How to build a website FAQ from customer questions
Customers are already telling what is missing on the site. Find these questions in conversations and turn them into answers that help take the next step.
From the appeal to an understandable answerThree independent checks are important for the FAQ
Short response
To make a FAQ for the site, collect questions from calls, letters and chats, combine repetitions and choose those that prevent customers from starting work or using the product. For each, give a direct answer, the necessary conditions and the next step. Before publishing, check the facts of the person responsible for the product. Below is a collection table, editing examples, and a ready-made section frame.
Contents
Where to get questions for FAQ
The staff member answers the same question several times, but there is no question on the site. Sometimes the answer is published, but is far from the place where you need. Start with a conversation with support and sales: what questions do they have to explain again?
Take appeals for a clear period and keep the source of each question. Letters, chats, recordings of demonstrations, installation calls and discussions after purchase will be suitable. Use the records within your access and data processing rules; only transfer the necessary depersonalized fragments to the editorial table.
In the Shopify FAQ Guide appeals in support are considered as a source of topics and subsequent updates. For your website, it is more convenient than to come up with questions exclusively on the list of benefits of the product.
Separately, collect what users are looking for on the site itself if such a search is available. These data help to find wording, but do not replace the verification of conditions: the popular question does not mean that it can be answered.
How to choose questions and combine repetitions
Group on the task of a person. “Where to take the template?”, “Is there an example?” and “Can I send a sample?” can lead to one response. But “Is it possible to change the order?” and “can I cancel the order?” are different questions, even if they are often asked nearby.
| Field in the work table | What is needed |
|---|---|
| Initial wording | Save the client's words without editorial substitution. |
| Stage | Before purchase, first start, use, change order. |
| Number of appeals | Understand repeatability in the selected period; do not add replicas of one dialogue. |
| What prevents a person | Evaluate the importance, even if the question is rare. |
| Who checks the answer | Do not publish unconfirmed conditions. |
| Placement page | Show the answer next to the appropriate action. |
| Verification date | Understand when the answer could become obsolete. |
First, include questions with a recurring understandable difficulty. A rare question can also be important if a person cannot use the service without a response. A single complex situation is better to understand separately than to turn the entire FAQ into a long regulation.
The wording “Why are we the best?” “How does our innovation help you?” usually talk about the company. If the client asks “What materials should be prepared?”, you need to answer this.
How to Write a Response Without Water
Start with a direct response. Then add a condition or exception if the meaning changes without it. Finishing out by action: open the instruction, prepare the file, choose an option, or refer to a specific role.
Question: [as the client asks].
Direct response: [yes / no / specific order / on what depends].
Conditions: [only those that really affect the action].
Next step: [what to do and where].
In the internal table: [source of fact, responsible, date of verification].
Don’t start with “Our company always cares about customer comfort.” It doesn't answer the question. Do not write “fast” if you can describe the process; do not set a deadline that no one has confirmed.
If a short answer is impossible, give a reference and reference to a separate instruction. For example: “The order depends on whether the performer started the work. Describe the current stage to the manager, he will confirm the options available.” This formulation is more useful than an unconditional promise.
How to turn replicas from a call to a FAQ
Examples below refer to a fictional design studio. These rules are necessary for illustration and do not describe the conditions of Transkribator.
| On the call | Question for the website | What to clarify before publication |
|---|---|---|
| “We only have sketches. Can I come with that at all?” | Is it possible to come to the first meeting without a ready task? | That the studio is really ready to discuss and what introductory are obligatory. |
| “The logo is only in the presentation” | In what form to send logo and branded materials? | Acceptable sources and who assess their suitability. |
| “What if we want another option after the layout?” | How are changes agreed after the first layout? | Stage boundaries and procedure for evaluating additional changes. |
Example of a ready response
Is it possible to come to the first meeting without a ready task?
Yeah. Yeah. To get acquainted, it is enough to describe the task, show the current materials and name the desired result. At the meeting we will clarify the missing introductory and determine what is needed for evaluation. The estimate will be prepared after the harmonization of the composition of the work.
This answer explains what you can come with and when the assessment will appear. He does not promise that the studio will start work without introductory. For your business, replace all conditions with confirmed rules.
Example of a weak response
“We will find an individual approach to each project. Our experts solve any task.” After this text, the person still does not understand what to prepare for the meeting.
How to use conversation records
Get transcription and highlight the question along with the employee’s answer. Save the timecode: sometimes the answer is correct only, taking into account the clarification that was made in a minute.
Do not transfer the manager’s promise directly to the public website. In a particular conversation, individual agreement could be discussed. Check it with the general terms of the service and note the exceptions.
- Find the phrases “how”, “can I do”, “what do you do”, “how many” and then re-read the context.
- Write down what task the question is.
- Combine the wording with one meaning.
- Make a draft answer and pass on to the responsible.
- Remove personal information, order details and closed terms of specific customers.
Finding question words is only an auxiliary reception. The client can say “I don’t understand where to get the file” without asking a formal question. Such a replica also points to a possible FAQ theme.
Where to place FAQ and how to check it
The general section is suitable for questions about the start of work and navigation. Narrow answers are better duplicated in meaning where there is a need: about the preparation of the file - near the download, about the composition of the service - on its page. Make sure that conditions in different places do not differ.
For the first option, choose a small set of really necessary questions. Group them in clear words: “Before the beginning”, “Materials”, “Work on the project”. A person should learn their situation by the title without revealing each item in a row.
Ask a colleague who did not participate in writing to find the answer to one model question. If it is looking for a long time, the problem may be in the title of the section or placement. If he finds but does not understand the next step, you need to rewrite the answer.
After publication, note repeated appeals on the same topics. Compare comparable periods and consider the volume of customers: fewer calls in a quiet week do not mean that the FAQ has become more effective.
Checklist before publication
- Each question is taken from the real task of the client.
- The answer starts with the essence and contains the necessary conditions.
- Prices, deadlines and restrictions are checked.
- Individual promises are not issued for general rules.
- References lead to the desired instruction or action.
- The responsibility for the update and the date of verification were kept in the internal table.
- The reader is available a way to ask for help if his case is not on the list.
Frequently asked questions
How many questions to include in the first FAQ?
Start with a small set that closes the main repetitive difficulties. The number is determined by your appeals, not by the universal norm. Divide the long list by task.
Can I ask a neural network to come up with questions?
You can use her list as a hypothesis. Then check with the appeals and search queries. The answers themselves require verification of the real conditions of the product.
Do I need to publish call transcriptions?
No. For the FAQ, you need depersonalized questions and proven general answers. The sources remain an internal material with the provided access rights.
Does the FAQ guarantee an increase in attendance?
No. A useful section helps to respond to queries, but the result depends on demand, page quality and other conditions. Evaluate real impressions, transitions and appeals after publication.
Additional support: Shopify – creating and updating FAQ. Examples and working templates are prepared by the editorial office.
Find questions in conversations already held
Transkribator helps translate audio and video into text with timecodes. By transcription, it is more convenient to collect recurring customer questions and prepare a FAQ draft for verification by your team.
Transcribing conversationsCheck the important wording and timecodes for the original record before using the text.