platform-help-center

name	platform-help-center
description	Structures platform help centers with separate buyer/seller sections, video tutorials, and contact escalation. Use when building self-serve support for marketplace platforms.
allowed-tools	Read Write Glob
metadata	{"author":"matthewhitcham","version":"1.0"}

Platform Help Center

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

• Structure a help center for a marketplace with buyer and seller audiences
• Write help articles that reduce support ticket volume
• Design a contact escalation path from self-serve to human support
• Organize FAQs, tutorials, and troubleshooting guides by user type

DO NOT use this skill for knowledge base software selection, chatbot design, or internal documentation. This is for external-facing help center structure and content.

---

Core Principle

A HELP CENTER EXISTS TO ANSWER QUESTIONS BEFORE THEY BECOME SUPPORT TICKETS — EVERY ARTICLE MUST BE FINDABLE IN UNDER 30 SECONDS AND ANSWERABLE IN UNDER 2 MINUTES.

---

Phase 1: Brief

Required Inputs

Input	What to Ask	Default
Platform type	"What does your marketplace connect?"	No default — must be provided
Top support questions	"What are the 10 most common questions from buyers and sellers?"	No default — must be provided
Current support volume	"How many support tickets per week?"	Under 50
Support channels	"How do users currently reach support? Email, chat, phone?"	Email only
Help center tool	"What platform will host the help center?"	Notion, Zendesk, or standalone page

GATE: Confirm the brief before structuring the help center.

---

Phase 2: Structure

Information Architecture

Help Center Home
├── For Buyers
│   ├── Getting Started
│   ├── Browsing and Searching
│   ├── Placing an Order
│   ├── Payments and Refunds
│   ├── Reviews and Ratings
│   └── Account and Settings
├── For Sellers
│   ├── Getting Started
│   ├── Creating Listings
│   ├── Managing Orders
│   ├── Payments and Payouts
│   ├── Reviews and Ratings
│   └── Account and Settings
├── Trust and Safety
│   ├── Our Guarantee
│   ├── Reporting a Problem
│   ├── Dispute Resolution
│   └── Community Guidelines
└── Contact Us
    ├── Submit a Request
    └── Live Chat (if available)

Article Priority Matrix

Rank articles by impact:

Priority	Criteria	Action
P1	Top 10 questions by ticket volume	Write first
P2	Onboarding and activation questions	Write second
P3	Edge cases and advanced topics	Write third
P4	Nice-to-have reference content	Write as needed

GATE: Confirm the structure and priority list before writing articles.

---

Phase 3: Write

Article Template

## [Article Title — phrased as a question]

**Applies to:** Buyers / Sellers / Both

[1-2 sentence answer to the question — the TL;DR.]

### Step-by-step

1. [Step with specific UI reference]
2. [Step with specific UI reference]
3. [Step with specific UI reference]

### Screenshot
[SCREENSHOT: description of what to capture]

### Common Issues
- **[Problem]:** [Solution]
- **[Problem]:** [Solution]

### Still need help?
[Contact our support team →](link)

Writing Rules

• Title is a question — match how users think and search ("How do I get a refund?" not "Refund Policy")
• Answer first, details second — the first 1-2 sentences should answer the question directly
• Step-by-step format — use numbered lists for processes, bullets for options
• Specific UI references — "Click the gear icon in the top right" not "Go to settings"
• Screenshots for every process — placeholder notes if screenshots are not ready: [SCREENSHOT: settings page with gear icon circled]
• Link to related articles — at the bottom, suggest 2-3 related articles

Content Types

Type	When to Use	Format
How-to article	Process questions	Numbered steps + screenshots
Troubleshooting guide	"It is not working" questions	Problem → possible causes → solutions
FAQ entry	Quick factual answers	Question + 1-3 sentence answer
Video tutorial	Complex multi-step processes	60-120 second screencast

---

Phase 4: Polish

1. Contact Escalation Path

User has a question
    ↓
Search help center (self-serve)
    ↓
No answer found → Suggest related articles
    ↓
Still no answer → Contact form with category selection
    ↓
Ticket created → Auto-response with estimated reply time
    ↓
Human support responds within [X] hours

2. Help Center Metrics

## Help Center Metrics

- **Search success rate:** % of searches that result in an article click
- **Contact rate:** % of help center visitors who submit a ticket (lower = better)
- **Top searches with no results:** Keywords users search for that return nothing
- **Article helpfulness:** "Was this helpful?" yes/no at the bottom of each article
- **Ticket deflection rate:** % reduction in tickets after article publication
- **Time to resolution:** Average time to resolve tickets that escalate beyond self-serve

3. Quality Checklist

## Help Center Checklist

- [ ] Separate buyer and seller sections with clear navigation
- [ ] Top 10 questions (by ticket volume) have dedicated articles
- [ ] Every article title is phrased as a question
- [ ] Every article answers the question in the first 2 sentences
- [ ] Step-by-step articles include screenshots (or placeholders)
- [ ] Contact escalation path is clear and accessible
- [ ] Search functionality works across all articles
- [ ] "Was this helpful?" feedback is on every article
- [ ] Related articles linked at the bottom of each page
- [ ] Help center link is accessible from every page of the platform

---

Example

Platform: Freelance services marketplace

Buyer article:

## How do I get a refund?

You can request a refund if the work delivered does not match what was agreed upon in your project brief.

### Steps to request a refund

1. Go to **My Orders** in your dashboard
2. Click on the order in question
3. Click **Request Refund** (available for 14 days after delivery)
4. Select your reason and add details
5. Click **Submit** — the seller has 48 hours to respond

### What happens next
- If the seller agrees, your refund is processed within 3-5 business days
- If the seller disagrees, our team reviews the case and decides within 5 business days

### Still need help?
[Contact support →](link) | Related: [How does buyer protection work?](link)

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Anti-Patterns

• Single help center for both sides — buyers and sellers have different questions and different vocabulary. Separate the sections.
• Long articles — if an article takes more than 2 minutes to read, split it into multiple articles.
• No search function — if users cannot search, they will email support instead. Search is mandatory.
• Hiding the contact option — self-serve is the goal, but hiding human support frustrates users who genuinely need it.
• Stale content — outdated screenshots and processes create more confusion than no article at all. Review quarterly.

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Recovery

• No data on common questions: Review the last 50 support emails. Group by topic. The top 10 topics are your first articles.
• Too many articles needed at once: Start with the top 5 questions for each side (10 total). Add 2-3 per week.
• Users still contact support for questions that have articles: The articles are hard to find or hard to understand. Improve search and rewrite using simpler language.
• Help center gets no traffic: Link to it from transactional emails, in-app tooltips, and the support auto-reply. Make it visible everywhere.