How to Create an Unlisted Knowledge Base Article

SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base allows you to mark an article as unlisted.

An unlisted article still has its own working URL, but it is hidden from the normal public areas of your knowledge base.

This is useful when you want to share a guide directly without making it easy to discover through categories, search or recommendations.

What is an unlisted article?

An unlisted article is a published knowledge base article that can still be opened through its direct link.

However, it will not normally appear in:

• Knowledge base search results
• Category article lists
• Popular Articles
• Related Articles
• Recommended Articles
• Knowledge base sidebars
• The WordPress XML sitemap

The article is also given a noindex instruction, asking search engines not to include it in search results.

When should you use an unlisted article?

Unlisted articles can be useful for:

• Customer-specific instructions
• Temporary support guides
• Articles shared through a private support reply
• Early documentation that is not ready to promote
• Instructions intended for a small group of users
• Guides linked from inside a product or email
• Older articles that still need to remain accessible

For example, you may have a troubleshooting guide that only applies to a small number of customers. You can publish it as unlisted and send the direct URL only when needed.

Is an unlisted article private?

No.

An unlisted article is hidden from normal knowledge base listings, but it is not password protected.

Anyone who has the direct URL may still be able to open it.

Do not use the unlisted option for confidential information, personal data, passwords, private customer details or anything that must be securely restricted.

If the article needs proper access control, use suitable WordPress privacy or password protection settings.

Create a new unlisted article

To create an unlisted article:

1. Sign in to your WordPress dashboard.
2. Open Knowledge Base > Add Article.
3. Enter the article title.
4. Write the article content.
5. Add an excerpt if required.
6. Select a category if you want to keep it organised inside WordPress.
7. Find the unlisted article option.
8. Enable the option to make the article unlisted.
9. Preview the article.
10. Select Publish.

The article will be published and given its own URL, but it will be left out of the normal public knowledge base listings.

Make an existing article unlisted

You can also change a normal published article into an unlisted article.

To do this:

1. Open Knowledge Base > All Articles.
2. Select the article you want to change.
3. Find the unlisted article option.
4. Enable it.
5. Select Update.

After updating, check that the article no longer appears in search results, category pages or article recommendation sections.

Its direct URL should still work.

Find the direct article URL

After publishing the article, open it using the View Article option in WordPress.

Copy the full address from your browser.

You can then share this URL through:

• A support email
• A private message
• A customer account area
• A software application
• An internal document
• A direct website link

Make sure you test the link while signed out of WordPress.

What happens to the category?

You can still assign an unlisted article to a category.

This can make it easier to organise the article inside the WordPress dashboard, even though it will not normally appear on the public category page.

The category can also remain useful if you later change the article back to a normal listed article.

What happens to knowledge base search?

Unlisted articles are removed from the public knowledge base search.

Visitors should not be able to find them by searching for words from the title or content.

This includes searches made from:

• The main knowledge base page
• Article search boxes
• Category search boxes

The article can still be opened directly when someone has its URL.

What happens to Popular Articles?

Unlisted articles are not included in the Popular Articles section.

Even if the article receives direct visits, it should not be promoted as popular public content.

This helps prevent a hidden support guide from appearing unexpectedly on the knowledge base homepage or sidebar.

What happens to Related Articles?

Unlisted articles are not used for Related Articles.

They should not be shown as suggested reading alongside normal public guides.

The unlisted article itself should also avoid displaying public recommendation links that would make it easier to discover through normal navigation.

What happens to Recommended Articles?

SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base does not normally use an unlisted article as a recommendation.

This keeps the article outside the usual article discovery system.

Other public articles should not recommend it automatically.

What happens to sidebars?

Unlisted articles are excluded from article lists shown inside knowledge base sidebars.

This can include areas such as:

• Popular Articles
• Related Articles
• Recently Updated Articles
• Recommended content

The exact sidebar content depends on the settings enabled on your website.

What happens to the sitemap?

Unlisted knowledge base articles are removed from the WordPress XML sitemap.

A sitemap helps search engines discover public website content.

