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I am sure this topic has been raised before, but I don't seem to be able to find good references to it. The question is that FAQs are generally a semi-active for dealing with issues that come up a lot, so the argument is that if people ask the question so often, then wouldn't it be more beneficial to resolve the issue directly rather than parking it on the FAQ page and getting the users to deal with it? Here is one article that brings up some good points about FAQ pages

While I don't question that FAQ pages exist to help solve a particular problem on websites, I also believe that the format is probably a bit outdated to fit in with a user-friendly experience for the modern day web user.

Is terms of user experience, is there any specific argument for having a FAQ page on a website? Is there a way to encourage the developers to solve the issue asked on the FAQ page, or for the users to get some feedback from the developers other than having their support questions put on the FAQ page? The only example I have seen like this is UserVoice, but this more applicable to a technically or supported oriented site, not a general website.

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Not all FAQs are there to "patch the issues". For example, visit the FAQ page of this website. How do you think the "issue" raised by the first question (what kind of questions can I ask here?) should be addressed? In my experience, the majority of FAQs serve more like quick start guides, than the collection of recipes on how to work around existing bugs. – Pasha S Mar 25 at 21:02
So why are they not in a quick start guide section then? My experience with FAQ is usually a very big jumble of everything, that's why I want to raise this question, and how relevant it is to modern day website design. – Michael Lai Mar 25 at 23:36

closed as not a real question by Matt Obee, kontur, Benny Skogberg, dhmholley, Charles Wesley Mar 5 at 16:16

It's difficult to tell what is being asked here. This question is ambiguous, vague, incomplete, overly broad, or rhetorical and cannot be reasonably answered in its current form. For help clarifying this question so that it can be reopened, see the FAQ.

1 Answer

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I have come across the concept of 'infrequently asked question' before, which is to present interesting and novel ideas/questions that make people think more about how they use a product/service. There are lots of pages like this online, but they exist as the concept for a website rather than a section of a company/product/service website. I would love to see this concept used more often, and if anyone has seen any examples or similar concepts I'd definitely like to know about it.

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