Hi @Cari3 ,
In a Knowledge Article We use Short Description or Title as same usually. In a general knowledge article we use just a Short Description.
People are impatient. Especially, when looking for information. They want it to be easy to find. Once found, they want it to be clear, easy to follow and to the point.
When users do a search for an article they will scan titles. If the title sounds like something they want they will click on it. This does not mean they will read the article. They scan the headings and any introductory sentences. If these peak their interest they will finally read the article. As creators of KB articles we need to make the articles easy to scan.
- Titles should be descriptive and meaningful
- Articles "Overview" should be brief
- Text should be chunked into topics and subtopics using headings
- List items should be bulleted
- Instructions should be numbered step-by-step
We want to be short and to the point. People don't have time to waste reading your fluff (like this sentence).
- Use familiar words
- Keep sentences concise
- Paragraphs should be short
Writing article titles (Short description)
Article titles are the first thing the knowledge base will look at when a search is performed. This means a well written title can greatly increase the chances of an article being found in a search.
Follow these guidelines when creating article titles:
- Start with the software or platform name
- Example: Canvas: Add a Course
- Note: avoid having the verb in the 'ing' form. Use 'Add' rather than 'Adding', 'Create' not 'Creating' etc.
- Be brief. Brevity is key. Title should be concise. Ideally less than 10 words and should summarize the content.
- Use words users will most likely search.
- Use the active voice, e.g., create, assign, secure
- Do not lead with commonly used words such as "How to."
Note: ServiceNow automatically generates the title of an article based on the title field. It serves as the summary heading for the article and is automatically formatted as a Heading 1 (H1). For accessibility, a web page should only have one H1. Do not repeat the title in the ServiceNow text field.
Summarize the article
The first paragraph of every article should be a brief description of what the article covers. This can be a single sentence. You should write to address the audience directly telling them why they might want to read and apply what is in the article.
Example
Before: This article has instructions on how to install Microsoft Office 365 from outlook.usu.edu
After: You can have Microsoft Office 365 on your PC, but first you need to install it. The following instructions are for installing it using outlook.usu.edu
You should not put a heading for the articles description. The title of the article will serve as the heading.
See this example, i don't have a field called Title but i have Short Description :
