Ring

It has become the standard for help centers across industries that search should be the focal element of the homepage. Ring, the manufacturer of smart security cameras and doorbells, took a bold decision to go against the grain and push search to the backseat. Instead, what takes center stage are content categories divided by product.

The unusual design choice pays off, and the logic behind it becomes clear once you visit Ring’s help center. As a customer, you most likely come here with a question or an issue related to a specific Ring device. Instead of typing in a search query, you go straight to the right product and can immediately access its tech specs, key features, compatible accessories and help articles related to that particular device. Search, of course, isn’t completely gone. It’s just relegated to the sidebar for when you need it, and it works flawlessly, pulling results into a dropdown menu as you’re typing your query.

The articles are extremely focused, often stripped down to a list of bulleted instructions. No bells and whistles, just precisely the knowledge you need. Installation manuals deserve a special shoutout. They’re fully digitized versions of paper booklets, providing easily-accessible detailed schematics alongside the written instructions that make the setup process much easier.

Ring leads the way for consumer electronics with a product-first knowledge base.