Question 1

How do I set up my Hosted Hub?

Accepted Answer

Every instance of Malcolm! comes complete with a Hosted Hub that you can configure and customise.

You can find out more about the Hosted Hub here and if you want to turn if off you can find out how to do that here.

In MyMalcolm if you click "View Live" towards the top the screen you'll see what your Hosted Hub currently looks like.

The two things you are probably most likely to want to change are the URL the Hub is on and the Hub's look, feel and content. Here is how to configure each of those areas.

1. Configure the URL

In MyMalcolm, go to the Settings section, then select "Custom Domains" from the vertical left hand menu. In this area you can change the URL your Hosted Hub will use. It's possible (and no extra charge) to use your own external domain or sub-domain.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/VKQ7z1JBXW/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2019.08.12-17_01_54.png (Customise your domains in MyMalcolm)

2. Change your Hub's look, feel and content

You can extensively customise your Hosted Hub to suit your own requirements. To do this, go to the Brand section of MyMalcolm, clone an existing theme, then choose the edit icon on your cloned theme.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/cO3r3O1RbL/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2019.08.12-17_03_00.png (Theme management in MyMalcolm)

In the edit theme area use the left hand vertical navigation to see all the custom options you have.

Question 2

How do I create routing via rules / logic flows in a Workflow?

Accepted Answer

When creating a Workflow (you might prefer to call it a form or a user journey) you may want to vary what is presented to the user based on their earlier inputs. For example if you sell different types of product and want to build a returns form the information you ask for might vary from product to product. So you'd ideally ask the user to choose the type of product they want to return, then show them further relevant questions that related to that type of product only.

Rules and routing in Malcolm! Workflows let you do just this - you can create complex and adaptive multi-step user journeys / forms easily via this feature.

Below is a simple example of how rules and routing work. In this example we create a simple form that asks a user for some basic details (their name, email address and "further details"). If they select "yes" to the question "Do you have documents or files to upload?" we'll include a screen for them to upload those files before they complete the form. If the user selects "no" we won't show them this screen and they will go direct to the Thank You screen.

Here is the setup in the Workflow builder in MyMalcolm:

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/LFuUvRSKYT/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2019.08.18-12_06_04.png (Building a Workflow with conditional routing in MyMalcolm)

Conceptually it is important to understand that rules and routing works at a page level (not at a question level). So where you have questions that will only be shown to the user in certain scenarios you should put those questions on their own page. You then use rules to show or hide those pages.

In our example we have set the "Include page by default" setting on page 2 to be off. By doing this page 2 is "hidden" and can only be seen by routing to it via a rule.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/sAdJrWv6tR/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2019.08.18-12_10_51.png (Include page by default setting in Workflow builder in MyMalcolm)

You configure rules at a question/element level.

So in our example we now need to set up a rule on the "Do you have files or documents to upload?" question/element. To do this click on that question/element.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/xQvhNmZZk4/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2019.08.18-12_09_39.png (Question elements in Malcolm! Workflow Builder)

In the overlay that appears select "rules". Then add the rule that if the value is equal to yes to include page 2.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/iVFe0tmYNZ/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2019.08.18-12_09_10.png (Configuring rules in the Workflow Builder of MyMalcolm!)

The available options in values will vary according to the type of question/element you are editing. In "Then...." you have the option of including a page, hiding a page or moving to it. If you move to a page the Workflow will then continue from that page and jump over any pages before.

You can see the full range of options for this element type below.

Question 3

What is an Instance?

Accepted Answer

An instance is a collection of related FAQ’s and/or Workflows that your users will see and interact with plus a set of management tools that you and other members of your staff or team will use.

Each instance also includes an optional hosted hub that you can customise and brand.

If you decide to use Malcolm! in two distinct areas of your business it can make sense to have two different instances. For example you could use one instance of Malcolm! to support customers of your product or service and another instance as an internal HR portal.

You can see some examples of how Malcolm! instances can be used here

Instance Billing

Our billing is based around instances. You can start an instance any time and enjoy a 14 day trial. This can be great for trying ideas out. If you want to keep using the instance beyond 14 days you'll need to choose a plan and give us your card details, or agree an enterprise plan with us.

Instance Owners

Each instance will have an owner. This is the master user who is ultimately responsible for the instance. If you are on a Team or Enterprise plan you can invite other users to the instance too. If you need to transfer ownership of the instance to another user (for instance if you are leaving a company or organisation) you can do that as long as the proposed new owner agrees.

Question 4

Do I need to pay VAT?

