What It Does
The Support Portal is a dedicated page on your WordPress site that serves as a self-service help center — combining documentation search, ticket management, and live chat in one place.
How to Enable / Access
- Create a new WordPress page (or edit an existing one).
- In the page editor sidebar, find the Template dropdown.
- Select DeskPress - Portal.
- Publish or update the page.
That's it — visitors will now see your fully featured support portal when they visit that page.
Available Page Templates
| Template | Description |
|---|---|
| DeskPress - Portal | Full-featured portal with all sections |
| DeskPress - Dashboard | Minimal dashboard layout |
| DeskPress - Starter | Basic starter template |
| DeskPress - Custom | Builder-based — use the Portal Template Builder to design your own layout |
Configuration Walkthrough
Hero Section
The hero is the large banner area at the top of the portal. It includes:
- A personalized greeting for logged-in users (e.g., "Hi Sarah, how can we help?").
- A real-time documentation search bar — results appear as your customers type (with a short 300ms delay to keep things smooth).
- A keyboard shortcut: pressing Cmd+K (Mac) or Ctrl+K (Windows/Linux) focuses the search bar instantly.
You can customize the hero title, subtitle, colors, and background from DeskPress > Support Portal > Design.
Topics / Categories Grid
Below the hero, visitors see a grid of topic cards that link to your knowledge base categories. By default, these categories are included:
- Getting Started
- Account & Billing
- Features & How-To
- Integrations
- Troubleshooting
- API & Developers
Layout options:
| Setting | Options |
|---|---|
| Columns | 2, 3, or 4 |
| Card Style | Shadow, Bordered, or Minimal |
Each card displays an icon and category name.
Quick Actions Bar
Three action buttons give visitors fast access to the most common tasks:
| Action | What It Does |
|---|---|
| My Tickets | Scrolls down to the Conversations section |
| New Conversation | Opens a modal dialog with the support form |
| Live Chat | Opens the Beacon chat widget |
Each action can be individually enabled or disabled from the portal settings.
New Ticket Modal
When a visitor clicks New Conversation, a modal dialog slides open containing your support form. The modal:
- Opens and closes with a smooth animation.
- Can be dismissed by pressing the Escape key.
- Is fully accessible (screen-reader friendly).
Conversations Section
Logged-in users see a table of their Help Scout conversations, loaded via AJAX for fast performance. They can filter by status:
- All — every conversation
- Active — open and in progress
- Pending — waiting for a response
- Closed — resolved conversations
- Spam — flagged as spam
Login Gate
Users who are not logged in are automatically redirected to the WordPress login page. After logging in, they are sent back to the portal.
RTL Support
The portal fully supports right-to-left languages such as Arabic, Hebrew, and Farsi. Layout, text alignment, and navigation all mirror automatically.
Settings Reference
| Setting | Location | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Page Template | Page Editor > Template | Choose which portal layout to use |
| Hero Title | DeskPress > Support Portal > Design | Customize the hero heading text |
| Hero Background | DeskPress > Support Portal > Design | Solid color, gradient, or image |
| Topic Columns | DeskPress > Support Portal > Design | 2, 3, or 4 columns |
| Card Style | DeskPress > Support Portal > Design | Shadow, Bordered, or Minimal |
| Quick Actions | DeskPress > Support Portal > Portal Builder | Enable/disable individual actions |
| Custom CSS | DeskPress > Support Portal > Design | Add your own CSS overrides |
Tips and Common Questions
Can I combine the portal with the AI Chatbot?
Yes! You can add the AI Chat block to your portal using the Portal Template Builder. This gives visitors a complete self-service experience — they can search docs, chat with AI, and submit tickets all from one page.
Does the portal work on mobile?
Absolutely. The portal automatically adapts to screen size. On smaller screens, multi-column layouts collapse to a single column, and the hero section adjusts its height.
Can I use a different page for the portal?
You can assign the DeskPress portal template to any WordPress page. Just change the page template in the editor sidebar.
How do I customize the look and feel?
Head to DeskPress > Support Portal > Design for over 50 design settings, or use the live Frontend Design Editor by clicking "Edit Design" in the admin bar while viewing your portal.