A Frequently Asked Questions page is a website section used to answer the questions your customers have come up with during the natural process of conducting business with you. However, most website content administrators use FAQs to present information that is often redundant.

For example, many owners and content administrators will use FAQ pages to answer questions like:

• Do you offer free shipping?
• What if I get a defective product?
• Does your product/service come with a warranty?
• Can I return a product?

Notice that answers to these questions would fit better on a specific webpage section, where they could be explained in greater detail, for example, a Shipping Information page.

Well-constructed websites would not need an FAQ page. Why would a customer need to start a wild goose chase to find basic information and answers about your business, products, or services?

If your customers repeatedly ask you the same questions, this might be symptomatic of poor communication. Perhaps the information is not present, is insufficient, or your website does not convey the right message to your customers. Obviously, this situation will have repercussions for your business.

In a best-case scenario, customers will try to contact you via your website or social media profiles to clarify their doubts. In a worst-case scenario, they will simply leave your site and go with the concurrence if they feel they are receiving better information from your competitors.

Ideally, you will not only use customer feedback to improve your website’s content. You will use it to discover business opportunities you may have not yet considered. For instance, you may uncover that customers are interested in acquiring your products in bulk or placing large orders. With this information, you can create a section on your website dedicated to wholesale instead of just adding a FAQ tackling this.

An FAQ page will never be a substitute for pages with detailed information. Detailed pages are more likely to lead to a sale than a site where users lose precious time trying to find answers to simple questions. 

Moreover, FAQ pages are terrible for obtaining data. If you have 1000 visits to your FAQ, it is difficult to assess what your customers are looking for. But, having 1000 visits to your Wholesales page could imply a strong interest in this.

It is also crucial to have open communication channels with your customers. You must listen to their questions and be aware of their doubts. Your customers are one of the most valuable sources of information you will ever have. Use all the intelligence you can gather to anticipate customer needs and gain a competitive edge over your competitors.

Having an FAQ page could seem like a great idea to quickly tackle some of your communication issues. However, if left unchecked, FAQs could rapidly become a disadvantage, a blindspot for your business. Analyzing customers’ questions and doubts should be a recurrent activity—and the information you gather should be used to improve the content on your website.