Accepted Answer

Value Added Tax (VAT) is the sales tax in the United Kingdom where Malcolm! trades from. The current UK VAT rate is 20%. Our pricing is quoted excluding VAT.

The UK is no longer a member of the European Union (EU) however the VAT rules around UK companies trading with EU based businesses and EU based individuals continue to apply.

Whether VAT is applicable to your purchase of Malcolm! and how we apply it can be summarised as follows:

If you are a UK customer (individual or business): we charge VAT at 20%
If you are an EU Business and supply a valid VAT number (we check it): we will not charge you any VAT
If you are an individual in the EU: we will charge you VAT at your local country VAT - details here (PDF)
If you are a company or an individual not in the UK or in the EU (eg you are in the USA or Australia): we will not charge you any VAT

Question 5

Can I change meta information and optimise Malcolm! for SEO?

Accepted Answer

Malcolm! offers lots of options to configure your hosted hub for SEO purposes. Below is an overview.

Hosted Hub Homepage

You can set the page title, meta description and keywords for your hosted hub homepage via Settings --> Instance --> Meta Content.

Hosted Hub homepage meta options in MyMalcolm

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/1YN7mN8DHC/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2022.08.09-13_02_55.png (Hosted Hub homepage meta options in MyMalcolm)

Hosted Hub homepage meta options in MyMalcolm

You can configure whether you want search engines to see this page via the visibility tab.

FAQs and Workflows only homepage

If you use the FAQs only and Workflows only homepages, you can set the page title, meta description and keywords for them via Settings --> FAQs --> Meta Content and Settings --> Workflows --> Meta Content respectively.

You can configure whether you want search engines to see these pages via the visibility tab.

Visibility settings in MyMalcolm

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/SYnelFDeLl/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2022.08.09-13_08_05.png (Visibility settings in MyMalcolm)

Visibility settings in MyMalcolm

Authors, Categories & Tags

By default the results pages for Authors, Categories & Tags are not shown to search engines, but you can change this and configure the meta information via the respective Author, Category and Tag in the FAQ section.

Tag configuration in MyMalcolm

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/9qAnoZ47Lg/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2022.08.09-13_04_47.png (Tag configuration in MyMalcolm)

Tag configuration in MyMalcolm

Advanced Settings

You can set much of the above, and some additional title and meta info via the language file which can be found at Settings --> Instance --> Advanced. Click "Show dictionary" to see what can be edited.

Advanced SEO options in MyMalcolm

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/SmUzmyq955/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2022.08.09-13_03_41.png (Advanced SEO options in MyMalcolm)

Advanced SEO options in MyMalcolm

Individual Content

You can edit the meta content and visibility (ie whether a search engine can see it) of an individual FAQ or Workflow via the configure tab of the FAQ or Workflow in question.

Social Images

A social image is the image that will be used when you link to content via services like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn etc.

A default social image is defined in your theme (Brand --> Theme --> edit icon on theme --> General)
That can be overriden by defining a social image in Settings --> Instance --> Meta
For your hosted hub home, the FAQs and Workflows only homepages and the Authors, Categories & Tags results pages the above can be overriden via the respective setting screens mentioned above.
An individual piece of content (ie an FAQ or Workflow) can set their own social image and override the above via the configure tab of the content in question.

Site Map

All published and "visible" pages/content will appear in the sitemap.xml file which can be found at yourhostedhub.com/sitemap.xml where yourhostedhub.com is your actual Malcolm! hosted hub URL.

Schema

We mark up content created in the FAQs section using Schema. This means your content may appear in Google as Rich Results. You can choose between marking content up as FAQPage (perfect for questions and answers) or as a WebPage. See here for more info. In addition if you insert a How-to / Step by Step into your content this is also marked up using Schema. See here for more info.

Question 6

Is Malcolm! GDPR compliant?

Accepted Answer

What is GDPR?

"GDPR" refers to The General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679. This is a regulation in EU law on data protection and privacy for all individuals within the European Union and the European Economic Area. It also addresses the export of personal data outside the EU and EEA areas.

How does it apply to Malcolm?

Malcolm! collects, stores and processes data about our own customers - people signing up to Malcolm! and creating and managing instances.

When talking about GDPR it is important to understand the concept of the Data Controller and the Data Processor.

The Data Controller determines the purposes for which and the means by which personal data is processed
The Data Processor processes personal data only on behalf of the controller.

Is Malcolm! the Data Controller or the Data Processor?

In the context of information about our own customers, eg people who sign up for Malcolm! accounts and manage Instances we are the Data Controller.

