A digital file designed so that people with visual, physical, cognitive, or hearing impairments can read and navigate it easily using assistive technology like screen readers.

The measurement and tracking of how users and search engines interact with your help documentation.

The methods that make self-service information easy to find, simple to read, and accurate enough to solve a problem so a user can help themselves.

A secondary navigation trail at the top of a page that show a user's hierarchical location within the topics and/ or categories.

A temporary storage location on your device where web browsers save website files like images, scripts, and stylesheets.

A top-level container or folder that groups related articles together under a single thematic name. 

Tthe difference in luminance (brightness) between the text color and its background color. It is a fundamental element of web accessibility (specifically under the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, or WCAG), ensuring that documentation, articles, and guides are easily readable for all users, including those with visual impairments like color blindness or low vision.

A small text file that a web server sends to your web browser to remember information about your visit.

A styling language used to control the visual presentation, layout, and branding of KB documents and websites.

A plain text file format used to store tabular data like tables or spreadsheets.

A centralized visual interface that displays key metrics, data, and status reports about your help articles in one place.

The hands-on practice of managing, organizing, and maintaining content to ensure information remains accurate, trusted, and easy to find.

A label that shows where an article or file is in its lifecycle, such as Published, Pending Review, Draft, Archive, etc.

Is a standard identifier attribute that uniquely identifies a person at a campus. At UW–Madison, an ePPN is always formatted as NetID@wisc.edu. It behaves the same as a campus NetID on local systems, but it is scoped so it can work globally. It is the preferred identifier for applications that interact with federated login systems (like SAML Federation, InCommon, or eduGAIN) because it guarantees uniqueness across different universities and worldwide institutions.

An option that examines all words across every published document rather than just looking at titles or assigned keywords.

Is defined as a binary-encoded 2D raster data type image format that ordinarily uses the .gif extension. KB Authors can drag, copy, or upload non-animated .gif images directly into the text editor of their KB documentation.

A dedicated workspace for a campus unit, department, or IT group to create, store, manage, and collaborate on their own documents and share out or share in documents from other Group spaces.

The visual layout that lets users and authors interact with the system using buttons, icons, and menus instead of text commands.

The logical, hierarchical order of title tags (from H1 to H6) that organizes knowledge base article like a table of contents.

A design and content strategy that ensures information can be found, read, and understood by people of all backgrounds, abilities, languages, and technical skill levels.

A JPEG is a graphic image file produced according to a standard from an ISO/IEC group of experts that develops and maintains standards for a suite of compression algorithms for computer image files. JPEGs usually have a .jpg or .jpeg file extension.

Backend management features in the KnowledgeBase System used by administrators and authors to create, organize, bulk-import, and control access to documentation.

A monthly meeting of KB administrators and authors led by the central UW KB Team. Attendees often see unreleased new features first and give direct feedback to help guide decisions for the KB platform.

Specific words or short phrases tagged to articles or used by search systems to match user search queries with relevant content.

A centralized library of online help articles, guides, protocols, how-tos, minutes, documentation and more

The active, public-facing (or production) or internal (restricted viewing) of your KB groups space where end-users view published articles, FAQs, and guides in real time.

The numbers and data points used to track how well your help articles and self-service resources perform.

A secure software application that stores, generates, and organizes your login credentials in an encrypted digital vault.

An image format designed as an improved replacement for GIF. Like GIF, PNG uses lossless compression, meaning all image data is preserved when decompressed for viewing. PNG files typically use the .png extension.

A document that a user can find and read independently to solve a problem without talking to customer support

A document that is visible to its intended audience after approval and release.

The ability for authorized users to securely log in and view, edit, or manage internal documentation and support articles from outside the institution's physical network or office environment.

A design approach that automatically adjusts support articles, navigation menus, tables and search bars to fit any screen size or device.

A standardized web-based tool that allows campus developers to securely pull, share, or update KB data—such as technical help documents, user permissions, or site content—across external software applications.

A built-in log that tracks every change, edit, and update made to an article over time

A permissions model that grants access based on a user's role.

A software application that converts digital text and visual elements on a screen into synthesized speech or a refreshable braille display.

An image of a computer or phone screen used in an article to show users what a specific menu, button, or error message looks like.

Practices used to improve article visibility in search results. 

A calculated score that determines how well and in what order documents match a user's search query.

A non-human account used by applications, integrations, or automated processes.

A centralized, collaborative file or article that multiple authorized users can access, view, and edit to maintain as a single source of truth.

Allows internal users to view every single document published on a specific KB site.

This command functions strictly on internal, authenticated KB sites. It does not display restricted documents to the public. Instead of typing keywords to filter by a topic, entering showalldocs into the search bar triggers the system to bypass standard search parameters and return a complete catalog of all live, published documents belonging to that site's repository. 

A command or page identifier that displays a complete list of all participating campus and institution partner sites sharing documents within the aggregate or unified system.

Used by internal site authors, editors, and administrators to immediately retrieve all of their favorited documents.

When managing an internal KB space, you can mark frequently used or regularly shared support documents as a "Favorite". This command bypasses the standard search algorithms and filters the down strictly to your personalized list of saved documents for easy access.

When applied, it returns only documents that have been shared by other groups, while filtering out any documents that are directly owned by the specific group whose KB site you are currently searching.

When applied, it returns only documents that have been shared by other groups, while filtering out any documents that are directly owned by the specific group whose KB site you are currently searching.

An authentication method that lets users log into your KB site using their existing institution credentials.

The unique end part of the path that identifies the exact article, often automatically created from the article's title (e.g., /how-to-reset-password)

A digital, step-by-step guide that explains how to complete a specific, repeatable task correctly and consistently.

An authoritative person who creates, reviews, and updates accurate information on a specific subject for a KB space.

An XML-based file format used to describe two-dimensional vector images. It is typically used as a clean, sharp graphic format for UI icons, diagrams, logos, flowcharts, and technical illustrations. Unlike pixel-based formats (like PNG or JPEG), SVGs use mathematical formulas, points, and lines to render images.

The written text version of an audio or video recording.

The specific web address used to locate and access an individual help article, category page, or document.

Designates how easily, quickly, and pleasantly a user can find, read, and apply the answers they need. It focuses on removing friction so people can solve their problems without contacting support.

A system that tracks, records, and manages changes to documents and articles over time.

International technical standards used to make digital content accessible to people with disabilities.

Designing help articles, search bars, and navigation menus so users with disabilities can access them.

A technology that uses radio waves to let devices connect to the internet and each other without using physical cables.