The way to structure your knowledge in Slite is by setting up channels.
This guide walks you through how to set up channels in Slite to keep your workspace organized and relevant for every team.
Quick Summary
• Keep it simple to start — broad, high-level channels work best
• Think about who needs access to what, and group content accordingly
• You can always convert a doc into a channel later if needed
• Use private channels for 1:1s or any sensitive topics
What are channels?
Channels are the top-level section of a workspace in Slite. They help divide team knowledge, so that each user only sees and has access to the sections that are relevant to them.
Channels can be used to organize work into meaningful categories, such as departments, teams, subject areas, internal and external projects, and 1:1s.
How to plan your channel structure?
You can create as many channels as you would like in Slite, but our advice is to start simple.
Start by doing an audit of how you would like to use Slite, what use cases you see being supported in your knowledge base (and which ones should live in other tools.) Then, take a look at the different user groups you will have, and which content they need to access.
The overlap between audience and content forms the blueprint for setting up your channels.
You can read more about this and the different approaches for setting up your knowledge base in the article below.
The following 4 types of channels are commonly used by our customers and can serve as inspiration.
1. Departments
This type of channel is used by 90% of our users and is one of the easiest ways to get started.
When you set up channels per department, try to start high level. You can for example create a channel for Marketing, and then host Brand Marketing, Growth Marketing, and Content as docs underneath.
Once you have used Slite for a couple of months and discover you need to move to separate channels, you can easily convert a doc into a channel anytime by dragging it outside its container in the sidebar.
Tip: Start by creating a General channel for company-wide content. Not only is this usually high-value information, but it also allows you to set the example of how channels in your account should look.
2. Projects
It can also be helpful to create channels for (cross-functional) projects. This makes it easy to share the content with all those involved.
That being said, we advise you not to create these channels too fast because they can quickly clutter your account.
A rule of thumb for creating cross-functional project channels can be:
Does the collaboration last more than a year? → Create a channel for the project.
Will it be used for less than a year? → Create an overarching channel and nest the actual projects underneath as docs.
3. External collaboration
You can also use Slite for external collaboration, for example, if you would like a collaborative space to work with clients. The setup of this can be the same as with cross-functional projects. Depending on the number of clients you work with, and the duration of those partnerships, you can go for one Customer channel, or create a channel for each customer.
You are able to add your clients as guests to either the channel or doc and make sure that that is the only part of your Slite account that they have access to.
4. 1:1s
A final channel type would be for 1:1s, either between a manager and direct report, or between peers. For this, we recommend creating a channel per 1:1 relationship you have. As these are often long-term relationships this gives you the space to host meeting notes, performance reviews, career development, and training resources.
Tip: Make these channels private so that only you and the other person have access to them. They should show the lock icon.