In the context of information about your customers, eg information that is collected on your behalf via Workflows you create in Malcolm! we are the Data Processor only. You - as the Data Controller - have the obligation to ensure you are acting lawfully in accordance with the GDPR legislation.

What does all this mean?

When you sign up to Malcolm! you agree to our Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy which detail how we handle your data. By agreeing you give us your consent.

It is important that when you collect, store, process and potentially transfer (via Integrations or Exports) data from your own customers via a Malcolm! Workflow you have your customers consent to do this. Most companies handle this via provisions in their Privacy Policy and/or Terms and Conditions around data processing which their customers agree to. It is therefore good practice to include a check box in your Workflows that reminds customers of your Privacy Policy and their continuing agreement of it and/or confirms their consent for you to collect and process their information

Further Questions

If you have further questions about GDPR or wish to contact our Data Protection Officer you can contact us here.

You can find out more about GDPR here.

Question 7

Do you support anchor links?

Accepted Answer

We support the ability to scroll the user to certain parts of your content on the same page via anchor (or "jump") links.

To insert an anchor click the anchor icon in the markdown editor. Type a name for your anchor in the dialog and hit insert (Malcolm! will make your text lower case and replace any spaces with a dash)

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/oCqoO1obU2/Insert%20anchor.png (Insert anchor dialog)

To link to the anchor use the create link dialog and find your anchor from the drop down list.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/7oI1UVxRhF/Target%20link%20to%20anchor.png (Target link to anchor)

Malcolm! will then add markdown to your content, you can see an example below

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/TkGY25Md9d/Anchor%20and%20target%20in%20markdown.png (Anchor and target in markdown)

Alternatively you can create your anchors and links directly in markdown, the syntax is as follows

To define your anchor

To link to your anchor

See the video below for a walkthrough of this feature

Question 8

What does Malcolm! cost?

Accepted Answer

We offer four types of plan and pricing - they can be viewed here.

We bill on a per instance basis - you can read more about instances here.

Question 9

Can users save Workflow progress and complete later?

Accepted Answer

It can be very useful to give your users the option to save progress on a Workflow and come back to complete the rest later. It's especially helpful if a you have built a long multi-stage Workflow like an application form.

You turn this feature on in MyMalcolm - go to the Configure screen of each individual Workflow.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/r3sEcA2Ugh/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2019.08.18-16_09_11.png (Turn Resume Workflow on in MyMalcolm)

When turned on users will see an option to "Finish Later" at the bottom of each Workflow screen. When clicked this will bring up an overlay asking them to enter their email address. A unique link will then be emailed that when clicked will take the user back to the same stage of the Workflow they were previously at.

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/R3FxUMpkNL/screenshot-support.malcolm.support-2019.08.18-16_41_46.png (Finish Later option on a Workflow)

If you need to retrieve these links (for example someone completing the form didn't receive or has lost the email with the resume link in) you can also get to the link via the Completions area of the Workflow section of MyMalcolm - click the link under "Resume link" to copy the URL your clipboard.

Question 10

What are promos and how can I use them?

Accepted Answer

Promos are part of your hosted hub theme and are very flexible multi purpose content areas that appear towards the bottom of your hosted hub homepage (and also your FAQs only and Workflows only home if you are using those).

You can use them to link to content within your Malcolm! instance, for example a particular category, tag, FAQ or Workflow and you can also use them to link out to content or functionality you may have elsewhere. They can be a great tactical tool as well, for example if you've a YouTube channel and want to draw attention to it use a promo!

On our own Malcolm! Help & Support Hub the "Upgrade your content" and "Hey there!" areas are promos.

Promos on Malcolm!

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/j0yBsWZi2d/screenshot-support.malcolm.support-2022.08.03-06_58_32.png (Promos on Malcolm!)

Promos on Malcolm!

Promos are created and managed via your theme (Brand --> Themes).

Promo management in MyMalcolm

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/6O1572FsqO/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2022.08.03-07_03_19.png (Promo management in MyMalcolm)

Promo management in MyMalcolm

When creating a promo you have various options such as uploading your own background image, plus configuring links

Adding a promo in MyMalcolm

https://malcolm-en-gb.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/instances/HwJyEPPI3q/resources/QnCg1Rjnpm/screenshot-my.malcolm.app-2022.08.03-07_03_59.png (Adding a promo in MyMalcolm)

Adding a promo in MyMalcolm

Also see featured boxes for similar functionality that enables you to create and manage content towards the top of your hosted hub home page.