Definition: Frequently asked questions (FAQ) are collections of the most common questions and brief, easy-to-understand answers about a particular product, service, or topic. They can be presented in various formats, such as a webpage, a PDF file, or an interactive chatbot.
They serve as a self-service tool for customers to easily find the information they need without contacting customer support.
Benefits of having FAQ pages
- Saves customers’ time by letting them find the information they need without contacting customer support, which can take time due to delays.
- Establishes trust by showing customers that the company understands their pain points and is addressing them. It creates transparency about the company’s products/services.
- Reduces the cost of customer support by lowering the number of low-impact tickets in the support queue and making more room for important tickets.
- Improves website navigation by pointing users to the right pages on the website (specific blogs, features, tutorials…). This is done through internal linking.
- Improves SEO traffic by making the website more visible, making it easier for potential customers to find the website by searching for specific questions.
How to craft good FAQs
- Identify common questions customers are asking about the product/service across all channels and create lists of questions that need to be answered.
- Organize the FAQ into categories based on different topics, customer personas, and products/services.
- Answer questions clearly and concisely with only the important information that solves the problem and easy-to-understand language.
- Make answers easy to find by displaying the most common questions on top, internally linking them, and allowing customers to search for questions.
- Include media (images, GIFs, videos) that visually explain what the paragraphs are telling the customer to do.
- Update the FAQ regularly with new questions, remove outdated answers, and improve other aspects of the FAQ.
- Optimize for SEO by using relevant keywords in questions/answers as many customers search for answers for products/services on Google.
- Make the FAQ accessible on every website page and inside the product.
How do you structure frequently asked questions?
There are two ways to structure them:
- A list of questions one after another. This structure works for small FAQs.
- Categorized by topics where questions are grouped, each category has a heading that customers can click to access questions. This structure is best for big FAQs because they are easier to navigate.
Examples of well-designed and written FAQ pages
Airbnb has a search bar allowing users to search for specific questions with suggestions based on their profile, with every FAQ page acting as a mini blog.
YouTube’s FAQ is split into categories and sub-categories, leading to different branches of questions on separate pages.
WhatsApp has an easy navigation system of drop-down categories and questions that follows the user with questions being answered step-by-step.
Wikipedia has every important topic on each page linked to the appropriate page creating a web of pages.
FAQs
A frequently asked questions (FAQ) list is often used in articles, websites, email lists, and online forums where common questions tend to recur, for example through posts or queries by new users related to common knowledge gaps.
What does a FAQ stand for? ›
/fæk/ used in writing to mean ' frequently asked questions. ' (a list of questions and answers about a particular subject, especially one giving basic information for users of a website)
What is a FAQ short description? ›
An FAQ page (short for Frequently Asked Question page) is a part of your website that provides answers to common questions, assuages concerns, and overcomes objections. It's a space where customers can delve into the finer details of your product or service, away from your sales-focused landing pages and homepage.
What are some common FAQ questions? ›
Some common examples include questions about service hours, shipping and handling, product details, return policies, etc., depending on the industry. You can have different FAQ sections for different pages of your website. Your FAQ page demonstrates how well you understand your customers.
What is the purpose of a FAQ? ›
Frequently asked questions, or FAQs as they are known, are a great way to improve your customer's experience of your website. It allows you to answer the questions that are most commonly asked surrounding your product or service. At the same time, there are also many other benefits to having FAQs on your website.
How many questions should a FAQ have? ›
Fewer than five questions might indicate you haven't done your research… or that you didn't need an FAQ to begin with. Fielding dozens of questions isn't good either, but if they're all necessary, consider splitting your FAQ into multiple pages.
What should a FAQ page look like? ›
It's clearly divided into sections like “Popular questions” and “Product questions,” so people can find information quickly. Questions are formatted with drop-down options, which makes the page less cluttered. People can find and expand only the questions they have.
What does the F in FAQ stand for? ›
FAQ is used especially on websites to refer to questions about a particular topic. FAQ is an abbreviation for `frequently asked questions'.
What are the most frequently asked questions? ›
100 Most Asked Questions on Google
| # | Question | Monthly Searches |
|---|
| 1 | What is my ip | 829,000 |
| 2 | What to watch | 749,000 |
| 3 | How many weeks in a year | 510,000 |
| 4 | How many days until christmas | 430,000 |
96 more rowsMay 5, 2024
They're not always bad. In fact, sometimes they could genuinely be the best format for our content, especially where they benefit users and are based on real data. Popular questions can help users quickly learn about topics they're unfamiliar with. People are used to reading FAQs and may even seek them out.
(I have just made up this abbreviation, but it does a good job getting my point across.) A good rule of thumb is to write short answers to each question — two to three paragraphs would make a good answer. If you go longer, the page will be too long and cluttered.
What is the most mispronounced? ›
Most commonly mispronounced words
- A-D. Abalone (/æbəˈləʊni/) Incorrect: ah-boh-lohn. ...
- E-H. Epitome (/ɪˈpɪtəmi/) Incorrect: ih-pi-toe-m. ...
- I-L. Ingenuity (/ɪndʒɪˈnjuːɪti/) Incorrect: in-jen-wee-tee. ...
- M-P. Maniac (/meɪnɪæk/) Incorrect: mahn-yuhk. ...
- Q-T. Quinoa (/quinoa/) Incorrect: kee-no-ah. ...
- U-Z. Wednesday (/wenzdeɪ/)
Meaning of FAQ in English
abbreviation for frequently asked question: a question in a list of questions and answers intended to help people understand a particular subject: If you have any problems, consult the FAQs on our website.
What can I say instead of FAQ? ›
What is another word for FAQ?
| frequently asked questions | common questions |
|---|
| help section | online guide |
| questions and answers | docs |
| documentation | commonly asked questions |
| answers to common questions | |
