Zendesk Help Center Integration Overview

Overview

Launch the Zendesk Help Center in the Zendesk web widget from your Pendo resource center to provide access to your knowledge base in the context of your app, alongside your Pendo resource center and guides. This integration removes the native launch badge created by the Zendesk web widget snippet and activates the web widget help center from a resource center module. The resource center can be activated from a Pendo badge or a target element in your application.

The Zendesk Help Center in the Zendesk web widget loads over your app, just like the Pendo resource center. Users can search for any articles in your help center or the widget can automatically show the top 3 contextual search results for the page the user is on, if you have contextual help turned in Zendesk settings. Articles load in the widget over your app, allowing users to read articles, watch videos, or open your help center in a new tab. The web widget is developed by Zendesk and configured using settings in your Zendesk subscription. You have access to all of the settings and features provided by Zendesk and you can further customize the appearance and behavior of the web widget using the Zendesk web widget API. All customizations that can be configured through Zendesk will be reflected in the Zendesk web widget.

Requirements

• Pendo Admin User
• Zendesk Admin user
• Active Zendesk Help Center integration for your Pendo subscription
• Engineer to install Zendesk web widget snippet
• Published Pendo Resource Center
• Agent Version 2.110.0 or greater

Reach out to your Pendo customer success or sales representative to add the Zendesk Integration to your Pendo subscription.

Install

Zendesk Help Center installation is a two-step process. The Zendesk Help Center module must be added to the resource center and the Zendesk web widget snippet must be installed on any page where the module is used.

If the Zendesk web widget snippet is installed and the module isn't published, the Zendesk snippet will load Zendesk's launch button over your UI. If the help center module is in the published resource center, it won't show up in the resource center until it detects the installed web widget snippet in your application. This install order acts a fail-safe, only showing the help center module when it's functional.

Add the Zendesk Help Center Module to the Resource Center

The Zendesk Help Center integration needs to be added to the subscription then the Help Center module can be added to the resource center. The Help Center module must be added to the resource center and published before the Zendesk snippet is installed in your application, otherwise Zendesk will display their launch badge until the resource center module is added.

Integrations Settings

1. Navigate to Settings > Integrations.

2. Find the Zendesk Help Center integration in Knowledge Base integrations and click Add Integration.

3. Edit the resource center module details as needed.

4. Click Save to Staging to make the integration available in the Resource Center.

Configure Resource Center

5. Navigate to Guides > Resource Center.

6. Click Add Module and add the Zendesk Help Center module. Click Add Modules to save the new module to your draft resource center.

• If you need to change the order of your resource center modules or make any other changes, click Manage in My App.
• The segment for the Zendesk Help Center module is set to Everyone by default. Change the segment to restrict which users can see this module and access the Zendesk web widget.

7. Click Push to Staging to promote your resource center to staging. As a best practice, you should review the new resource center and test the help center integration in your staging environment.

8. Click Push to Production to promote your new resource center from staging to your production environment. The Zendesk Help Center module is now available in your public resource center.

Install the Zendesk web widget Snippet

Zendesk has installation instructions for installing the web widget snippet. The process is similar to installing the Pendo snippet. The snippet needs to be added to the <head> of any page where the Help Center will be used. The help center module in the resource center will not load unless the snippet is present on the page.

The Zendesk web widget snippet must be installed below the Pendo snippet in the <head>. If the Zendesk snippet loads before the Pendo snippet, Zendesk will load their own launch button instead of using the resource center module.

Using the Help Center Module

The Help Center module will appear with the rest of your resource center modules. When a user clicks on the Help Center module, the resource center closes, and the Zendesk web widget opens displaying the help center. The web widget has a similar size, and it can have the same location and color palette as your resource center if it's been configured to match in Zendesk settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Zendesk Help Center integration support Zendesk's multi-brand option?

The Help Center integration utilizes the native Zendesk integration, so anything supported by the native integration, including the multi-brand option, applies to the Help Center integration. While multi-brand settings cannot be controlled in Pendo, they can be controlled through Zendesk. Additional instructions for setting up multiple brands can be found in Zendesk's Knowledge Base.

Does the Zendesk Help Center integration support restricted content?

The Help Center integration utilizes the native Zendesk integration, so anything supported by the native integration applies to the Help Center integration.  To take advantage of restricted held help center content within the integration you can refer to Zendesk's knowledge base article here for more information.