The frequently asked questions (FAQs) page has long been a popular website feature, going back to the days before Google, Facebook, and smartphones even existed. Given how quickly digital trends change, it’s remarkable that FAQs still hold such a prominent place on the web.
That staying power exists because FAQs provide excellent utility, in a format your site visitors know and trust. It’s a service to your customers, and an underrated marketing resource for your Calgary business.
Of course, your FAQs page needs to be of high quality for you and your site visitors to reap its benefits. Though the format is different, building a quality FAQs page means using many of the same principles you use to create marketing content for your website. Let’s take a deeper look at how you can create a FAQs page that delivers value to your readers, and provides your Calgary website with a marketing boost.
Creating a Quality FAQs Page: Organization Is Key
Your FAQs page will likely be the longest page on your website, by a strong margin. Organization is important no matter the page length, but it’s especially crucial when laying out your FAQs page. With the right layout, your readers will have no trouble finding the information they seek.
- Bullet-point lists are an excellent way to provide information in short chunks, and draw the reader’s attention to important points. Your readers want to find the information they need quickly, and lists are a great way to speed up the process.
- Lists also add “white space,” to the page, an important element of modern web design. Answers that may be lost in a long paragraph are naturally accentuated when placed in list form.
- Accordions are another great way to format long content. Like their namesake, accordions only expand when the reader wants them to. The concept is similar to the drop-down lists you’ll often find when hovering over a navigation link at the top of a site’s homepage.
- Using accordions allows you to minimize clutter on your FAQs page. The user can easily find their question, then click it to reveal a detailed answer. You can essentially create an interactive table of contents, without using links that send the reader away from your FAQs page.
Creating a Quality FAQs Page: Visual Design Tips
There are a number of ways to improve the navigation and appearance of your FAQs page, beyond using lists. Nielsen-Norman Group, which analyzes how users experience websites, offers plenty of valuable tips. This is where you can really see the parallels between FAQ design and marketing content.
- Use subheadings to divide questions and answers by topic. Subheadings provide a road map to readers, allowing them to spot the information they need without sifting through every question and answer.
- If your FAQs page includes links, make sure that hyper-linked text stands out from the rest of the page. Choose a color that contrasts well with the main text color and background of the page.
- Multimedia tools like video are a great way to break up text-heavy sections of your FAQs page. If you include video, be sure that it loads quickly and avoid auto-play, if possible. A useful video can quickly become a distraction if it plays automatically.
- Don’t forget to update your FAQs page! Your Calgary business and your website will evolve over time, and your FAQs page should reflect that evolution. Just as with content marketing, your information needs to be up to date for it to be valuable to the reader.
Building a quality FAQs page may seem like a lot of work, but it’s worth the effort. Most of the real work comes in putting together a framework for navigation. The questions and answers are important, but only if people know where to find them. Once you have the framework in place, adding and updating the information in your FAQs page becomes relatively simple. The result is a valuable resource for your site visitors, and an excellent tool for marketing your Calgary business.
Emphasize Design knows content development, and we’re excited to put that expertise to work for your business. Check out our recipe for success, and learn how you can get more from your Calgary online marketing.
