# 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.

- Canonical HTML: https://growth.iangoh.com/growth-ideas/discourse-topic-template-before-support-post-submit/
- Source: [meta.discourse.org](https://meta.discourse.org/t/using-topic-templates-for-categories/38295?tl=en)
- GrowthDex source hub: [Discourse Meta: Using topic templates for categories](/sources/discourse-meta-using-topic-templates-for-categories-meta-discourse-org/)
- Last checked: 2026-05-29
- Rarity: uncommon
- Budget: free
- Channels: Community, Support, Documentation
- Stages: support intake, community ops, first-response quality, self-serve conversion


## Why this can grow

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.

## Ian's take

From scaling consumer platforms across MENA and Southeast Asia, my default is to distrust growth work that only looks good in a slide. My bias is to treat this as a small market test first. Make the audience narrow, make the promise concrete, and let the first real response decide whether it deserves more work. For conversion, I would strip the test down to one promise, one proof point, and one next step. Confusion kills good demand. For this tactic, I would watch one clear growth signal before putting more time or budget behind it.

## Action plan

1. Define one narrow startup segment where discourse topic template before support post submit can create a measurable lift.
2. Turn the tactic into one offer, page, campaign, or workflow for the Community and Support channel.
3. Use the evidence from meta.discourse.org to set the first version of the message, format, and audience.
4. Launch a small test for 7 to 14 days with one success metric: one measurable growth signal.
5. Review the result, keep the winning message, remove weak variants, and turn the learning into a repeatable growth playbook.

## 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.

## Adjacent tactics in the same lane

- [Category topic templates for cleaner support intake](/growth-ideas/category-topic-templates-for-cleaner-support-intake/) - same source, 2 shared channels
- [Discourse support category type with solved defaults](/growth-ideas/discourse-support-category-type-with-solved-defaults/) - 3 shared channels, 1 shared stage
- [GitHub contributing tab before first PR](/growth-ideas/github-contributing-tab-before-first-pr/) - 2 shared channels, 1 shared stage
- [Discourse solved tags on mixed discussion categories](/growth-ideas/discourse-solved-tags-on-mixed-discussion-categories/) - 2 shared channels, 1 shared stage

## Read GrowthDex essays

Browse the plain-English essay index at [GrowthDex Blog](/blog/).

## Related GrowthDex essays

- [The support forum should stop acting like a chat room](/blog/the-support-forum-should-stop-acting-like-a-chat-room/) - community-led growth, support-led growth, documentation

## Advisory

If you want help turning this into a working growth system, Ian Goh offers advisory at https://iangoh.com/advisory.