SVP Gorgias Help Article How-To copyUpdated 16 hours ago
The following document provides information and recommendations on how to create help content within the Gorgias platform. The information includes copy recommendations, style recommendations, and content entry recommendations.
Site Styles
When creating Help Articles, some of the styles are already set at a Global level and some styles need to be set within the WYSIWYG editor of each article.
Existing Global Styles
There are two locations where Global styles are set:
- Help Center > Appearance > Allows you to apply a light theme or dark theme. Sets primary color for hyperlinks and section titles (#EB144C) is the Singer primary brand color. Allows you to set the primary font (Inter). Banner image and Company Logo can also be applied and swapped out here
- Help Center > Customization -> Extra HTML Section - This location is where additional CSS can be added to override or upgrade any of the basic style within Gorgias. NOTE: This can be hit or miss since Gorgias applies some inline styling that cannot be overwritten.
The Extra HTML Section includes the following upgrades:
- Additional treatment to H1-H4 tags
- Underline of hyperlinks (for accessibility)
- Horizontal row (hr) tag - weight reduced to .5 px and color lightened up to light gray
The font is globally set to display Inter and the font size for standard body text is 16. For table cells, the recommend font size is 14.
Article-Specific Styles
Most of the style and formatting can be applied within the WYSIWYG editor interface. There are two page components that are noteworthy to call out:
Tables
Listed here is an example of a table that has been styled to align to the Singer brand. It was created using the table actions that are in the WYSIWYG editor. It includes a header row, alternates row highlights, and has a bolder treatment to the header row.
Note: Tables do not always work great in mobile formats. Be sure to view your help pages in mobile to validate. This is especially true if images are embedded in table cells.
Material | Standard Vinyl | Glitter Vinyl | Holographic Vinyl | Metallic Vinyl | Press Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burlap | 310°F | 310°F | 310°F | 310°F | 30 sec. |
| Cotton | 310°F | 310°F | 310°F | 310°F | 30 sec. |
| Cardstock | 310°F | 310°F | 310°F | 310°F | 30 sec. |
| Chip Board | 310°F | 310°F | 310°F | 310°F | 30 sec. |
| Cork Board | 310°F | 310°F | 310°F | 310°F | 30 sec. |
Images
Gorgias makes it very easy to drop images into the article. A few notes:
- Be sure to add alt text to the image
- If you click on the image, the first icon is a replace icon that lets you upload an image to replace the current one. This method allows you to maintain the formatting constraints of the image. This function makes it easier to bulk copy and paste help content.
- Use SVP's Widen DAM to find relevant images. When downloading from the DAM, use the Web version of the images
This is my image caption (which is not Alt Text) but still valuable!
WYSIWYG Tricks
Copy / paste - Be mindful when you copy and paste content from a 3rd-party source (e.g., the existing Singer.com website or a Word document). Oftentimes the styles are copied over and that includes overrides to the font family, font size, and text decoration. It is recommended that you paste articles in via plain text to avoid any discrepancies.
Hard line breaks - Oftentimes you want to have smaller padding between two statements in order to group them. Use a br or hard return (shift enter on MAC) to avoid creating a new paragraph tag. Regardless of the return style, you can apply font treatments to either of the lines. For example:
This is text with a hard return
And the supporting sentence that's one font size smaller and gray.
This is text with a regular return
And the supporting sentence that's one font size smaller and gray.
Article Creation Best Practices
Ordering H1-H4 tags - The title of the Help Article will be an H1 tag by default. For your content in your help article, you will most likely start with an H2. It is best practice for Accessibility to ensure proper ordering
Remember your Alt Text - Accessibility standard to include alt text for all images
Remember your SEO metadata description (or make a good lead-in sentence) - Gorgias uses the first sentence or two for the article preview and the metadata for search engines. Be sure that all articles preview copy is concise and accurate. For example, if you lead with a table or image in your help article, the default metadata copy will reflect that content.
Writing Tips and Tricks
BRAND - Find occasional opportunities to mention the machine by name. This helps ground the reader (and boost the brand).
REFERENCE TOOLS - Create (and maintain) a list of preferred spellings for consistency throughout. (E.g., “wifi” or “wi-fi” or “Wi-fi”?) A list of preferred brand spellings (and capitalization, legal marks, etc.) could be another valuable tool.
Maintaining a list of brand preferences (whether or not to use sentence case in titles, for example, or punctuating bullets) would also be valuable. (This may already exist. If so, just need to apply.)
TITLES/HEADLINES - Avoid repeating the title in the first sentence. Just change up the wording a bit so the writing doesn’t sound redundant.
TONE - Although the writing style should be clear and professional, it can still be friendly and conversational. E.g., instead of “What kind of materials can be used with the machine?” you might right, “What materials can I use?” This improves readability and relatability.
USABILILTY - When providing a list (e.g., definitions or tasks), try to impose a sense of order by alphabetizing or numbering.
Likewise, when providing a list of FAQs, for example, try to organize by topic AND by numbering. For example, in the CREATIVATE FAQs, the groupings might be “Getting Started” “Devices supported,” etc. …This makes it easy for readers to find answers (and makes it easy for SVP to refer a reader to question #3, under “Getting Started.”
Bullet points can be another way to break up information (while minimizing character count and improving readability).
VOICE / STYLE - Keep phrasing consistent. For example, if you’re using a Q&A format, and include the question “How do I clean my mat?” don’t word a similar question “Cleaning the pinch wheel” or “How does one clean the pinch wheel?” Consistency minimizes user friction.
Where relevant and possible, use an intro sentence to reassure the reader. (“It’s easy to …” or “With SINGER Momento, you’ll have a number of options …” or “The oversized LCD is designed to …”)
Be concise. This is thoughtful of your reader’s time (and attention span).
Use active verbs when possible. E.g., use “We recommend,” instead of “It is recommended.”