Hesk is a free, self-hosted help desk software. It includes tools to help you build a rich knowledge base, respond to customer inquiries quickly and efficiently, and track ongoing issues.
As a self-hosted program, Hesk can be more difficult to get started with than some of the popular alternatives, however it’s a solid option worth considering. We’ve created this step-by-step guide to help you get started.
How to start your own help desk with Hesk: preparation
Before you can use Hesk, you must purchase hosting, which will provide the server infrastructure and processing power to run Hesk. We were Hostinger (Opens in a new tab) For this how-to guide — a popular host with a selection of hosting options for all budgets.
Once you have your hosting plan in place, you must install Hesk on your server. Hostinger, like most of the leading hosts, comes with a useful Auto Installer tool that makes it very easy to install scripts like Hesk. You can find the automatic installer in the Hostinger hPanel control panel. It includes an impressive array of management tools to help you maintain control of your installations.
Hesk should not take more than two minutes to install, and More detailed instructions (Opens in a new tab) Available in Hostinger’s knowledge base if you need it. If your host does not support one-click installation, you will have to install the software manually, which is a bit more difficult.
Step 1: Create your profile
Once you’ve navigated to your Hesk admin page (if you’re using Hostinger, you can find a link for this within Auto Installer), you’ll be able to start configuring your helpdesk. For starters, create a profile.
At the top right of the main dashboard, you will see a drop-down menu that contains a View Profile button. Click this and update your name, email address, and username. You can also add a signature, update administrator preferences, create a new password, and set notification preferences.
Step two: Update general settings
The Settings drop-down menu to the left of the main dashboard allows you to customize a wide range of settings. To get started, you’ll need to create your global settings, which include your helpdesk URL, webmaster email address, website URL, language, and helpdesk address.
Under Miscellaneous Settings, you can update the time zone, date format, and more. There are many other settings related to the help desk, knowledge base, support email, and ticket list. We suggest working your way through these to familiarize yourself with the options available.
Step 3: Create helpdesk categories
Next, head over to the Categories page to create relevant helpdesk categories. These should usually relate to the types of inquiries you can expect to receive, which may include billing, technical support, sales, and more.
You can set priority level and due date for each category. It is also possible to automatically allocate tickets to the respective team members.
Step 4: Add team members
Under the Team tab, you can add new team members and manage existing profiles. A particularly useful feature here is that you can set profile permissions, allowing you to restrict members’ access to certain areas.
You can also create user signatures, and edit preferences and notification settings for each category.
Step Five: Create a knowledge base
Creating a complete knowledge base is not easy, and you will need to allocate a decent amount of time and resources for this. Under the Knowledgebase tab, you will find several tools to help you create a useful and high-value resource center.
For starters, you can create categories to ensure knowledge base resources are organized and easy to find. A simple text editor enables you to put together customized self-help resources, and you can attach files as required.
You can also include code snippets and arguments if needed. Additionally, filling in the keyword box with relevant terms will help users find the right resources.
Step 6: Prepare canned responses
Finally, we suggest you head over to the Forms tab to create some canned responses. These are common responses you would expect to send to multiple clients. Creating and saving these will save you from having to write routine answers or responses for each card.
There are some other tools that we didn’t cover in this guide that you can take advantage of. Under the “Tools” tab there are various management tools, the “Reports” tab enables you to view and create reports, and the “Modules” tab contains access to tools that are only available with the paid version of the software, Hesk Cloud (Opens in a new tab).
summary
Although it may seem like a difficult task at first, setting up a helpdesk with Hesk is not really much of a challenge. In this guide, we have listed seven simple steps that will help you get your support center up and running in no time at all!
If you’re not sure if a self-hosted helpdesk solution like Hesk is right for you, we’re here to help A guide to the best help desk software (Opens in a new tab) Might be worth a read. We also recommend learning The difference between ticket systems and help desk software (Opens in a new tab).
Read more in this series: