later in the portal settings. - You can create several help centers (for example one per brand or per brand language).

Organize your help center with categories

📍 Where to find it: Help Centers → (your portal) → Categories → New category Categories group your articles by theme (e.g. "Orders", "Delivery", "Account"). They structure the home page of your help center and help your customers find information. How it works Each category has a name, an icon (emoji), an identifier (slug) that appears in the category's address, and a description. Categories are tied to a language: if your portal has several languages, you create categories in each one. You can reorder categories by drag and drop. Step by step 1. Open your help center from "Help Centers", then click the "Categories" tab. 2. Check at the top that the right language is selected. 3. Click "New category". 4. Click the smiley icon to the left of the Name field to choose an emoji, then enter the category "Name". 5. The "Identifier" is generated automatically; add a short "Description" if you wish. 6. Click "Create". To change the display order, drag and drop the categories in the list. Good to know - A category's identifier can no longer be changed after it is created: choose it carefully. - An emoji icon makes the home page clearer and more welcoming. - If you manage several languages, recreate your categories in each language.

Write and format a help article

📍 Where to find it: Help Centers → (your portal) → Articles → New article An article is a help content page: title, formatted text, images, lists, tables. It's what your customers will read in your help center. How it works The article editor works like a word processor: you type your title then your content, and formatting (bold, headings, lists, links, tables, images) is done with the mouse. Your changes are saved automatically as you go ("Saved" appears at the top). You also choose the author and category of the article. Step by step 1. Open your help center, go to the "Articles" tab then click "New article". 2. Enter the article title: this is what creates the article and makes it editable. 3. Below the title, choose the author and category of the article. 4. Write the content in the editing area: select text to bring up the formatting bar (bold, heading, list, link…). 5. Everything is saved automatically; click "Preview" at the top to see the public result, or "Publish" when the article is ready. Good to know - Until you click "Publish", the article stays a draft and is not visible to your customers. - A good, clear title (the question the customer is asking) makes it easier to find. - You can insert images directly into the content and videos by pasting a link (see the dedicated article).

Embed a video in an article (YouTube, Loom, Vimeo…)

📍 Where to find it: Help Centers → (your portal) → Articles → (your article) You can embed a playable video directly in a help article, with no code, simply by pasting its link. It's ideal for visual tutorials. How it works When you paste a video link alone on its own line (a blank line above and below), Madyis Hub automatically turns it into an embedded video player when displayed publicly. The recognized providers are YouTube, Loom, Vimeo, Wistia, Bunny, Arcade, GuideJar, CodePen, GitHub Gist, as well as .mp4 video files accessible by link. Step by step 1. Open the article to edit in "Help Centers" → "Articles" tab. 2. Place the cursor at the desired spot and create a blank line. 3. Paste the full video address (e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=…) alone on that line, with no other text. 4. Leave a blank line after the link. 5. Click "Preview": the video should appear as an embedded player. Good to know - The link must be alone on its line, surrounded by blank lines, otherwise it stays a simple clickable link. - For a personal video, you can also host an .mp4 file and paste its direct link. - If the video doesn't appear, check that the link is the video's share page and not a channel page.

Publish, draft or archive your articles

📍 Where to find it: Help Centers → (your portal) → Articles Each article has a status: Draft (in progress, not visible), Published (live for your customers) or Archived (removed from public view without being deleted). You can change the status of one article, or several at once. How it works Only "Published" articles appear on the public help center; drafts and archives stay private. You change the status from the editor (the "Publish" button and its drop-down menu) or in bulk from the article list. Tabs (All, My articles, Drafts, Archived) help you filter. Step by step 1. For a single article: open it, then click "Publish" at the top right (or open the arrow next to it to choose Draft or Archive). 2. For several articles: in the "Articles" tab, tick the boxes of the relevant articles. 3. In the action bar that appears, choose "Publish", "Draft" or "Archive". 4. Use the tabs at the top (Drafts, Archived…) to find and manage articles by their status. Good to know - Archiving does not delete the article: it just leaves the public help center and stays recoverable. - Permanent deletion is possible in bulk (trash) but is irreversible. - Set an article to draft while you rework it, without manually unpublishing it.

Customize the home page: logo, cover image and announcement banner

📍 Where to find it: Help Centers → (your portal) → Settings You can dress up the home page of your help center in your colors: logo, name, header title, cover image (banner), brand color and an announcement banner to highlight a one-off message. How it works All these settings are in the portal's "Settings" tab. The cover image appears at the top of the home page; the announcement banner is a clickable bar (text + link + color) that you turn on with a switch. You can also link your live chat widget to offer human help from the help center. Step by step 1. Open your help center then click the "Settings" tab. 2. Upload your logo, fill in the "Name", the "Header text" and the "Page title", and choose the "Brand color". 3. Under "Cover image", click "Upload" and choose an image (PNG/JPG/WebP, 4 MB max). 4. For a one-off message, turn on the "Announcement banner" switch, then fill in the text, the link text, the link URL and the color. 5. If needed, select a live chat widget from the list to let your customers contact you. 6. Click "Save changes". Good to know - The cover image looks best in landscape format (16/6 ratio) for a sharp result. - Use the announcement banner to flag a promotion, maintenance or a new feature, then turn it off afterwards. - The "Page title" field is what appears in the browser tab and counts for search engine ranking.

