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Lesson 8 of 11 · 1:03
Fit help into your web app
From Your help center, inside your product · Verified against the live product on Oct 20, 2026
This lesson
Give each page of your app a help category, and call setCategory whenever the page changes.
Prefer to read? Follow it step by step
Moments in this lesson
Length 0:38
Up next · 0:38
9. React to what happens in your app
Call hcWidget.trigger when something fails, so a proactive message offers help, and destroy on sign-out.
Transcript
- 6:34Web apps like this one change pages without reloading, so the widget loads only once.
- 6:39Here's how to keep it in step with the app.
- 6:42First, help for the page you're on.
- 6:44I'll give each page of the app a category from our help center.
- 6:47The number is the category's ID: you'll find it at the start of the category's address in your help center.
- 6:54Then, whenever the page changes, setCategory tells the widget which articles to show first.
- 7:00Help links that the app draws itself call setHrefAndOpen, with the article's address.
- 7:05And with onContactsRequest, people who'd like to contact us go to our own support page, instead of the widget's form.
- 7:12Let's see it.
- 7:13On Installations, the widget starts with our installation guides...
- 7:17and on Payouts... it starts with payouts.
- 7:20On a job, See the photo checklist opens the right article, without leaving the page.
- 7:25Our own Help button simply calls hcWidget.show.
- 7:29And asking for a person from the widget brings the partner to our support page.
Captions and this transcript come from the narration, word for word. Click any line to play from there.
About the course
Every way to add HelpCenter.io to your website or web app: the widget, FAQ sections, proactive messages, JWT sign-in and more.
What you'll learn
- Where the installation snippet is, and why the widget needs your domain in Embedding origins
- What visitors can do in the widget: suggestions for the page they're on, search, Ask AI, contact
- Opening an article in the widget from your own links
- FAQ sections: Custom or Full, a design, the questions, and the one line to paste
- Proactive messages: page and time rules, and custom events from your own code
- JWT single sign-on for a private help center
- Single-page apps, a custom domain, and subfolder hosting
- Who it's for
- Developers and product teams putting help inside a website or a signed-in web app.
- Format
- 11 lessons, 9:31 in all. English captions and a full transcript.
- Last verified
- Oct 20, 2026, on the live product with the Northwind demo help center
- Plans
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Works on every plan. These lessons cover features on higher plans, and say so:
- Lesson 3 · What your visitors get AI answers: Catalyst or AI add-on
- Lesson 7 · Sign people in with JWT JWT sign-in: Catalyst
- Lesson 9 · React to what happens in your app Custom event triggers: Growth and Catalyst
- Lesson 10 · Your help center on your own address Subfolder hosting: Growth and Catalyst
Articles
Every lesson pairs with a help article, so you can read the steps at your own pace.
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Add the widget to your website self.helpcenter.io/content/install-the-widgetGoes with these lessons
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Choose which websites can show the widget self.helpcenter.io/content/embedding-originsGoes with
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What visitors see in the widget self.helpcenter.io/content/widget-for-visitorsGoes with
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Turn on AI Answers self.helpcenter.io/content/ai-answersGoes with
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Open the widget from your own UI developers.helpcenter.io/content/open-the-widget-from-your-uiGoes with
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Embed FAQ sections on your website self.helpcenter.io/content/faq-sectionsGoes with
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Invite visitors with proactive messages self.helpcenter.io/content/proactive-messagesGoes with these lessons
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Sign readers in with your own login (JWT SSO) self.helpcenter.io/content/jwt-ssoGoes with
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Sign readers into the widget with a JWT developers.helpcenter.io/content/widget-jwtGoes with
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Widget JavaScript API developers.helpcenter.io/content/widget-javascript-apiGoes with these lessons
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Show your help center only inside your app self.helpcenter.io/content/js-only-accessGoes with
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Use your own domain self.helpcenter.io/content/custom-domainGoes with
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Host your help center in a subfolder of your website self.helpcenter.io/content/host-your-help-center-in-a-subfolderGoes with
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Widget installation and options developers.helpcenter.io/content/widget-optionsGoes with