Treat every meaningful product release as a support boundary. Publish the current version, review compatibility and known issues, and deliberately decide which previous answers still apply. Keep old-version knowledge available only where it remains useful instead of silently mixing it with the new release.
What matters most
- Make the current version visible before troubleshooting begins.
- Review support knowledge at release time.
- Do not inherit compatibility claims or workarounds automatically.
- Keep old-version guidance separate when customers may still use older releases.
- Use version context in every answer that can change across releases.
Why version-blind support creates wrong answers
Imagine a plugin that required a manual workaround in version 2.3. Version 2.4 fixes the problem. If the old workaround remains mixed into the general knowledge base, a buyer on 2.4 can still receive unnecessary or harmful instructions. The reverse problem also happens when a new dependency breaks compatibility that older documentation still claims is supported.
The same pattern appears in templates, spreadsheets, presets and courses. Product knowledge has a time dimension even when the product does not look like traditional software.
Use a release support checklist
Every meaningful release should trigger a short support review. Confirm the current version, update quick-start instructions if the workflow changed, re-check compatibility, close resolved issues and add new limitations or known problems.
Then review the existing approved answers. Keep the ones that are still true, rewrite the ones that changed and retire the ones that no longer apply.
- Current version and release date
- Compatibility and requirements
- Quick-start changes
- Resolved and newly known issues
- Workarounds that are still safe
- Approved Q&A that remains valid
Keep legacy support deliberate
Some sellers support only the current version. Others support several versions because customers cannot upgrade immediately. Either policy can work, but the buyer should know which version an answer applies to.
A permanent product URL can still be useful: it can show the current release first while keeping older version contexts available when the seller chooses to support them.
Compatibility belongs next to the version
Compatibility often changes at the same time as the product. A WordPress plugin may depend on WordPress or PHP versions. A preset may depend on a Lightroom app family. A spreadsheet may behave differently across Excel and Google Sheets. A template may depend on a platform feature that changes over time.
Put those requirements next to the version information instead of burying them in an old installation article.
Practical checklist
- Define what counts as a meaningful support version for your product.
- Publish the current version prominently.
- Review compatibility and setup on every release.
- Close resolved known issues and add new ones.
- Review every reusable answer that may be version-dependent.
- Decide whether and how long older versions remain supported.
Frequently asked questions
Does every small product need version-specific support?
Only if product changes can make old setup, compatibility, issue or troubleshooting information wrong. For static files with no meaningful updates, a version boundary may add little value.
Should old support answers be deleted?
Not automatically. If customers still use an older supported version, old guidance can remain useful as long as it is clearly tied to that version and separated from current guidance.
What should be reviewed when a new version ships?
Current version, quick start, compatibility, known issues, workarounds and any approved Q&A that could change because of the release.
Turn the support system into one permanent buyer-facing page.
Keep the current version, compatibility, known issues and seller-approved buyer answers together. If approved sources do not support an answer, SupportKeep says it is not documented instead of guessing.