Updated on June 27, 2022

People tend to stick to first impressions even in business. Especially when it comes to ITSM platforms, such as Jira Service Management, where usually customers come across a generic layout. And this isn’t how we leave a good first impression on a business customer who seeks help with a problem they came across using our services. We may think that looks aren’t important, though in business that’s what matters the most – the look and feel of the portal the users visit. It’s not like we would go for a face-to-face business meeting dressed in a sweatsuit. ITSM platform is a place where our customers meet our brand, so we should dress it up the best we can and try to provide them with a user experience similar to one they get from their favorite brands. That’s why we should always remember about making the most out of the customization possibilities provided, for example, by Jira Service Management. 

Since Jira Service Management Server update launched on May 2019, we get greater designing possibilities. From version 4.1 onwards, the Help Center and Customer Portal changed their look. So now, we’re able to create a Service Management that’s resembling more our brand style, and the interface is more like the one we have on Cloud instances. Okay, a nice banner and Cloud-like interface make a big difference in comparison to the previous versions, but what if someone wants to make really advanced changes in the look and feel of the portal? With the 4.2 version of the Service Management, we get access to the source code of the software, allowing for implementing the most advanced in-house modifications to the software. Even though we get the chance to make some elaborate customizations to the software, we need to involve our developers in the procedure. Still, if we don’t need some complex setup, we can go for a basic layout offered natively.

Yet, we still can get more advanced setup without digging into Jira Service Management’s source code. There’s a number of apps available on Atlassian Marketplace that extend the native design customizations and give us the possibility to introducing more sophisticated look to the portal. One of such apps is Theme Extension for Jira Service Management which enables us to take the service management to the next level by changing a number of UI elements on the Customer Portal. Let’s not forget that once the app is installed, we can access it from every Service Management project on our Server instance. Meaning that as Jira project admins we’re able to make all the changes to our portal which speeds up the customization process.

Theme Extension for Jira Service Management enables us to edit the Customer Portal by adding Cards theme to the default Jira Service Management setup. To make some changes in the UI design of the portal, we need to go to the Project Settings of the selected Service Management project. From there, we:

We can also create custom cards with company details, invitation for an event, links to external documentation, or social media channels. This is the only place where we need to use a few lines of HTML code. Once we’re all set and done, we can save our theme and publish it.

But Cards are not the only option to personalize your Help Center. Theme Extension for Jira Service Management enables us to add List Theme and customize them in different ways.

To edit a List Theme, open the theme editor and follow these steps:

Apps like Theme Extension for Jira Service Management give us the power to make necessary and more advanced modifications to the portal. Just by following an easy four-step process, we can create a unique Customer Portal with a clearer, simpler, and more intuitive user interface, which significantly changes how a user interacts with our Service Management.