"FAQ" (Frequently Asked Questions) articles serve as a consolidated resource for addressing common inquiries about a single topic. These articles compile short, straightforward answers to questions that don't necessarily warrant individual "About," "How-to," or "Troubleshooting" articles but are still significant for user understanding and engagement. The aim is to provide users with quick, accessible answers to their most pressing questions in one convenient location.
Table of Contents
When to write an "FAQ" article
Consider compiling an "FAQ" article when:
- You notice recurring questions from users on forums, support tickets, or social media about a specific topic.
- There’s a significant update or feature release, prompting a surge in user inquiries.
- You want to clarify common misconceptions or provide essential information that doesn't fit neatly into other article formats.
Best practices for writing "FAQ" articles
- Identify common questions: Start by gathering the most frequently asked questions on the topic. Use support tickets, forum posts, and user feedback as sources.
- Provide concise answers: Keep answers short and to the point. If detailed explanation is needed, link to more comprehensive articles where users can find in-depth information.
- Organize logically: Arrange the questions in a logical order, such as by theme or from general to specific. This organization helps users find the answers they need more efficiently.
- Include links for further reading: Where relevant, provide links to more detailed articles or resources. This allows users seeking deeper insights to explore topics further.
Article structure
- Title: Use the format “[Topic] - FAQ” for all FAQ articles. The title should match what the article is about and what the user is searching for. Use sentence-style capitalization for article titles. Limit your title to around 60 characters, as Google typically displays the first 50–60 characters of a title tag.
- Summary: The summary gives a glimpse of what the article is about to help the user decide if they’re in the right place. Provide a textual overview or definition of the concept and introduce the FAQ. Limit the summary to 140 characters, as search engines may cut off anything longer.
- Body content: Avoid creating long paragraphs and dense text. Use H2 for section headings / questions. Every section should be written as a question. Use H2 for questions/section headings. Use ordered lists when documenting steps and unordered lists when highlighting key points or listing related items. Divide the body into the following sections to organize the content into logical groupings:
- Question and answers
