Creating Accessible ContentFrequently Asked Questions

FAQs let writers quickly cover lots of content without worrying about information architecture.

This convenience comes at the expense of readers.

We encourage writers to avoid FAQs.

If you keep getting asked the same questions, it's a strong indication that your content needs reviewing.

Problems with FAQs

• No structure

  Questions tend to have equal weighting which means nothing stands out. It's common to see them written in the random order that they are asked.

• Too long

  Questions can easily be 600% longer than headings. Key words end up buried in waffle or placed at the end. Answers that echo the question further increase content length.

• Repetitive

  Content is often copied from other pages and taken out of context. This increases the amount of maintenance and the risk of stale content.

• Nobody asked you

  Writers may invent questions to cover details they want to include. When content has no home, it's easy for FAQs to become a dumping ground for loose ends.

• Search performance

  FAQs compete against your own content and can make helpful results harder to find.

The end result is an increased cognitive load. This slows readers down by forcing them to concentrate and read more.

Improving FAQs

In short, use good structure and plain English.

Start by:

• Splitting related questions into groups with headings.
• Where possible, split groups into smaller groups with sub headings.
• Arrange questions in a logical order.

Each group should only have a few questions. Go through each question and:

• Remove any repetition and non-essential information.
• Simplify the language.
• Add structural elements such as bulleted lists, tables or paragraphs.

You should notice your FAQ transform into normal user-friendly content.

Further reading

• FAQS: Why we don't have them
• What the FAQ?
• Why FAQ pages are almost always a bad idea