Discourse topic template before support post submit
Prefill support categories with the fields you actually need so bug reports and setup questions arrive with enough context to answer on the first pass.
Why this can grow a startup
A support forum starts to feel expensive when every useful reply begins with the same cleanup questions. Discourse's category topic templates give the operator a blunt but effective intake control. You can ask for version, environment, steps, and expected outcome before the thread is even posted. That does not make every report perfect, but it sharply reduces the empty first roundtrip where support has to drag the basics out of the user. A forum with better first posts produces faster answers, better search results, and fewer abandoned threads.
Source-backed example
Discourse documents category topic templates, title placeholders, hidden comments, and pre-filled topic links as built-in ways to keep topics in a category structured from the start.
Source-reported evidence
Source: Discourse Meta: Using topic templates for categories
Discourse supports category topic templates, title placeholders, pre-filled topic links, and hidden HTML comments inside the template.
Attributed to the cited source; GrowthDex has not independently verified it. Use this as context, not as a forecast, benchmark, or recommended target.
Evidence scope: claims and metrics are attributed to the linked source; GrowthDex has not independently replicated the reported result. Check the original context and validate fit before applying it. Read the evidence methodology.
Source discovered: May 29, 2026
When to use it
Use this when Community, Support, Documentation is relevant to support intake, community ops, first-response quality and you can run a bounded test with a free budget.
When not to use it
Do not use it as a substitute for customer evidence, a clear owner, or a measurable stop condition. Local platform rules and market behavior still need checking.
How to do it
- Choose one target segment and define the exact next action this tactic should prompt.
- Adapt the tactic to Community and Support, using evidence from Discourse Meta: Using topic templates for categories as context—not as a promised result.
- Record a baseline for: Users who resolve the issue and complete the next useful action. Set a guardrail that would make you pause the test.
- Run a narrow pilot and choose a test window that fits the normal decision or use cycle; do not scale before you have observed the full cycle.
- Compare the signal with its baseline. Scale only if the intended action improves without crossing the guardrail; otherwise revise one variable or stop and record what you learned.
Compare a stack for your situation
Compare source-backed tactics against your product, stage, budget and channel strengths, then choose one experiment to test.
Explore the context
Did you launch this experiment?
Report a launch to help us understand which growth ideas founders put into practice.
Apply this with an operator
Choose product surfaces that compound distribution without hiding weak activation or retention.