RESOURCE
Use case #1
A searchable, reliable, up-to-date knowledge base.
You want a searchable single source of up-to-date truth that readers can relu on.
Use case #2
A company wiki where all can add and find what they need.
You want a company wiki where all staff can contribute and search for the answers they need.
Why might you want to switch from Guru?
Guru is an industry leader in knowledge sharing software. They specialize in internal knowledge bases, and more recently have branched out to include federated search and a number of AI tools.
Guru is a fantastic tool, but it’s not the right fit for everyone’s needs. With recent feature changes have come pricing changes, and if you’re looking to share knowledge with a larger audience, they might not be the best options for you.
I understand the functionality they have added is great, but it may not be what you need. If this is the case, you might be considering changing tools for knowledge sharing.
There are two major types of knowledge sharing websites: company wikis, and knowledge bases.
Here I am going to outline the differences between them, and give you some suggestions on software in each of the two categories.
How are company wikis and knowledge bases the same?
They can both potentially serve as your company’s ‘single source of truth’, the main place where people within your company go for the information they need to do their jobs. This could be policies and procedures, playbooks for sales, or links to important documents. They can provide step-by-step how to’s, images, and videos to help people in your organization help customers, or train colleagues.
How do the company wikis and knowledge bases differ?
The most important difference is the division of user types. Within a company wiki, often all readers can also be authors. It is a place where everyone can add content, and every person accessing the content has a paid seat.
Within a knowledge base, it’s typical to have a smaller group of people authoring the content within it, and a larger group of readers. A good knowledge base software shouldn’t charge you per reader, even if they need to be logged into access it. You should only be paying for the account who can access the backend; creating and editing the content within it.
A company wiki has the upside of potentially making use of everyone’s knowledge. Since anyone can add to the wiki, it’s possible to create a company-wide culture of adding to it any time you learn something new.
A knowledge base has the upside of having a team (or person) that is responsible for the quality and organization of the content. This can lead to better sense of trust in the information within it. It also can mean a much lower cost for the tool, since you don’t pay for anyone who is logging in just to read the information.
If you’re looking to replace Guru as your company wiki or your knowledge base, there are likely some key features you really like about Guru that you’ll want to make sure your new solution has.
The features you need
Some features you can't live without
1. A reliable search: You want information you add to your knowledge base (KB) or wiki to be automatically indexed for search, and for that search to work well. Make sure you find a solution where all content you add is automatically findable out of the box. You also might want to look for features like the ability to add synonyms, to adjust the search weighting, and for typo tolerance.
2. Easy authoring and organization: Be sure that it isn’t complicated to create, edit, and organize the content. It’s important that the people authoring the content can focus on just that: writing good content to help others - you don’t want a clunky system that’s hard to manage and maintain.
3. Access control options: Whether your KB or wiki is meant only for an internal staff, or for a mix of different audiences, you want to be sure you have the option to section off who can read what content. Whether the readers are signing in via login, SSO, or remote authentication - you want to be sure the right content is going only to those who should be able to access it.
4. Content verification: One of the simplest and best features Guru has is its conten verification system. A good knowledge management system should have something similar, where you can set it to ask for content verification at a set interval. This will ensure the content doesn’t go stale, and will increase trust in the content from your readers.
5. Analytics: You want to be able to see that people are actually making use of your KB or wiki, so you’ll want to check in to be sure that there is a good reporting feature in whatever tool you choose for knowledge sharing. the collaborative nature of Confluence, but find it kind of clunky otherwise, or that it has too many features that aren’t serving you. A corporate wiki is a great way to have all of your internal knowledge in one place, where everyone is able to contribute and collaborate directly.
The features you want
Some features are really nice to have
1. Versioning: a good versioning option can help you keep track of previous versions of the articles in your KB or wiki. This can be important for auditing. It can also help you set up version that aren’t live, so that you can get everything ready before a release.
2. API: If you have the resources to make use of an API, a knowledge management solution with an open API will give you a lot more options of what you can do with it.
3. Integrations: Look at what tools your team uses most often, and ask if there is a way for your knowledge management tool to integrate with those. Slack, Zapier, or any number of different integrations might be possible and make things that much easier to do.
4. Authoring roles: Most knowledge sharing software will have a couple of different types of roles within it. This could be simple Author vs Editor roles that allow one to create content, and the other to be able to make larger edits to the knowledge base. Some tools, like KnowledgeOwl, allow you to get really granular with creating custom roles - so you can choose exactly who has what permissions within your team.
5. Commenting/feedback mechanisms: Does your KB or wiki allow readers to give feedback or comment on the content? This can be extremely helpful in ensuring that your knowledge stays relevant, and that readers stay engaged with it.
6. Design options: If you have a company wiki or an entirely internal knowledge base, it might not be the most important thing in the world - but it’s still very nice if you have the ption to brand it. This can instill a sense of confidence within the readers, and make the entire wiki look more professional. If you have a knowledge base that is also customer-facing, then the ability to brand it should be a must-have feature. You might want to look for something as simple as the ability to add colors, logos, and fonts. If you have the resources, you also might want to find a solution that allows you to get into the CSS, HTML, and JS of your KB, so you can customize it to your heart's content.
HelpDocs
Multiple plans with different features
Access controls
Customizable (CSS & JS)
Unlimited public readers
No refunds
KnowledgeOwl
Single plan, all features included
Granular access control with SSO
Fully customizable (HTML, JS & CSS)
1:1 migration help.
Unlimited public and private readers
Full refund issues, no time limit
Helpjuice
Single plan, all features included
Access controls
Customizable with access to code editor
Unlimited public and private readers
Refunds offered for 10 days after payment only.
Notion
Easy and fun to create content with.
Access control options
Supports various types of content
Strong online community to tap for ideas and help
Nuclino
Collaborative docs
Access control options
Workflows that includes assigning to teammates
Multiple view options
Slab
Real-time collaboration on docs
Share feedback and features to keep docs fresh
Fast and effective search
Admin insights to see doc performance
Asana
Easy to use
Loads of automations and integrations possible
Flexible to your needs
Various views possible
Communicate progress and details to teammates
Extra delight options
Wrike
Cross functional visibility
Automations and integrations
Gantt charts
Real-time collaboration
Shared calendars
Monday.com
Ability to create docs directly in the app
Automations and integrations
Various views possible
Progress tracking across teams