Managing Categories

Categories provide the organizational structure for your Knowledge Base. A well-planned category hierarchy helps users find information quickly and keeps your content manageable as it grows.

You can access category management from Knowledge Base > Categories.

Permission Required

To create, edit, or delete categories, you need the Manage Knowledge Base permission.

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Category Hierarchy

The Knowledge Base uses a simple two-level hierarchy:

Root Category (Level 1)
├── Subcategory A (Level 2)
├── Subcategory B (Level 2)
└── Subcategory C (Level 2)

Another Root Category
├── Subcategory D
└── Subcategory E

Root categories appear in the main navigation and serve as primary topic areas. Subcategories provide more specific groupings within each root category.

Planning Your Structure

Before creating categories, sketch out your planned structure. Common approaches include:

• By topic: Getting Started, Devices, Billing, Troubleshooting
• By audience: Students, Teachers, Parents, IT Staff
• By product: Device Loans, Repairs, Insurance, Payments

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Creating a Category

1. Navigate to Knowledge Base > Categories
2. Click Add Category
3. Fill in the required fields:

Field	Description
Name	Display name for the category
Slug	URL-friendly identifier (auto-generated from name, but editable)
Parent	Leave empty for root category, or select parent for subcategory
Description	Optional description shown on category pages
Icon	FontAwesome icon class (click to open icon picker)

4. Configure visibility settings:

Setting	Description
Visibility	Public (Help Portal) or Internal (Admin only)
Require Login	For public categories, require users to log in
Active	Toggle to show/hide category without deleting

5. Click Save Category

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Choosing an Icon

Categories can display an icon in navigation and listings. Click the icon selector button to browse available FontAwesome icons.

Popular choices for Knowledge Base categories:

• fa-book-open - General documentation
• fa-question-circle - FAQs
• fa-laptop - Device-related topics
• fa-wrench - Troubleshooting
• fa-graduation-cap - Student topics
• fa-credit-card - Billing/payments
• fa-cog - Settings/configuration

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URL Slugs

Each category has a unique slug that forms part of its URL:

/kb/{category-slug}
/kb/{parent-slug}/{subcategory-slug}

Slug Rules

• Slugs must be unique across all categories
• Only lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens are allowed
• Slugs are auto-generated from the category name
• You can customize slugs for SEO purposes

Changing Slugs

When you change a category's slug, the system automatically creates a redirect from the old URL to the new one. This preserves any existing links or bookmarks.

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Reordering Categories

Categories can be reordered using drag-and-drop on the category list page:

1. Navigate to Knowledge Base > Categories
2. Drag categories up or down to change their order
3. The new order saves automatically

Sort order affects how categories appear in:

• Admin navigation
• Public portal navigation
• Category dropdown menus

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Editing a Category

1. Navigate to Knowledge Base > Categories
2. Click on the category name, or click the Edit button
3. Modify the desired fields
4. Click Save Category

Changing Visibility

If you change a category from Public to Internal:

• All articles in that category become hidden from the public portal
• Public URLs will show a 404 error
• Consider the impact before making visibility changes

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Deleting a Category

Categories can only be deleted if they contain no articles or subcategories.

1. Move or delete all articles in the category first
2. Move or delete any subcategories
3. Navigate to Knowledge Base > Categories
4. Click the Delete button next to the category
5. Confirm the deletion

Cannot Undo

Category deletion is permanent. Make sure to move any content you want to keep before deleting.

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Visibility and Access Control

Public vs Internal

Visibility	Help Portal	Admin Area
Public	Visible	Visible
Internal	Hidden	Visible

Internal categories are useful for:

• Support team documentation
• Internal procedures
• Temporary content under development
• Sensitive information

Require Login Option

For public categories, the "Require Login" setting adds an extra access layer:

• Disabled: Anyone can view (truly public)
• Enabled: Users must log in to the Help Portal first

Use this for content that should be visible to authenticated users but not anonymous visitors.

Inheritance

Articles inherit visibility settings from their category by default, but can override:

• Article visibility can be more restrictive (e.g., internal article in public category)
• Article "Require Login" can be set per-article or inherit from category

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Best Practices

Naming Conventions

• Use clear, descriptive names
• Keep names concise (2-4 words ideal)
• Avoid jargon or internal terminology for public categories
• Use consistent capitalization (Title Case recommended)

Structure Guidelines

• Limit root categories to 5-8 for easy navigation
• Keep subcategory depth to one level
• Create a new category only when you have 3+ related articles
• Use "Getting Started" or similar for onboarding content

Maintenance

• Review category structure quarterly
• Merge rarely-used categories
• Check for empty categories periodically
• Update icons to maintain visual consistency