Link This | Email this | Blog This | Comments (0)

Creating A FAQ for your web site
January 18, 2008

Whatever type of web site you have, it's good to have a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section.  If customers ask the same questions, it can be expensive and time-consuming to answer them over and over again.  Simplify it, and gain their trust by offering the information they need before they have to ask you.

Here are 5 ways to gather the questions for this section:

1. Examine your competitors FAQs to see what customers are asking (it's also good to look at popular, possibly non-competing sites to see what they have listed as well). 
2. Brainstorm a list with your employees/team to see what questions they get asked often.  People on the phones and people on the floor are the first line of contact for your customers and can provide the best feedback for this exercise.
3. Group all the related questions together.  If there are more than 20 questions, group them by category and add a search feature so they're easy to locate (example: Amazon.com uses their left nav bar in the Help section)
4. Ensure your FAQ is easy to find on all your sites (have it in the main or subnavigation on all pages).
5. Encourage feedback on your FAQ from your visitors / customers.

FAQs are a necessary and frequently visited section on your site.  It is where your customers get a glimpse into your business model (where you ship, your return policy, special orders, etc.) and how they can expect to be treated.  By providing this information up front (ie, not providing it or simply hiding it on your web site), they feel more comfortable shopping with you.  It's a subconscious decision, but it works in your favor.

Posted by Suze Bragg on January 18, 2008 | Comments (0)