FAQs

Do not use frequently asked questions (FAQs). Important information must be out on the page and easy to find. If you create content based on user needs, you will not need to use FAQs.

FAQs make it more difficult for users to find what they need. This is especially frustrating for people who:

• use screen readers
• have learning difficulties
• have limited English
• are reading the content on a small screen

FAQs use more words to say the same thing

For example:
What time is the recycling centre open?
From 8am to 5pm.

Instead of just: The recycling centre is open from 8am to 5pm.

FAQs tend to be an information dump

They tend to be a dump of things the writer wants users to know, with no logical order, structure or context. This means the user has to potentially read the whole lot to find what they're looking for. And they might read the whole lot before realising the information they need is not there.

FAQs do not support skim reading

Users tend to skim read web pages, only reading the first couple of words of each line. To support this, page titles, headings and text should be written with keywords first in each sentence. This is called front-loading.

If you start each section with a question word, such as ‘what', as you would in an FAQ, it makes it harder for users to skim the text and therefore spot the information they need.

FAQ answers are often written as one long block of text

Blocks of text without headings are hard to read, especially on smaller devices and users would have to read or listen to the content in full before finding out if the content was relevant to them.

FAQs often repeat content

FAQs often repeat content that's already on a site. This can be confusing for users:

• the 2 pieces of content can compete in search results and users won't know which result to choose
• if one is updated and the other one isn't users won't know which is correct, making the content less trustworthy

What the experts say

• FAQs and FAQ Design: Helpful For Your Audience or Not?
• Here's a frequently asked question for you: are FAQs all bad?