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GNX-WEB/SUPPORT_CENTER_SETUP.md
Iliyan Angelov d48c54e2c5 update
2025-10-07 22:10:27 +03:00

12 KiB

Support Center Implementation - Complete Setup Guide

Overview

The Enterprise Support Center has been successfully implemented! This comprehensive system allows users to:

  1. Submit Support Tickets - Create and track support requests
  2. Browse Knowledge Base - Search and read helpful articles
  3. Check Ticket Status - Monitor ticket progress using ticket numbers
  4. No Authentication Required - Public access to support features

What's Been Implemented

Backend (Django)

1. Models (backend/support/models.py)

  • TicketStatus - Track ticket lifecycle (Open, In Progress, Resolved, etc.)
  • TicketPriority - Priority levels (Low, Medium, High, Critical) with SLA hours
  • TicketCategory - Organize tickets by category
  • SupportTicket - Main ticket model with auto-generated ticket numbers
  • TicketMessage - Conversation history on tickets
  • TicketActivity - Audit trail of all changes
  • KnowledgeBaseCategory - KB article categories
  • KnowledgeBaseArticle - Help articles with view counts and feedback
  • SupportSettings - Configurable support center settings

2. API Endpoints (backend/support/views.py)

Tickets:

  • POST /api/support/tickets/ - Create new ticket
  • GET /api/support/tickets/ - List tickets
  • POST /api/support/tickets/check-status/ - Check status by ticket number
  • POST /api/support/tickets/{id}/add-message/ - Add message to ticket

Categories & Settings:

  • GET /api/support/categories/ - List ticket categories
  • GET /api/support/statuses/ - List ticket statuses
  • GET /api/support/priorities/ - List priorities

Knowledge Base:

  • GET /api/support/knowledge-base/ - List articles (with search)
  • GET /api/support/knowledge-base/{slug}/ - Get article details
  • GET /api/support/knowledge-base/featured/ - Featured articles
  • POST /api/support/knowledge-base/{slug}/mark-helpful/ - Rate article

3. Admin Panel (backend/support/admin.py)

Full Django admin integration for managing:

  • Tickets with inline messages and activities
  • Categories, statuses, and priorities
  • Knowledge base articles and categories
  • Support settings

4. Management Command

python manage.py populate_support_data

Populates initial data:

  • 5 ticket statuses
  • 4 priority levels
  • 6 ticket categories
  • 6 KB categories
  • 6 sample KB articles

Frontend (Next.js/React)

1. Page Route

  • /support-center - Main support center page

2. Components (components/pages/support/)

Main Components:

  • SupportCenterHero.tsx - Hero section with feature highlights
  • SupportCenterContent.tsx - Tabbed interface container
  • CreateTicketForm.tsx - Ticket submission form
  • TicketStatusCheck.tsx - Check ticket progress
  • KnowledgeBase.tsx - Browse and search articles
  • KnowledgeBaseArticleModal.tsx - Article detail modal

3. API Services (lib/api/supportService.ts)

TypeScript API client with functions for:

  • Creating tickets
  • Checking status
  • Managing KB articles
  • All CRUD operations

4. Custom Hooks (lib/hooks/useSupport.ts)

React hooks for data fetching:

  • useTicketCategories()
  • useKnowledgeBaseCategories()
  • useFeaturedArticles()
  • useKnowledgeBaseArticle(slug)
  • And more...

5. Styling (public/styles/pages/_support-center.scss)

Complete, modern styling including:

  • Gradient hero section
  • Tabbed interface
  • Responsive forms
  • Article cards and modals
  • Loading and error states
  • Mobile-responsive design

🚀 Getting Started

Backend Setup

  1. Navigate to backend:
cd backend
  1. Database is already migrated and populated!

    • Migrations applied
    • Initial data loaded
  2. Start Django server:

../venv/bin/python manage.py runserver
  1. Access Admin Panel:
    ../venv/bin/python manage.py createsuperuser
    

Frontend Setup

  1. Navigate to project root:
cd /home/gnx/Desktop/GNX-WEB/gnx-react
  1. Install dependencies (if not already):
npm install
  1. Start development server:
npm run dev
  1. Access Support Center:

🎯 Key Features

1. Submit Tickets

  • Form Fields:

    • Personal info (name, email, phone, company)
    • Issue type (technical, billing, feature request, etc.)
    • Category selection
    • Subject and detailed description
  • Auto-Generated Ticket Numbers:

    • Format: TKT-YYYYMMDD-XXXXX
    • Example: TKT-20251007-A3B9C
  • Success Confirmation:

    • Displays ticket number
    • Guidance to save for tracking

2. Knowledge Base

  • Search Functionality:

    • Real-time search across articles
    • Search by title, content, keywords
  • Category Browser:

    • 6 pre-populated categories
    • Color-coded icons
    • Article count per category
  • Featured Articles:

    • Highlighted important articles
    • View counts
    • Helpful/not helpful ratings
  • Article Modal:

    • Full article content
    • Rich text support
    • Feedback buttons
    • Article metadata

3. Ticket Status Checker

  • Check by Ticket Number:

    • Enter ticket number
    • View complete ticket details
  • Displays:

    • Current status with color coding
    • Priority level
    • Creation and update dates
    • Full description
    • Message history
    • Activity timeline

4. Navigation Update

  • Navbar Button Changed:
    • Old: "Get Started" → /contact-us
    • New: "Support Center" → /support-center

📊 Database Schema

Pre-Populated Data

Ticket Statuses:

  • Open (Blue)
  • In Progress (Orange)
  • Pending Response (Purple)
  • Resolved (Green)
  • Closed (Gray)

