KnowAll Assessment (2022): A Full-Featured WordPress Data Base Theme

Have you ever ever encountered a information base that was an absolute pleasure to make use of? It answered your questions, helped you get essentially the most from the product, and eradicated the necessity to create a ticket.

Some firms have these information bases. And a few…don’t. I believe all of us like the previous firms greater than the latter.

KnowAll is a theme from HeroThemes that helps you be part of the record of firms with nice help information bases.

Basically, I believe that KnowAll is a good choice for companies that wish to make a standalone information base. It has a robust function set that features tons of options to create nice content material and optimize your information base.

It’s costlier than different WordPress information base themes or plugins, however I believe the additional cash is value it for critical companies.

Preserve studying our hands-on KnowAll evaluate and I’ll enable you determine if the worth is there to your particular scenario.

Overview of KnowAll Theme Options

KnowAll is a WordPress theme that units you up with a fully-functioning information base. Which means you get:

• Data base articles with shortcode builder for styling
• Classes and subcategories
• Search widget with auto-complete
• Consumer suggestions on how useful your articles are
• Detailed analytics on article usefulness, search phrases, and the way usually readers nonetheless want dwell help
• Switch clients to dwell help and observe which articles end in dwell help requests
• Devoted blocks and shortcodes to assist format your information base articles
• Devoted widgets for a desk of contents, search, and extra
• Add attachments to information base articles
• Make all or components of your information base personal (that’s, for logged-in customers solely).
• Plenty of smaller options.

If you wish to see KnowAll in motion, you may take a look at the demo. Within the subsequent sections, I’ll additionally go hands-on and take you thru each function of the KnowAll theme.

How KnowAll Works With Heroic Data Base

KnowAll is a WordPress theme. Which means it’s going to utterly management the design of your web site.

To supply the precise information base performance, although, KnowAll comes bundled with the developer’s Heroic Data Base plugin.

Right here’s the half it’s essential to perceive:

You too can simply buy the standalone Heroic Data Base plugin, which might get you entry to all the identical information base performance.

With the standalone plugin, although, you need to use it along with your present theme, which helps you to add your information base as a part of your web site.

So in terms of KnowAll vs Heroic Data Base, which one do you have to use?

Right here’s my suggestion:

• If you happen to’re making a standalone information base on a separate subdomain and in a separate WordPress set up – e.g. docs.yoursite.com – then I believe KnowAll is the higher choice. KnowAll permits you to guarantee your complete design is optimized for a information base, and you’ll nonetheless hyperlink again to your major web site.
• If you wish to add your information base as a subfolder in your present WordPress set up and hold the identical header/footer and such – e.g. yoursite.com/docs – you then’ll in all probability be higher off with Heroic Data Base.

Both means, you’ll get the very same information base performance as a result of KnowAll actually bundles in the identical plugin.

If you wish to be taught extra concerning the plugin, I like to recommend studying our full Heroic Data Base evaluate.

Why KnowAll Is Nice for WordPress Data Bases

Making a information base is a reasonably in-demand function these days since just about each enterprise may benefit from a information base. Which means there are many WordPress information base themes and plugins.

So – why does KnowAll stand out? Why use KnowAll when all of these different choices exist?

Effectively, there are quite a lot of small advantages to utilizing KnowAll, however I see two major benefits that it has over quite a lot of the opposite WordPress information base themes and plugins.

I’m going into these in additional element in our Heroic Data Base evaluate, however right here’s the short rundown.

1. Wonderful Frontend Consumer Expertise

Merely put, KnowAll creates an superior frontend expertise to your clients.

First, you get a ton of choices within the native WordPress Customizer to tweak the design and format of your information base. You gained’t must do a lot work, although, as a result of the out-of-the-box design appears to be like nice:

Past that, your guests profit from plenty of considerate options to assist them rapidly discover the options to their issues.

As quickly as they begin typing within the search field, they’ll get immediate search ideas to assist them discover the appropriate article:

On the article, they’ll get an automated desk of contents. You too can use KnowAll’s built-in blocks to enhance the formatting of your information base articles with callouts or different particulars:

General, the frontend consumer expertise to your clients simply feels very polished {and professional}.

2. Actionable Information and Analytics to Enhance Your Data Base

The second factor that KnowAll (and Heroic Data Base) does rather well is providing you with entry to helpful information that you need to use to enhance and optimize your information base.

First, you get some useful baseline information to trace particulars akin to article view counts. You may at all times view these in Google Analytics, however it’s helpful to have the ability to see them out of your WordPress dashboard.

That’s simply scratching the floor, although, as a result of KnowAll offers you three extra sorts of actually helpful information:

1. Article helpfulness suggestions – guests can mark articles as useful or unhelpful and in addition go away non-obligatory suggestions. You’ll be able to then view all this information to your complete information base as a way to see which articles are working properly and which it’s essential to enhance.
2. Search analytics – you may observe which matters guests are trying to find. Extra importantly, KnowAll may even spotlight search phrases that return zero outcomes. If you happen to see quite a lot of searches that aren’t returning outcomes, you may must create new articles for these matters.
3. Human help switch analytics – you may observe which articles end in inquiries to your human help channels. If one article generates extra queries than different articles, you may have the ability to enhance that article and cut back the human help requests (which saves you money and time).

