Knowledge Base using Sharepoint

Question

Hi Everyone,

I am planning to create an IT knowledge base for our internal users. Knowledge base would include how-to guides (i.e. how to install printer driver, how to call using VOIP, etc). 

I saw three options, but I am not sure which one is more suitable, or is there any other recommended app / list?

1. Sharepoint Wiki
2. Blogs
3. Community

I am using Sharepoint Online under Office 365 E3 subscription.

Thanks!

Answer 1

Hi Porski,

Firstly, let’s imagine that knowledge you want to share with end users are in Category A, Category B and Category C. All pages related to different category should under the proper category, right? Ok, then, let’s try this:

1.Create a SharePoint Team Site: Create a SharePoint site.

2.Click settings gears> Add an app.

3.Choose Wiki Page Library and Name it as Category A.

4.Go to Category A Wiki Page Library, click setting gear and then click Add a page.

5.Put related knowledge in this new page. After you have put all the information under this section, click Save.

6.Back to the Category A Wiki Page Library, then click Edit.

 

7.Type the name of the page we just created. Then select all the word of it. (Just like we create hyperlink in Word)

8.Click Insert> Link> From SharePoint> Category A.

 

9.Find the page we just created. Then click Insert.

 

10.For different knowledge page, repeat step 4 to step 9.

11.For different category, repeat step 2 to step 10.

After you create different category, go back to the home page of this SharePoint team site:

1.Click Edit.

2.Under Format Text> Layout> Text Layout. Choose a page layout style as you like. Here I’m going to select One Column.

3.Delete those web apps you don’t need by selecting them and then click the triangle icon> Delete.

4.Click Insert> Web Part> Apps> Category A> Add.

5.For other categories, repeat step 1 to step 4.

In the end, you will get a page similar as below with well-organized category and content.

Regards,

Fraser

Answer 2

Hi Porski,

There is no out of box solution to access the team site home page after click the SharePoint tile. In this SharePoint home page, admins can add some links for all the end users. End users can easily find their following sites and recent sites. It also has search function. To learn more, see Find sites and portals in Office 365.

As a workaround, you mayadd a custom tile which points to the team site home page to the app launcher. Let end users add the custom tile to their app launcher. So it can be used as a tile for your SharePoint team site.

Note: End users need to have Exchange Online licenses and enable their Exchange Online mail boxes for adding the custom tile created by you.

Thanks for your understanding.

Tim

Answer 3

Hi Porski,

A combination of SharePoint Wiki and SharePoint Document Library will be the best choice. A SharePoint Wiki is a place to allow users to create simple pages and link them together. This means, you can create pages for different guide and put the link of them on the home page of the SharePoint Wiki. In this way, end users can access related information more efficiently. For your reference: Create and edit a wiki.

If your knowledge base involve some documents, you can also upload these documents to the SharePoint Document Libraries: What is a document library?

Regards,

Fraser

Answer 4

Hi Fraser,

I tried Wiki, but it doesn't seem to have a way to organise or categorise the pages?

For example, I would like to create how-to pages related to using our telephone system, so I should put all these pages under Telephony category. 

Thanks

Answer 5

Hi Fraser,

Wow, this is exactly what I was looking for!

Thanks a lot for the effort! Can I buy you a beer? :)