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Why your users don’t like FAQs

By John Wooden
Fredrickson Communications Usability Lead

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) are everywhere on the web, used on all kinds of sites and in all kinds of contexts. From their humble beginnings in the early days of Internet newsgroups, FAQs have become a standard way of providing end users with important information.

But there’s a problem: users don’t like FAQs, at least not the way they are presented on many web sites.

In usability test sessions I have conducted over the years, test participants have repeatedly made the same two complaints about FAQs:

“They take too long to scroll through.”

“They never have the question I’m looking for.”

And sometimes, testers make a third complaint:

“The answers are too long-winded.”

In the last Fredrickson update, J. Hruby described the “new ruthless user” as impatient, laser-focused on their task, and looking for the quickest path to the target information. If you are thinking about adding FAQs to your site, it’s worth remembering this behavior.

Too Many FAQs

Just as most users are unlikely to scan more than the first five or six items in a list of search results, they are just as unlikely to scan many more than five or six FAQs. When there are dozens or even hundreds of FAQs, the description “frequently asked” simply isn’t appropriate anymore.

For example, the US Government site for people with Medicare lists 390 FAQs – 20 pages of questions – and although these have been categorized, there are 19 different categories to review, some that list 15 or more questions. The user still has to do a lot of work. (Yes, there’s an FAQ search function, but with scoped searches like this it’s easy for users to lose track of the category they are searching.)

Propaganda FAQs

Another common problem with FAQs is when the questions posted are not ones any real end users ever asked. Instead, the questions are presented simply to provide an opportunity for marketing happy talk. For example, real end users don’t ask questions like, “How does ABC Inc manage to deliver on time and under budget so consistently?” Or, “How can I use XYZ software to increase our profits and efficiency?”

These are propaganda FAQs, and users will actively avoid them. In contrast, end user FAQs are usually much more specific and focused on solving a particular problem.

Poorly Written FAQs

Wordiness and other forms of sloppy writing afflict many FAQs, where either the question or the answer, or both, is unclear. The following is one example from a Twin Cities business:

Q. Security level?
A. Added security

Q. Cost during Winter?
A. Save on heating and cooling cost

The text may be mercifully short, but the questions aren’t questions and the answers aren’t answers.  It isn’t even clear what the subject is. (This site’s design, unconventional scroll bar, and distracting Flash animation don’t help much either.)

FAQ Guidelines

1. If you must present FAQs, keep the list under 10 questions, preferably no more than five or six. If there are many more questions that are truly frequently asked, divide the questions into categories. Obtain user input into the question categories through a card sort exercise.
2. Present questions that users really ask – not questions you want users to ask. FAQs should derive from carefully documented customer interactions – phone calls, e-mails, etc. Be sure to echo end user keywords in the questions. Users scan for keywords that match their task – your FAQs need to include those keywords.
3. Keep the questions and answers concise, but not so concise they lose all context and clarity. The task of writing FAQs should be given to a technical writer, who will know to use bulleted and numbered lists, active sentences, short paragraphs, and proper grammar.
4. Allow users to rate answers.
5. Provide an alternative to users who do not see their question and answer - make sure contact information is prominent.

Topic Indexes

You can avoid FAQs and still help users find the answers to their questions with good topic-based navigation. Topic indexes (such as this basic example from Wells Fargo) work well, because users can simply scan for the keyword that is aligned with their task, and then navigate to the relevant topic page.

Search/Answer

More site owners are recognizing that users consider search engines to be answer engines. E*Trade, for example, invites users to “Enter Questions or Keywords” in the Search field. Even if E*Trade is simply offering a good keyword search, they are using their search engine as an effective tool for dialog with site visitors, allowing them to begin by asking a question, and avoiding a lengthy list of FAQs. (Yahoo Answers takes this a step further.)

Final Reminder :

Be sure to get user feedback on your FAQs, your navigation, and your search through usability testing. This is the best way to learn what your users really want from your site.

About the author

John Wooden, a certified usability analyst, conducts usability tests and heuristic evaluations on intranet and internet site development projects. He has also worked on IA tasks, developed interface design guidelines and written content. He is a sought-after speaker about usability and user-centered design at conferences and association meetings. He is a member of the UPA and STC.

Before joining Fredrickson Communications in 2000, John lived in Toronto and worked for a company called Hutchinson Communications. Prior to that John taught English at the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada, where he earned his doctorate.