Article suggestions information:

Search analytics:

Switch analytics:

Easy methods to Create a WordPress Data Base With KnowAll

Subsequent, let’s have a look at what it’s prefer to create a WordPress information base with the KnowAll theme.

Putting in the Plugin

Let’s begin initially – set up.

KnowAll has one of many nicest setup wizards I’ve encountered. It’s properly designed with correct UX requirements. For instance, the progress bar on the prime lets you realize precisely how a lot of the setup you will have left:

After putting in the required plugins, I made a decision to import the entire supplied demo content material. And with that content material, my theme really regarded precisely just like the demo.

KnowAll begins robust by avoiding the disappointing scenario the place a theme appears to be like nothing like the attractive demo that satisfied you to purchase the theme. Kudos for that.

Configuring the Data Base Performance

To configure the information base performance, you’ll use the settings in the Heroic Data Base plugin.

If you wish to see these in additional element, I like to recommend studying our devoted Heroic Data Base evaluate. Once more, it’s virtually precisely the identical regardless of when you’re utilizing the KnowAll theme or the standalone Heroic Data Base plugin.

The one variations are in a few of the fashion/design choices, which you’ll get a bit of extra management over with KnowAll as a result of you need to use the native WordPress theme customizer.

To start, you may go to Heroic KB > Settings.

Beneath, you’ll see that a few of the settings are disabled since you’ll configure them within the Customizer (extra on that subsequent):

Right here’s a fast rundown of the totally different settings areas:

• Classes & Tags – configure the type choices and what number of articles to show below a class.
• Slugs – customise URL slugs for articles, classes, and tags. You should utilize these to enhance search engine optimisation and value.
• Article Suggestions – configure the flexibility for guests to depart rankings and suggestions on an article (or disable it when you don’t need it).
• Transfers – add the URL to your human help channels. KnowAll will then observe which articles end in essentially the most human help queries.
• E-mail Stories – obtain automated electronic mail stories about your information base.
• Assist Assistant – allow and configure the moment solutions widget.
• Integrations – arrange integrations with Assist Scout, Slack, and/or Gravity Varieties.

Styling the KnowAll Theme

Once more, KnowAll is a WordPress theme, so you may configure the design of your information base very like different themes.

KnowAll makes use of the WordPress Customizer for fashion tweaks. I’m an enormous fan of utilizing the Customizer over customized theme choices menus, so it is a large plus for me. Let’s be trustworthy, WYSIWYG styling is at all times higher than “save + refresh”.

Entering into each single element which you can customise would take a complete submit of its personal. However, suffice it to say, you will have quite a lot of management over how your information base appears to be like and capabilities.

Let’s simply have a look at one settings panel within the customizer. Say you need to customise how your articles perform. You’ll be able to:

• Change the format
• Allow/disable a sticky sidebar
• Present/disguise associated articles
• Robotically develop the article attachments
• Present/disguise the writer bio
• Present “final modified” date
• Allow feedback

The interface is comparable for different points of your web site. For instance, when you go to the Homepage settings, you’ll have the ability to totally customise the format of the homepage:

And you’ll, after all, additionally customise colours, fonts, and logos. For instance, you possibly can change the colours to match the branding of the remainder of your web site.

Utilizing the KnowAll Widgets

KnowAll additionally comes with numerous blocks and widgets. You should utilize these widgets to construct separate sidebars to your homepage, class web page, and article pages:

For instance, the Desk of Contents widget permits you to add a desk of contents to each article. This lets guests rapidly bounce to the related a part of the article.

Including Articles

Earlier than you begin including articles, you may need to arrange classes and tags, which you are able to do by going to Heroic KB > Article Classes or Article Tags.

KnowAll/Heroic Data Base makes use of the native WordPress taxonomy system, so it really works identical to including weblog classes or tags.

One good element, although, is which you can select to make sure classes personal in order that solely logged-in guests can view articles in these classes:

You too can make your complete information base personal, if most popular.

You additionally get a separate interface to order your article classes utilizing drag and drop (in addition to your articles themselves when you’ve added some).

Then, you may go to Heroic KB > Add New Article so as to add a brand new article.

For the common content material, you need to use the native WordPress editor simply as when you have been making a weblog submit. You too can embody photographs and movies as wanted.

One very nice element, although, is that KnowAll contains a few of its personal blocks that you need to use for issues like:

• Callout messages
• Toggles
• Tabs
• Accordion
• Zoomable photographs
• Specifically formatted lists

These blocks are actually helpful for creating extra user-friendly information base articles.

Beneath the textual content editor, you’ll additionally get some new containers:

• You’ll be able to add file attachments.
• When you publish the article, you’ll have the ability to view article suggestions on this interface (in addition to the devoted analytics space).

You too can see some primary article stats within the sidebar:

You too can entry the devoted analytics space to your complete information base by going to Heroic KB > Analytics.

How A lot Does KnowAll Price?

KnowAll has three totally different pricing choices. Every plan offers you entry to totally different options and permits use on a special variety of websites.

