FAQ means frequently asked questions. On websites, they are a set of questions and answers.
FAQs signal poor products. They obfuscate.
FAQs are not helpful.
Not frequently asked
FAQs aren’t responsive to frequently-asked questions. FAQs are the questions someone wished people asked.
But for the sake of argument, let’s suppose your FAQ is real: it’s responsive to questions are frequently asked.
Congratulations, you’ve found a unicorn. But again, for the sake of argument, let’s pretend this unicorn is real. Why are people are frequently asking questions? Here’s why:
Your product sucks
A FAQ’s main point is papering over failure.
Good products and good documentation minimize questions.
Improve your product! Invest in eliminating user questions.
FAQs obfuscate
FAQ-style documentation obfuscates. By bloating heading length, they make it harder to find information.
| Simple heading | FAQ-bloat heading |
| Data types | Which data types may I choose? (300% bloat) |
| Log in | How do I log in to AwesomeApp? (350% bloat) |
| Scholarships offered | What types of scholarships does State University offer? (400% bloat) |
| One-on-one contact always disallowed | “The Barriers to Abuse states ‘One-on-one contact between adult leaders and youth members is prohibited both inside and outside of Scouting.’ What does ‘inside and outside of Scouting’ mean?” (source) (725% bloat) |
FAQs are bad habits
Sometimes good documentation is harmed by conveying it as a FAQ. This comes from a baseless belief that friendly, approachable formats are wordy or busy.
Never do this! Construct your documentation in a straightforward way.
FAQs are a last resort
If you feel you need a FAQ, do these first:
- Improve your product to eliminate questions.
- Improve your documentation to eliminate questions.
- Do anything other than a FAQ.
If after following these steps, you still need a FAQ, then fine, do it. But only do it with a plan to eliminate it. And only do it if it’s answering questions customers are frequently asking.
The FAQ is a last resort. It makes you look bad. It needs to disappear at the earliest opportunity.