Configure the GOV.UK Design System Service Portal Knowledge Pages

  • Release version: Australia
  • Updated June 4, 2026
  • 3 minutes to read
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    Summary of Configure the GOV.UK Design System Service Portal Knowledge Pages

    This configuration guide helps ServiceNow customers display UK-specific knowledge base content within the GOV.UK Design System (GDS) Service Portal. The portal comes with four base knowledge pages preconfigured with widgets designed to facilitate navigation, search, and article display tailored for UK constituents. Customers can customize most widgets by cloning and modifying them or by adjusting instance options where available.

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    Key Features

    • Knowledge Home Page: Includes a non-clonable Knowledge Banner Header widget with GOV.UK branding and navigation, plus widgets for featured articles, most viewed and most useful articles, knowledge base categories, and a configurable footer (via the Theme form).
    • Knowledge Search Page: Features the standard Knowledge Banner Header, Knowledge Base Breadcrumbs for navigation within categories, Knowledge Search and Selected Filter widgets, Knowledge Result display, and a footer. The breadcrumbs widget can be customized only to adjust the breadcrumb path.
    • Knowledge Article View Page: Displays detailed knowledge articles with article number, description, and content. Includes widgets for the Knowledge Banner Header, Knowledge Base Breadcrumbs, Knowledge Base Search with embedded Typeahead predictive search, Knowledge Article Page display, related articles, and footer. The Typeahead Search widget is embedded but has its own configurable options.
    • Widget Configuration: Most widgets can be cloned and customized to fit specific portal needs. The Knowledge Banner Header cannot be cloned; header menu configuration is done by associating a header menu with the portal. Footers are controlled via the portal’s Theme form.

    Practical Benefits for ServiceNow Customers

    • Enables delivering a UK-aligned, user-friendly knowledge experience integrated with the GOV.UK design standards.
    • Provides customizable widgets for tailored knowledge display, search, and navigation, improving user engagement and self-service success.
    • Supports configuration of header menus and footers consistent with organization branding and legal requirements.
    • Allows for predictive search functionality to enhance article discovery within the knowledge base.

    Display knowledge base content for UK constituents using the GDS Service Portal.

    By default, the GOV.UK Developer Toolkit comes with four base system knowledge pages, which contain the following widgets.

    Most widgets can be configured by cloning and modifying, or you can use the instance options where available to configure widgets for a portal page. For more information on the instance options available for each widget, see Portal Widget Library.

    Knowledge Home

    The Knowledge homepage contains the following widgets:

    • Knowledge Banner Header widget, which controls which options appear in the page header. Contains GOV.UK logo, global navigation, language selector, notifications, user profile.
      Note:
      This widget cannot be cloned for modification. Instead, configure the header menu by associating the header menu with a portal. For more information on configuring a header menu, see Configure a portal header menu.
    • Knowledge Featured Articles widget, which displays profile photo, name, contact details, and other user profile information.
    • Knowledge Most Viewed Articles widget, which displays the most viewed knowledge base articles.
    • Knowledge Most Useful Articles widget, which displays profile photo, name, contact details, and other user profile information.
    • Knowledge Base Categories widget, which displays profile photo, name, contact details, and other user profile information.
    • Footer Widget, which displays support links, other resources, and legal disclaimers.
      Note:
      Add or edit a footer for your portal by configuring it in the Theme form. For more information on adding a footer to a portal, see Add a header or footer to a portal.

    Knowledge Search

    The Knowledge search page contains the following widgets:

    • Knowledge Banner Header widget, which controls which options appear in the page header. Contains GOV.UK logo, global navigation, language selector, notifications, user profile.
      Note:
      This widget cannot be cloned for modification. Instead, configure the header menu by associating the header menu with a portal. For more information on configuring a header menu, see Configure a portal header menu.
    • Knowledge Base Breadcrumbs widget, which displays information based on where an article is located in a knowledge base. You can broaden your search of the knowledge base to include all of the articles in a particular category by selecting the titles in the breadcrumbs. This widget also includes a search box so that you can search for an article by name.
      Note:
      You can customize this widget only to change the breadcrumb path. For more information, see KB0719179.
    • Knowledge Search widget which displays search information specifically confined to the knowledge base.
    • Knowledge Selected Filter widget, which displays profile photo, name, contact details, and other user profile information.
    • Knowledge Result widget, which displays profile photo, name, contact details, and other user profile information.
    • Footer Widget, which displays support links, other resources, and legal disclaimers.
      Note:
      Add or edit a footer for your portal by configuring it in the Theme form. For more information on adding a footer to a portal, see Add a header or footer to a portal.

    Knowledge Article View

    The Knowledge Article view page displays knowledge base details, including the article number, short description, and article content. You can also give feedback or comment on an article.

    The Knowledge homepage contains the following widgets:

    • Knowledge Banner Header widget, which controls which options appear in the page header. Contains GOV.UK logo, global navigation, language selector, notifications, user profile.
      Note:
      This widget cannot be cloned for modification. Instead, configure the header menu by associating the header menu with a portal. For more information on configuring a header menu, see Configure a portal header menu.
    • Knowledge Base Breadcrumbs widget, which displays information based on where an article is located in a knowledge base. You can broaden your search of the knowledge base to include all of the articles in a particular category by selecting the titles in the breadcrumbs. This widget also includes a search box so that you can search for an article by name.
      Note:
      You can customize this widget only to change the breadcrumb path. For more information, see KB0719179.
    • Knowledge Base Search Widget and Typeahead Search widget, which displays search information specifically confined to the knowledge base, with a predictive text feature that shows words as users type.
      Note:
      The Typeahead Search widget is embedded in the Knowledge Base Search Widget, but each widget has its own instance options. For more information on the instance options available for each widget, see Portal Widget Library.
    • Knowledge Article Page widget, which displays Knowledge Base articles within the GDS Service Portal.
    • Knowledge Related Articles widget, which displays profile photo, name, contact details, and other user profile information.
    • Footer Widget, which displays support links, other resources, and legal disclaimers.
      Note:
      Add or edit a footer for your portal by configuring it in the Theme form. For more information on adding a footer to a portal, see Add a header or footer to a portal.