Control Access to Docs Using Beacon

Beacon offers the option to use a private Docs site (where Site Visibility is off), making the Docs site visible through Beacon only. Install Beacon with a private Docs site anywhere you'd like — on your website behind a login, in app, intranet, or other non-public site. Control access to a private knowledge base all with Beacon!

NEW We now also offer the option to build custom authorization to allow access to a restricted Docs site. Check out Control Access to a Docs Site With Restricted Docs for more information on that new feature. 

Connecting a Private Docs Site

1

Head over to Manage > Docs and click on the New Site button at the top of the page. Enter the name and subdomain for your new site and click Create Site. Note: The name for this Docs site will not be visible to your customers and the subdomain will not serve articles. These settings are only visible to Help Scout Administrators.

Click on Add a collection to create your first Collection and make sure it is set to Public for its Visibility.

Click on Site Settings, toggle Site Visibility to off and click Save at the bottom of the page. 

Note: A Private Collection is not the same as a Docs site with visibility turned off! Private Collections are only visible to logged in Help Scout users and never in Beacon. Check out Browse Private Collections and Articles for more on that feature!

2

Head over to Manage > Beacons and pick the Beacon you want to connect with your private Docs site (or create a new one). Click on Docs on the left sidebar menu, toggle Enable Docs to on, and select that site. Set any other Docs settings you wish to apply.  

3

Grab the Beacon installation code from the Installation tab. Install that behind your own password protected app, intranet, or other non-public site. 

Common Questions

Can I apply custom styles / custom code to this Docs site?
Beacon does not support any of the CSS or custom code in Docs. Check out the Beacon JavaScript API for details on ways you can customize your Beacon install!

I would like to restrict a Docs site that I've already been using for a while - can I use it rather than creating a new one?
Sure thing! You can turn off Site Visibility for an already existing Docs site at any time. However, you should be aware that search engines may have indexed any Docs site that was previously public. Turning off Site Visibility means that the links into your Docs site will no longer work, but it will not remove any information or links from search engines themselves.