Customizing and redirecting article URLs – HelpKit

HelpKit’s Article Redirect feature allows you to create alias links for your help articles. This allows you to enter an alternative path that redirects to your target article.

Besides being helpful for sending shorter links it can also help migrating from another knowledge base service while keeping the same custom domain.

How to add a redirect link

Navigate to /knowledge-base

Choose your preferred article and click on ✍️ Edit

Choose 🔗 Set Redirect Link

4. Next, enter whatever path name you wish. HelpKit automatically pre-populates a concise version of the url but feel free to adjust it to your needs.

5. Click Set Link

6. The page will refresh and your link has been generated.

How to copy my new redirect link?

Select your preferred link and click on 📑 Copy

Choose 🔗 Redirect Article Link

💡

Please note that the article redirect link does not influence the actual knowledge base url structure. As soon as your user opens the redirect link the default url will get resolved.

Migrating from Another Knowledge Base (Intercom, Zendesk, etc.)

HelpKit’s Article Redirect feature makes it easy to migrate from other knowledge base services while maintaining all your existing links. This ensures zero downtime and a seamless transition for your users.

The Migration Challenge

When switching knowledge base providers, you typically face these challenges:

Existing in-product links pointing to your old help center

Customer bookmarks to specific articles

Support emails with links to old documentation

SEO rankings for existing help content

HelpKit’s redirect feature solves all of these by allowing you to map your old article URLs to your new HelpKit articles.

Step-by-Step Migration Process

1. Prepare Your Custom Domain (Don’t Switch Yet!)

Start the custom domain setup process in HelpKit:

Go to your HelpKit settings

Begin adding your custom domain (e.g., help.yourdomain.com)

Important: Don’t make the CNAME change yet — just prepare everything

2. Map Your Old URLs to New Articles

For each article in your old knowledge base:

Navigate to /knowledge-base in HelpKit

Select the corresponding article and click ✍️ Edit

Choose 🔗 Set Redirect Link

Enter the path from your old knowledge base

Example: If your old Intercom article was at:

help.yourdomain.com/articles/how-to-reset-password

Set the redirect path as:

/articles/how-to-reset-password

3. Complete the Domain Switch

Once all redirects are set up:

Update your DNS CNAME record to point to HelpKit

Wait for DNS propagation (usually 5–30 minutes)

4. Verify the Migration

Test your old links, they should now automatically redirect to your new HelpKit articles with zero downtime.

Pro Tips

Document all old URLs first: Export or list all your existing help article URLs before starting

Test before switching: Set up all redirects before making the DNS change

Update internal links later: Your team can update in-product links to point directly to new URLs at their convenience, the redirects ensure nothing breaks in the meantime

Keep redirects indefinitely: There’s no need to remove redirects, they ensure bookmarks and old links continue working

Common Migration Scenarios

Old Platform	Typical URL Structure	HelpKit Redirect Path
Intercom	/articles/123456-article-title	/articles/123456-article-title
Zendesk	/hc/en-us/articles/360000000000	/hc/en-us/articles/360000000000
Freshdesk	/support/solutions/articles/123456	/support/solutions/articles/123456