Structuring your knowledge base

A well-structured knowledge base makes it easy for your team to find what they need, when they need it — reducing confusion, repeat questions, and support tickets. BlueDocs gives you full control over categories, folders, tags, and document types so you can build an internal help centre that scales with your organization.

This article shares best practices to structure your knowledge base effectively.

🎯 Start with Your Audience in Mind

Before creating documents, think about:

• Who will be using the knowledge base?
• What questions do they need answered regularly?
• Which teams or roles have unique needs?

This helps ensure the structure is logical and intuitive.

🗂 Use Categories for Major Themes

Categories should represent high-level topics or functional areas. For example:

• Getting Started
• HR & People
• IT & Security
• Training & Onboarding
• Tools & Software
• Policies & Compliance

📌 Tip: Avoid creating too many categories. Aim for 6–10 well-defined areas.

📁 Use Folders for Specific Subtopics

Inside each category, use folders to group related documents more granularly.

Example:

Category: Training & Onboarding  
└── Folder: New Hire Onboarding  
└── Folder: Manager Training  
└── Folder: Compliance Modules

Use folder emojis or color codes in BlueDocs to visually differentiate sections.

🏷️ Use Tags for Cross-Cutting Themes

Tags help users filter across categories and folders.

✅ Useful tags might include:

• Remote
• Finance
• Sales
• Urgent
• Monthly Review

📌 Tip: Keep tag names consistent — use singular/plural uniformly (e.g., Policy not Policies).

📄 Create Consistent Document Types

In BlueDocs, you can define custom document types like:

• SOP
• How-To Guide
• Policy
• FAQ
• Training Module

This makes it easier to scan and filter content. Use icons to visually reinforce document types.

🔍 Use Descriptive Titles & Search Keywords

Each document title should:

• Clearly describe the purpose
• Avoid vague names like “Notes” or “Process 1”
• Include key phrases users might search for

✅ Example:

Good: How to Request Annual Leave in BambooHR

Bad: Leave Request Guide

📑 Link Documents Where Relevant

Cross-linking helps users discover related content and builds a connected knowledge base.

✅ Example:

“Before submitting a reimbursement, review our Expense Policy.”

🔄 Keep It Living — Not Static

Knowledge bases should evolve. Use these BlueDocs features to keep content current:

• Version history and last updated dates
• Assign owners for each document
• Review reminders and auto-expiring approvals

👥 Assign Visibility Based on Roles

Not all users need access to everything. Use BlueDocs’ role-based visibility to:

• Hide admin-only or HR-private docs
• Deliver role-specific onboarding pages
• Segment SOPs by department

📊 Track Usage and Improve Structure

Use analytics to:

• See which documents are most viewed
• Identify underused or hard-to-find content
• Spot gaps where new articles are needed

🧭 Example Structure

📚 Knowledge Base
├── 🛠 Getting Started
│   └── Platform Overview
│   └── Setting Up Your Account
├── 📄 Policies & Compliance
│   └── Leave Policies
│   └── IT Security Guidelines
├── 👥 HR & People
│   └── Hiring Process
│   └── New Hire Docs
├── 🧑‍🏫 Training & Onboarding
│   └── Department Paths
│   └── Quiz Modules
├── 💬 Support & Troubleshooting
│   └── Common Issues
│   └── How to Contact Support

🏁 Final Tip

Start simple and scale as needed. A good structure today is better than a perfect one tomorrow. You can always refactor content as your team grows and learns what works best.

Need help setting up your categories or importing existing docs? Reach out to support or book a quick setup call with our team.

Updated on: 26/05/2025