Improving your FAQs on your website
This means:
- Improving navigation through the questions
- Clarity versus extreme precision in syntax
- Linking the answers to other areas for additional information
1. Improving Navigation Through the Questions
Many FAQ pages flounder because of difficult navigation, and this damages customer service. You can improve this by grouping questions by category to improve efficiency and answer questions the user may not think to ask. By grouping questions by categories, such as “Accounts,” “Pricing and Payment,” or “Guarantees,” the design streamlines the presentation of information and improves customer service and UX. In addition, if a visitor finds a question they forgot to check, you avoid future uncertainty and increase trust in your product.
Grouping questions at the top of the page and duplicating them with answers below will make it easier for visitors to find their questions. If your page provides answers immediately below each question, the visitors may become frustrated trying to find their specific question and abandon the page. Instead, provide specific, permanent URLs to return to the spot where the question is answered.
2. Clarity Versus Extreme Precision in Syntax
In writing answers to questions, the temptation is to provide excruciatingly comprehensive details on everything. The motivation for doing so is to ensure that visitors will have their question answered at some point in the text. Extreme precision also means that the answer will be technically correct on all points.
However, FAQ pages risk being boring and difficult to process when using this approach. Instead, answers can address the most common objections to purchasing a product and provide clear instructions that overcome those objections.
3. Linking Answers to Other Areas for Additional Information
Your answers will likely raise additional questions. This is an opportunity to connect your potential customer to the areas that answer those additional inquiries.
The FAQ page should not be a final destination. UX designers should intentionally link FAQs with other areas to easily guide the user through the experience and keep them captivated. For instance, a FAQ answer can link to the product description or complementary products. In addition, you can use the FAQs to collect relevant data about the user by offering options to act in order to re-engage the customer further down the road.
Some companies fail to scrutinize their FAQ pages as explanatory landing pages, features pages, and explanatory videos gain in popularity. However, a potential customer will always need a clear, streamlined storehouse for all of the comprehensive questions they may ask. Ensuring that experience is pleasant and fills the sales funnel is more critical than ever as users become more aware of various feature sets. By applying these three methods to your FAQ page should improve customer service and satisfaction almost immediately.