Priorities:

  • Critical (4 hours SLA)
  • High (24 hours SLA)
  • Medium (48 hours SLA)
  • Low (72 hours SLA)

Ticket Categories:

  • Technical Support
  • Billing & Payments
  • Account Management
  • Product Inquiry
  • Bug Reports
  • Feature Requests

Knowledge Base Categories:

  • Getting Started
  • Account & Billing
  • Technical Documentation
  • Troubleshooting
  • Security & Privacy
  • Best Practices

Sample Articles:

  • How to Get Started with Our Platform
  • Understanding Your Billing Cycle
  • API Documentation Overview
  • Common Login Issues and Solutions
  • How to Update Your Payment Method
  • Security Best Practices

🔧 Configuration

API Base URL

Located in: lib/config/api.ts

  • Default: http://localhost:8000/api

Django Settings

Support app added to INSTALLED_APPS in backend/gnx/settings.py

URLs

Support endpoints registered in backend/gnx/urls.py:

path('support/', include('support.urls')),

🎨 UI/UX Features

Design Elements

  • Modern Gradient Hero - Dark theme with gold accents
  • Tabbed Interface - Easy navigation between features
  • Responsive Design - Mobile-first approach
  • Loading States - Spinners for async operations
  • Error Handling - User-friendly error messages
  • Success Feedback - Confirmation messages
  • Color-Coded Status - Visual ticket status indicators

Animations

  • GSAP scroll animations on hero
  • Smooth tab transitions
  • Modal fade-in/slide-up effects
  • Hover effects on cards and buttons

📝 Usage Examples

Create a Ticket (API)

import { createTicket } from '@/lib/api/supportService';

const ticketData = {
  title: "Login issues on mobile app",
  description: "Cannot login using my credentials...",
  ticket_type: "technical",
  user_name: "John Doe",
  user_email: "john@example.com",
  user_phone: "+1234567890",
  company: "Acme Corp",
  category: 1  // Technical Support
};

const ticket = await createTicket(ticketData);
console.log(ticket.ticket_number); // TKT-20251007-A3B9C

Check Ticket Status (API)

import { checkTicketStatus } from '@/lib/api/supportService';

const ticket = await checkTicketStatus('TKT-20251007-A3B9C');
console.log(ticket.status_name); // "Open"

Search Knowledge Base (API)

import { getKnowledgeBaseArticles } from '@/lib/api/supportService';

const articles = await getKnowledgeBaseArticles('login');
articles.forEach(article => {
  console.log(article.title);
});

🔐 Security Notes

  • Public Access: All endpoints are public (no authentication required)
  • Ticket Numbers: Randomly generated to prevent guessing
  • Internal Notes: Hidden from public API responses
  • Rate Limiting: Recommended for production deployment

🚀 Future Enhancements

Potential additions for future development:

  • Live Chat Integration - Real-time customer support
  • File Attachments - Upload files with tickets
  • Email Notifications - Automated ticket updates
  • Ticket Assignment - Auto-routing to support agents
  • SLA Alerts - Breach notifications
  • Analytics Dashboard - Support metrics and reports
  • Multi-language Support - Internationalization
  • Webhook Notifications - Integration with external systems
  • Customer Portal - User authentication for ticket management
  • Advanced Search - Filters, sorting, faceted search

📞 Testing the Implementation

Test Ticket Creation:

  1. Go to http://localhost:3000/support-center
  2. Click "Submit a Ticket" tab
  3. Fill out the form
  4. Submit and note the ticket number

Test Status Check:

  1. Click "Check Ticket Status" tab
  2. Enter the ticket number from above
  3. View complete ticket details

Test Knowledge Base:

  1. Click "Knowledge Base" tab
  2. Browse categories or use search
  3. Click an article to view details
  4. Rate article as helpful/not helpful

Test Admin Panel:

  1. Go to http://localhost:8000/admin
  2. Navigate to Support section
  3. View/edit tickets, categories, articles

📄 File Structure

gnx-react/
├── app/
│   └── support-center/
│       └── page.tsx                 # Main support page
├── components/
│   └── pages/
│       └── support/
│           ├── SupportCenterHero.tsx
│           ├── SupportCenterContent.tsx
│           ├── CreateTicketForm.tsx
│           ├── TicketStatusCheck.tsx
│           ├── KnowledgeBase.tsx
│           └── KnowledgeBaseArticleModal.tsx
├── lib/
│   ├── api/
│   │   └── supportService.ts        # API client
│   └── hooks/
│       └── useSupport.ts            # React hooks
├── public/
│   └── styles/
│       └── pages/
│           └── _support-center.scss # Styles
└── backend/
    └── support/
        ├── models.py                # Database models
        ├── serializers.py           # API serializers
        ├── views.py                 # API views
        ├── urls.py                  # URL routing
        ├── admin.py                 # Admin config
        ├── management/
        │   └── commands/
        │       └── populate_support_data.py
        └── README.md                # Module docs

Summary

The Enterprise Support Center is now fully operational with:

Backend: Complete Django REST API with 8 models and full CRUD operations
Frontend: Modern React/Next.js interface with 6 components
Database: Migrated and populated with sample data
Styling: Beautiful, responsive SCSS styles
Navigation: Updated navbar button
Documentation: Comprehensive README and guides

You're ready to provide enterprise-level support to your customers! 🎉


🆘 Need Help?

If you encounter any issues:

  1. Check that both Django and Next.js servers are running
  2. Verify the API base URL in lib/config/api.ts
  3. Check browser console for errors
  4. Review Django logs for backend issues
  5. Ensure all migrations are applied

Enjoy your new Support Center! 🚀