Removing the article from the sitemap reduces the chance of a search engine discovering it through normal WordPress sitemap crawling.

What does noindex mean?

An unlisted article receives a noindex instruction.

This asks search engines not to include the page in their public search results.

It is important to understand that noindex is a search engine instruction rather than a security feature.

Someone with the direct URL may still be able to visit the article.

Can search engines still find the article?

The plugin takes several steps to stop an unlisted article being promoted publicly, including removing it from the sitemap and adding a noindex instruction.

However, the article still has a public URL.

Avoid linking to it from public pages if you do not want it easily discovered.

Again, do not use an unlisted article for sensitive or confidential information.

Change an unlisted article back to normal

To make the article public again:

1. Open Knowledge Base > All Articles.
2. Edit the unlisted article.
3. Disable the unlisted option.
4. Check that a suitable category is selected.
5. Select Update.
6. Clear the website cache.

The article should then be available to normal knowledge base features again.

It may appear in:

• Search
• Category pages
• Related Articles
• Recommended Articles
• Popular Articles
• Sidebars
• The WordPress sitemap

It may take time for search engines to discover and index the article after the noindex instruction has been removed.

The article still appears in search

If an article still appears after being marked as unlisted:

1. Check that the article was updated successfully.
2. Clear your WordPress cache.
3. Clear any server or hosting cache.
4. Refresh the knowledge base page.
5. Test while signed out of WordPress.
6. Check that you are viewing live search results rather than an old browser result.

If the article appears in a third-party search engine, it may take time for that search engine to process the new noindex instruction.

The article still appears in a category

If the unlisted article is still visible on a category page:

• Clear all website caches
• Check that the unlisted option is enabled
• Make sure you updated the correct article
• Test the category while signed out
• Refresh the page using a private browser window

The article can remain assigned to the category in WordPress while being hidden from the public category list.

The direct link does not work

If the article is unlisted but the direct URL returns a 404 error, check that:

• The article status is Published
• The article is not in Draft
• The article is not in Trash
• The article URL is correct
• Your SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base licence is active
• WordPress permalinks are working

To refresh the permalink rules:

1. Open Settings > Permalinks.
2. Select Save Changes.
3. Test the article URL again.

You do not need to change the selected permalink structure.

The article says the knowledge base is unavailable

Unlisted articles still require an active SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base licence.

If the licence becomes inactive, the article may display a temporary unavailable message.

Open:

Knowledge Base > Licence

Check that your Monthly or Yearly subscription is active and that the saved licence is recognised.

Should unlisted articles have a category?

You can leave an unlisted article without a category, but assigning one can make it easier to find and manage inside WordPress.

For example, you could create an internal category such as:

• Private Support Guides
• Temporary Articles
• Customer-Specific Help

Remember that the category itself may still appear publicly if it contains other normal articles.

Should unlisted articles have excerpts?

An excerpt is optional.

It may still be useful inside the WordPress dashboard or if the article is changed back to public later.

However, visitors should not normally see the excerpt through public knowledge base listings while the article is unlisted.

Should unlisted articles be linked from other articles?

Avoid linking to an unlisted article from a normal public article unless you are happy for visitors to discover it.

A public link makes the URL easier to find, even though the article itself is still marked as unlisted.

For articles intended only for selected users, share the direct URL privately.

Review unlisted articles regularly

It is easy to forget about articles that do not appear in the public knowledge base.

Review them occasionally and decide whether they should:

• Remain unlisted
• Become normal public articles
• Be updated
• Be moved to Draft
• Be deleted
• Be replaced by a newer guide

This helps prevent old or inaccurate instructions from remaining available through direct links.

Unlisted article checklist

Before sharing an unlisted article, check that:

• The article is published
• The unlisted option is enabled
• The direct URL works
• It does not appear in knowledge base search
• It does not appear on category pages
• It is not shown in Popular Articles
• It is not used for Related or Recommended Articles
• It is excluded from the sitemap
• It contains no confidential information
• You understand that anyone with the URL can open it
• Your SoftwareRoad Knowledge Base licence is active

The article is now available through its direct link without being promoted throughout the public knowledge base.