Vetspire Knowledge Base Review: Strengths, Gaps, and Fixes
Introduction
Having a well-organized and easy-to-navigate help center is more than just a nice-to-have—it’s a key component of effective self-service and customer satisfaction. If users can’t find answers quickly, they’ll either get frustrated or flood support teams with tickets. As a knowledge manager, I don’t just look at help centers from a surface-level user perspective. I dig deeper, examining how content is structured, how user-friendly the experience is, and whether knowledge management best practices are followed.
In this review, I’ll take you through Vetspire’s knowledge base, which runs on Freshdesk. We’ll look at five major areas:
?? Readability and formatting
?? Media integration
?? Content quality
?? Search functionality
?? Usability
By the end, I’ll highlight what’s working well and what could use some improvement—along with actionable recommendations for making this knowledge base even better.
1. Readability and Formatting
Let’s start with the basics: how easy is it to read and scan the content? A well-structured help center should have a consistent format, clear headings, and a visually appealing layout. Unfortunately, Vetspire’s help center has some inconsistencies in font size, heading styles, and font colors, which suggests there’s no solid content style guide in place. This might seem minor, but when users scan articles for quick solutions, these inconsistencies can be distracting.
Vetspire does use helpful structuring elements like headers, bullet points, and tables. However, their inconsistent application makes navigation feel unpredictable. Some articles are easy to follow, while others feel more cluttered.
Another key issue: the font size is quite small. It may not seem like a big deal, but when users have to strain their eyes to read instructions, it becomes a problem. Larger, more readable text would go a long way in improving accessibility and usability.
One possible reason for these inconsistencies is that Vetspire’s team seems to rely on Freshdesk’s default editor without much customization. A likely reason for these inconsistencies is that multiple subject matter experts (SMEs) contribute to content without a centralized editorial process. While SME involvement is great, having a dedicated knowledge manager overseeing formatting consistency would make a noticeable difference.
Actionable Tips:
? Create and follow a content style guide that standardizes fonts, headings, and colors.
? Use Freshdesk’s HTML editor to apply consistent CSS styling, ensuring uniform typography and readability.
? Increase the font size to enhance readability and accessibility for all.
2. Media Integration
A picture is worth a thousand words—especially in a help center! Vetspire does a great job incorporating screenshots to visually guide users through processes. The images are high-quality, and private information is properly blurred, which is a best practice worth applauding.
However, there’s room for improvement. Some screenshots are oversized, making users scroll unnecessarily, while others are too small to be useful. Additionally, the way screenshots are highlighted varies from article to article. Some use arrows or circles to emphasize key details, while others don’t, making it harder to follow visual instructions. Consistency here would make a world of difference.
Another missing element? Videos. While text-based guides are helpful, some complex topics are best explained with a short tutorial video. This is especially true for setup instructions or troubleshooting steps that require multiple actions.
Actionable Tips:
? Standardize screenshot sizes to improve readability and prevent excessive scrolling.
? Use consistent highlighting techniques, such as arrows or numbered callouts, to guide users through images.
? Introduce instructional videos for complex topics where step-by-step visual guidance would be beneficial.
领英推荐
3. Content Quality
One thing Vetspire does well is including date markers on articles so users can see when content was last updated. This is a great practice! However, a lot of articles are from 2022-2023, which suggests that some of the content might be outdated. While some recent updates show the knowledge base is still active, a more structured review process would ensure that information stays accurate and relevant.
Most articles provide clear, detailed instructions, which is great. However, there are instances where an article consists of just a single link to another resource without any explanation. This leaves users guessing about what they’ll find if they click the link. A short summary would make a big difference in setting expectations and improving search relevance.
Actionable Tips:
? Establish a structured process for regularly reviewing and updating content.
? For articles that contain only links, provide a brief description of what users can expect. This improves user expectations and search functionality by making the content more contextually relevant.
4. Search Functionality
A solid search function can make or break a knowledge base. Vetspire’s search generally works well, returning relevant results for most queries. However, there’s a noticeable flaw: minor spelling errors sometimes result in zero search results. Ideally, the search function should recognize common typos and suggest close matches instead of returning nothing.
The suggesting content feature is a highlight—it helps users find relevant content quickly by predicting queries as they type. This improves efficiency and minimizes frustration.
Actionable Tips:
? Use tags and metadata to refine search accuracy and ensure relevant articles appear.
? Improve spelling correction mechanisms to accommodate minor errors.
? Regularly analyze search query reports to identify common misspellings and optimize content accordingly.
5. Usability and Navigation
Navigating Vetspire’s help center is mostly straightforward, but there is one confusing element: a folder labeled “Integrations Setup (Most Articles Have Been Moved to the Vetspire Manual).” When I searched for “Vetspire Manual,” I found zero results. While an announcement about this transition exists on the main page, users searching for the manual won’t find it easily.
Here’s the twist: the Vetspire Manual is actually a separate knowledge base—and it’s fantastic! It has a consistent style, clear structure, numbered lists, and properly formatted images. Kudos to the team for this well-organized resource! The challenge is ensuring that users can find it easily from the main help center.
On the plus side, Vetspire’s help center is mobile-friendly, making it easy to use across devices. Their simple but effective Yes/No feedback mechanism is also a nice touch, allowing users to provide input on article usefulness.
Actionable Tips:
? Create an article titled “Vetspire Manual” with a direct link to the document for easy access.
? Align the main knowledge base’s structure with the well-organized Vetspire Manual.
? Continue leveraging user feedback to refine and improve content.
Conclusion
Vetspire’s help center has a strong foundation, but with a few refinements, it could be even better. By improving formatting consistency, enhancing media integration, and refining search functionality, Vetspire can create an even more user-friendly and effective self-service resource.
Priority Action Plan:
By making these changes, Vetspire has the potential to set a gold standard for knowledge management. With a few tweaks, their help center can become a seamless, accessible, and highly effective resource for users.