Suggestions Wanted for Our Help Center Redesign

[Eric Suesz]

If you checked out our recent Product Roadmap post, one thing you may have noticed is that we are in the process of revamping our Help Center. Some of the old hands who have been with Ning for a long time may not have the need to visit the Help Center as often as some of the newer folks, but we're pretty confident that most Network Creators have (at one time or another) spent some time looking up information about our product. Many of you may have also checked out our Best Practices pages, which give examples and advice from successful NCs, and some of you may have even browsed our Inspiration gallery for design ideas or just to see what other people get up to. A few probably have made a pit stop at the Get Started page as well. 

One of the things we plan to do is unify this content so that it is more accessible and browsable by everyone. Not so spread out (as it is now across multiple domains). This project has been in planning for awhile, and we have all kinds of ideas that we've compiled, but we want to hear some suggestions from our most devoted customers about how they think the Help Center can be improved. Not everyone will have an opinion about this project since it doesn't directly involve changing the product you use every day, but I'm pretty sure we can grab a few great ideas from NCs who have either wished we had a resource they needed when they needed it or who have some great ideas we haven't even thought about. 

This project is already underway and moving along quickly. We've begun migrating some of the current content into the new design, but we'll be creating new content as part of this redesign (and even more going forward). So, there's always time for us to get some great feedback from NCs. 

So, what do you like about the current Help Center? What could be better? What do you think is missing? Or, does it work okay for you as it currently exists? How can we make finding specific information easier for you (and your admins)?

What's your thoughts on making a better knowledge base for Network Creators?   

[Eric Suesz]

This project won't require any developer or designer time. It requires my time and other advocacy folks' time. We've been doing the work ourselves. I know that a Help Center refresh won't impact most NCs, but I think that new NCs in particular need a little more friendly place to get started and find info. If there is anything that you wished was easier for you to figure out when you started your network, let us know. 

[Alex]

+1000000000000000

[M]

I think you guys have done a great job so far :] Eric you alone are an awesome individual to work with. Thanks for working so hard.

M

[Chris Nucci]

+1 not so important, there are different ways to find an answer... Put the devs to work on something else !

[Eric Suesz]

Hey, Chris. Maybe you didn't actually take the time to read the replies here before sounding off. No devs are working on this. This is a project that advocacy is doing themselves. 

[Radialistas Brasileiros]

My 2cents: I think that a wiki type of articles, tips, examples collection would be great! Then by some kind of permission system allow us to comment, update, correct, include and assure it will be ever working. That´s would be very nice! Since Wikipedia is a standard,  why not create a NingPedia?

RB

[Ted @ CareGiving Live!]

Nice idea,

Ningpedia- a ningpendium of the various topics (as they come up) and their solutions, updatable and correctable by NC's and Ning staff.

[Eric Suesz]

Hoo boy. That sounds dangerous, Radialistas. Brave suggestion. I will pass it by the team. Thanks!

[Christopher Witecki]

I would like to see Ning execs and developers on WEB cams explaining things in their own words.  There is so much time saving information that comes through a person's tone, facial expressions, and the ability to speak 1000 words a minute vs reading endless tech manuals.

I have recently rented a commerce site - and there are videos everywhere. my learning curve was through the roof fast and efficient.  Web cam video is sufficient enough - don't think you have to produce anything high def to get your point across.

Christopher Witecki

soulgarden.me

[Eric Suesz]

Yep, I know that people like videos. Over the last year, we definitely made more videos than we had in the past. We should bump it up and make more screencasts. Not sure about real-life video, though. I guess the hard part about that is that they can be very time intensive and go out of date more quickly than you ever intend. Thanks, Christopher. We'll budget in more time for screencasts, for sure. 

[Andy Johnson]

The only thing I can think of right now is a chat section. This will work for those who wants to chat with a customer service person. Just like what they have on Dell,Verizon, and many more. Here, one is actually interacting with someone on a one to one basis. Having a "Chat" section maybe helpful, not a "chatroom" Get representative that knows everything about ning and someone how is up to date with what a prospective ning creator maybe asking;questions.

[Eric Suesz]

Chat is something we've thought about, but we aren't yet able to assign people to monitor real-time chat. Perhaps when we grow a bit larger (like the Dells and Verizons of the world) we can move to offering live customer service chat. Thanks.