How to write an FAQ section for a business website
Where to find the questions, how to answer briefly and directly, how to group and update them, and why an FAQ helps customers and, indirectly, search.
A good FAQ section answers the questions that would otherwise reach you by phone or email, and it lets a hesitating visitor decide without having to ask. It is one of the easier parts of a website to get right, because the material already exists in your daily work.
Where to get the questions
- Your own inbox, messages and notes from phone calls. What do people ask again and again?
- The people who talk to customers. Ask them for the three questions they answer most often.
- The questions people have before they decide: how long it takes, what is included, how ordering or delivery works, what happens if something goes wrong.
- Write each question in the customer’s words (“Do I have to pay a deposit?”), not in the company’s words.
How to answer
- Put the answer in the first sentence, then add detail only if needed.
- Keep it short, usually two to four sentences.
- Be honest. If the answer is “it depends”, say what it depends on.
- Do not turn answers into advertising.
- If the topic is bigger, link to the page with details or to the contact form.
Group and order
With up to about ten questions, a single list is enough. With more, group them under short headings such as ordering, delivery, returns and contact, and put the most common ones first. Check that the section reads well on a phone and works with a keyboard. If the answers are hidden in expandable items, see website accessibility basics.
Keep it up to date
Add a question when you notice it repeating, and remove answers that are no longer true. Whenever conditions or opening hours change, check the FAQ as well. A wrong answer is worse than no answer.
What it gives you
Customers get quick answers, and you get fewer repeated enquiries. People also type questions into search engines, so a page that answers them clearly and in plain language has a chance of matching. But write the FAQ for people, not for search engines, and remember that nobody can promise a position. The wider picture is in SEO basics for a small website.
I do not write copy for clients, because you know the questions best, but I can place an FAQ section on the site where visitors will find it. For the main page, see what to write on the homepage, or write to me about your site.