How to Make Knowledge Base Articles Public in the Widget & Webform
This article explains how to make Knowledge Base (KB) articles publicly accessible so that unauthenticated users (guest users / non‑logged‑in users) can view articles through the widget or webform.
To ensure public visibility, all three levels below must be configured correctly:
- Customer Portal settings
- Category visibility
- Article visibility
If any one of these settings is restricted, the article will not appear publicly.
Prerequisite
For an article to appear publicly in the widget or webform, the following conditions must all be met:
| Level | Required Visibility Setting |
|---|---|
| Customer Portal | All Users |
| Category | Any Users |
| Article | Any Users |
“All Users” and “Any Users” both indicate public access, including users who are not logged in.
Customer Portal Setting
To make Knowledge Base articles accessible via the widget or webform, enable the “All Users” visibility setting in the Customer Portal Settings.
- Go to Admin Settings.
- Navigate to Customer Portal > Knowledge Base Settings.
- Locate the option for “Allow All Users to Access the Knowledge Base.”
- Click Save to apply changes.
Category Setting
To make articles accessible to all users, the category visibility must be set to “Any Users.” This allows even non-logged-in users to view the content.
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Go to the Knowledge Base > Categories section.
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Select the category you want to make public.
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Locate the Visibility or Access Level setting.
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Change to “Any Users.”
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Save the changes.
Article Level Setting
Articles must be publicly accessible to be visible to all users. If set to “Logged-in Users,” they won’t appear publicly—update the visibility to “Any Users” to make them accessible.
- Navigate to the Article Page in your Knowledge Base.
- Open the article you want to update.
- Locate the Visibility or Access Level setting.
- Change to “Any Users.”
- Save the changes.
Widget Article Ordering Behavior
Current Behavior:
- Articles in the widget are not sorted alphabetically
- Not sorted by creation date
- Not sorted by last updated date
As a result, the article display order may:
- Appear inconsistent
- Differ from the order configured in the portal
This is expected behavior and does not indicate a configuration issue.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why are KB articles not showing in the widget or webform?
Verify all three visibility levels are public:
- Customer Portal KB access = All Users
- Category visibility = Any Users
- Article visibility = Any Users
If any one of these is restricted, the article will not appear publicly.
2. What is the difference between “All Users” and “Any Users”?
In this context, both indicate public visibility, including guest (non-logged-in) users.
3. Can I control the article order in the widget?
No. The widget does not support configurable sorting and does not sort alphabetically or by date.
4. Do users need an account to view KB articles?
No. If Customer Portal, category, and article visibility are configured for public access, guest users can view KB articles.
5. If an article is set to “Any Users,” is it always public?
Only if the Customer Portal KB access and the category visibility also allow public access.
6. If the category is public, will all articles in the category be public?
No. Each article must also be set to Any Users, and Customer Portal KB access must be All Users.
