{"id":9576,"date":"2025-04-08T17:43:27","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T17:43:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.dream.press\/news\/?post_type=announcement&p=9576"},"modified":"2025-05-06T18:51:32","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T18:51:32","slug":"introducing-the-new-and-improved-knowledge-base-part-1","status":"publish","type":"announcement","link":"https:\/\/news.dream.press\/news\/announcements\/introducing-the-new-and-improved-knowledge-base-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Part 1: Introducing the New and Improved Knowledge Base!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We’re happy to announce that DreamHost’s Knowledge Management Team has completed a comprehensive overhaul of our customer-facing Knowledge Base<\/a>. This has been a long time in the works, fueled by your feedback and our determination to build something better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s take a behind-the-scenes look to understand why the overhaul was necessary, how we approached such a project, and, most importantly, what the updated help center means for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where It All Started<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This story began all the way back in 2014\u2014a time when our Knowledge Base (KB) lived on the open-source MediaWiki<\/a> platform. In those idealistic days, we imagined a thriving community where customers would eagerly piece together a treasure trove of knowledge for the greater good, but only after learning how to code in MediaWiki! Well\u2026 instead, we ended up with a handful of amazing (but deeply technical) contributors\u2014and relentless waves of spambots (our most persistent contributors).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It became clear that our documentation needed a serious upgrade. But this would take more than just a new system\u2014it called for a dedicated team of experts focused on curating a Knowledge Base that would be accurate and accessible to users of every skill level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Year We Took Control<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So in 2015, we took that first step with the launch of the DreamHost Knowledge Management Team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our first priority centered on resolving the biggest issue: cleaning up the sprawling collection of articles written by countless contributors over the years. With help from subject-matter experts across the company, we rewrote hundreds of articles\u2014bringing consistency and renewed trust to the content our customers rely on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the cleanup, we also discovered that MediaWiki itself simply wasn\u2019t built to support the structured, user-friendly support experience we envisioned. Now that the team was in place, a different platform was needed that could scale with DreamHost, provide a better user experience, and make content management easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enter Zendesk. It gave us the tools and flexibility to build the reliable, modern foundation we\u2019d been looking for. Our next mission was to rescue our updated docs from MediaWiki and give them a fresh start in their new home on Zendesk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growth And Complexity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fast-forward ten years. DreamHost had grown, and so did our KB\u2014A LOT. While the information was still accurate and helpful, the sheer volume of content made it increasingly difficult for customers to find quick answers to their urgent problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maintaining documentation alone was no longer enough\u2014it was time to think bigger. We needed a long-term approach that would place simplicity and accessibility at the heart of the customer experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With that, we set the next major evolution of our Knowledge Base in motion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turning Data into Action<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First, we needed to understand exactly where our customers were struggling, so we dug deep into the data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Google Analytics<\/strong> identified which articles consistently attracted high traffic, emphasizing the need for simple, foundational guides to address common configurations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Support requests<\/strong> revealed a different trend, highlighting how customers were choosing less-trafficked troubleshooting guides that provided the most effective solutions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Your feedback<\/strong> through the KB Feedback Form was the final piece of the puzzle, pointing to challenges such as confusing jargon and complex instructions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    These insights confirmed that the right answers didn’t always surface when they were needed most. This wasn’t just a minor inconvenience\u2014it was a major problem we had to solve! Determined to create a lasting solution, the team united around an ambitious goal: a complete overhaul of the Knowledge Base.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We broke the project down into three phases: prepping the project, overhauling the KB, and making it future-proof. Stay tuned for the next chapter in this series, where we\u2019ll dive into the details.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


    <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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