Listed below are the KnowAll theme costs:

I believe most individuals ought to go along with the $199 KnowAll Plus choice. I don’t actually advocate the most cost effective $149 KnowAll Important license as you’re sacrificing a few of the finest options (search analytics and article suggestions) simply to save lots of $50.

Nonetheless, most individuals don’t want the $399 KnowAll Professional license except you particularly need these integrations and/or it’s essential to apply it to greater than three websites.

At $199, KnowAll is undoubtedly a bit costlier than most different WordPress information base themes and plugins. Nonetheless, I nonetheless assume it presents wonderful worth for companies due to how polished it’s.

KnowAll (and HeroThemes basically) is de facto competing extra towards SaaS information base options like Document360, relatively than different WordPress plugins.

If you happen to evaluate spending $199 for KnowAll vs paying $119 monthly for Document360, then KnowAll appears to be like fairly dang low cost, proper?

If you happen to’re simply making a information base to your pastime venture and also you gained’t use KnowAll’s analytics and suggestions options to enhance your documentation, then yeah, KnowAll is a bit costly to your use case. You’ll in all probability be advantageous with a kind of free choices.

However when you’re operating an precise enterprise the place an unoptimized information base has actual “prices” within the type of greater churn and/or greater human help burden, then I believe it’s positively well worth the cash to pay for KnowAll.

KnowAll Assessment: Execs and Cons

As we close to the tip of our KnowAll theme evaluate, let’s recap a few of the professionals and cons of utilizing KnowAll to construct a WordPress information base.

Execs:

• The frontend consumer expertise is superb. Your clients will have the ability to rapidly discover what they’re searching for due to the optimized design, dwell search ideas, automated desk of contents, and so forth.
• The design appears to be like good out of the field. As a result of KnowAll is a theme, it’s ready to make sure a cohesive, great-looking design as quickly as you activate it.
• Very straightforward to arrange. The backend interface is well-designed and also you don’t want any technical information to set every thing up.
• Tons of analytics to enhance your information base. KnowAll offers you tons of actionable information, akin to article usefulness rankings, search analytics (together with lacking searches), human help switch analytics, and so on.
• Considerate options. You get a bunch of small-but-useful options, akin to devoted blocks for issues like callout sections or accordion tabs.

Cons:

• A bit costlier. In alternate for all these nice options, KnowAll prices a bit of bit greater than most different WordPress information base themes. I believe it nonetheless presents good worth, however you’ll find free or cheaper choices when you’re on a good finances (although you’ll in all probability make some sacrifices by way of options and consumer expertise).
• Can’t combine along with your present web site. In order for you your information base to maintain the very same design as the remainder of your web site, you won’t like that KnowAll is a theme. As an alternative, use the developer’s Heroic Data Base plugin.

KnowAll FAQs

To complete out our KnowAll evaluate, let’s go over a couple of widespread questions you may need.

Is there a free model of KnowAll?

No – the KnowAll theme solely is available in a premium model.

Is KnowAll a theme or a plugin?

KnowAll is a WordPress theme. In order for you a standalone WordPress information base plugin, it’s best to use the developer’s Heroic Data Base plugin as an alternative.

Will KnowAll work with my present WordPress web site?

As a result of KnowAll is a WordPress theme, I like to recommend making a separate WordPress set up to your information base as an alternative of putting in it in your present web site.

If you happen to have been to put in it in your present web site, your complete web site must use the KnowAll design, which in all probability isn’t optimum.

Once more, when you’re on this scenario, simply use the Heroic Data Base plugin as an alternative.

Ought to You Use KnowAll for Your WordPress Data Base?

Trying solely on the information base performance, I believe KnowAll can stand toe-to-toe with the massive guys like ZenDesk and Groove. You’ll nonetheless want some sort of dwell help channel (perhaps a assist desk plugin or a dwell chat plugin!), however that’s straightforward to combine with KnowAll due to the switch function.

You will have every thing else you want. You’ll be able to create articles, add useful styling with the devoted blocks (or shortcodes when you’re utilizing the Basic editor), and divvy up articles into as many classes and subcategories as wanted. And if it’s essential to hold some areas personal, you may simply prohibit content material on a per-category foundation.

When you get your information base arrange, it’s straightforward to investigate and enhance issues utilizing KnowAll’s analytics. You’ll have the ability to see which articles want fine-tuning, in addition to what matters it’s essential to add primarily based on search analytics.

Get Knowall theme

The one factor to recollect is that KnowAll is a theme. Relying in your wants, it’s possible you’ll need to go along with the Heroic Data Base plugin as an alternative to entry the entire identical options however in a standalone plugin. In that case, take a look at our evaluate of HeroThemes’ Heroic Data Base plugin.

If you happen to’re blissful to make use of a standalone theme, KnowAll is one of the best I’ve seen. I’ve examined a couple of free choices and none of them come near the performance you get with KnowAll. I haven’t examined the opposite premium choices, however KnowAll is my present bar to beat.

Do you continue to have any questions on KnowAll or our KnowAll theme evaluate? Tell us within the feedback.