Choosing the layout of your help center (Classic or Documentation)

📍 Where to find it: Help centers → (your portal) → Settings Madyis Hub offers two layouts for your help center: "Classic" (a home page with categories shown as cards) and "Documentation" (with a side menu, like an online manual). You pick the one that best suits your content. How it works The layout choice changes how your help center looks to the public. The "Documentation" layout (in beta) also lets you display links to your social networks (Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, GitHub, WhatsApp) at the bottom of the page. Step by step 1. Open your help center and go to the "Settings" tab. 2. Find the "Layout and content" section. 3. Click the "Classic" or "Documentation" card to choose the layout. 4. In "Documentation" mode, add your social networks if needed: click "Add", choose the network, then enter your handle (the full link is added automatically). 5. Click "Save". Good to know - The "Documentation" layout is marked "beta": test it on the public preview before adopting it. - Links to social networks only appear with the "Documentation" layout. - You can switch layouts at any time without losing your articles.

Managing the languages of your help center

📍 Where to find it: Help centers → (your portal) → Languages → Add a language Your help center can exist in several languages. Each language has its own categories and articles, and you set one default language. You can also keep a language as a draft while you translate it. How it works An added language can be "Live" (visible) or "Draft" (hidden from the public). One language is the "default language": it is the one shown first. Content is not translated automatically: for each language you add, you create/recreate the categories and articles in that language. Step by step 1. Open your help center and click the "Languages" tab. 2. Click "Add a language" and choose the language from the list. 3. Choose its status: "Live" (visible right away) or "Draft" (while you prepare it), then confirm. 4. To set the default language, or to publish/unpublish or delete a language, use the (…) menu on the language card. 5. Then select that language at the top of the Articles/Categories tabs to create your content there. Good to know - Only short language codes are offered (fr, en, es, de…); regional variants (fr_FR…) are intentionally hidden to avoid inconsistencies. - Prepare a new language as a "Draft" so you can translate it calmly, then publish it once it is complete. - Content is not translated on its own: plan to enter your articles in each language.

Translating your help articles in bulk into another language

📍 Where to find it: Help centers → (your portal) → Articles → select articles → Translate For a multilingual help center, Madyis Hub can translate several articles at once into another language of your portal, and automatically file them in a target category. This saves you from rewriting each article by hand for every language. How it works Once you have added a language to your portal, you select several articles in the list and then run the "Translate" action. You choose the target language and the category in which to store the translated versions. Madyis Hub then creates the translated articles; if a translation already exists, it is flagged as a duplicate so your work is not overwritten. Step by step 1. First add the target language to your portal (the Languages page of the help center). 2. Open "Help centers" → your portal → "Articles". 3. Check the articles to translate (multiple selection). 4. Click the "Translate" action that appears for the selection. 5. Choose the target language and the target category, then start the translation. 6. Review and adjust the translated versions before publishing them. Good to know - The target language must already be enabled on the portal, otherwise it won't appear in the list. - Already-translated articles are detected as duplicates: check before running it again. - An automatic translation still needs proofreading: adapt the wording specific to your business.

Connecting a custom domain to your help center

📍 Where to find it: Help centers → (your portal) → Settings → Custom domain → Add By default, your help center is reachable through a Madyis Hub address. Instead, you can use your own address (e.g. help.yourcompany.com) for a consistent brand image. How it works You enter your domain in the settings, then Madyis Hub gives you a CNAME-type DNS record to add at your domain host. Once the DNS is set up, the help center responds at your address. You can copy the record or email it to your technical provider. Step by step 1. Open your help center, go to the "Settings" tab, "Custom domain" section. 2. Click "Add", enter your subdomain (e.g. help.yourcompany.com) and confirm. 3. A window shows the DNS record (CNAME) to create: click the copy icon to copy it. 4. Add this CNAME record at your domain host/registrar (or send it to your webmaster using the email field provided). 5. Wait for DNS propagation; the certificate status (on the managed offering) changes to "Live" once active. Good to know - This step requires access to the DNS configuration of your domain name; ask your provider if needed. - DNS changes can take from a few minutes to a few hours to take effect. - Automatic SSL certificate tracking only appears on the Madyis Hub managed offering.

Optimizing the search-engine ranking (SEO) of your help center

📍 Where to find it: Help centers → (your portal) → Articles → (your article) → "More properties" Search-engine optimization helps your help articles show up in Google results. Madyis Hub lets you fill in a title and a description specifically for search engines, along with keywords, in addition to the article's title and identifier. How it works Each article has its own web address built from its identifier (slug). In the editor's "More properties" panel, you set the "Meta title" and "Meta description" used by search engines, along with keywords (tags). A sharing image is generated automatically from the portal name and the article title. Step by step 1. Open the article in "Help centers" → the "Articles" tab. 2. Click "More properties" under the title. 3. Fill in the "Meta description" (the summary shown in Google), the "Meta title" and a few "Keywords". 4. Make sure the article title is clear and reflects the customer's real question. 5. In the portal Settings, also take care with the "Page title" that serves as a general reference. Good to know - Write a short, enticing meta description (about 150 characters). - An article title phrased as a question ("How do I track my order?") ranks better. - Publish the article: only published articles are indexed by search engines.