Which is more usable FAQ or Help documentation?

Question

Which is more usable FAQ or Help documentation for web services? I need to provide contextual help content for each page within the service. Also same content will be re-used in websites.

In my thoughts, Help documentation will have all the details for all modules with example image or steps to create / steps do some actions. Also we can explore all the hidden features / hidden actions.

Only thing is, Help documentation will looks like big one. Yes, we can provide search option. Though do you read help documents if you wish?

But in FAQ, we don't know about where is user will struck, also we need to provide questions in some assumptions. Is it correct?

Please give me your suggestions on this. For large product like SAP which is best FAQ or Help documentation?

Answer 1

I think they serve a different purpose.

A FAQ should contain the help which solves the most probable problems. It minimizes the clicks of most users.

A documentation should contain the entire description of the service, so it can help solving the obscurer problems, which occure rather seldom or just with experienced users who need special help.

So I would say you need both of them.

Answer 2

"Online Help" and FAQ are too different for a definite yea/no answer to your question. What is important to understand is: These two resources are not mutually exclusive. You may need to have only one of those for a product, but typically you need both.

Also, based on my experience, FAQ may be a good addition to the Online Help - simply as a separate section of it. It may cover the most typical questions for beginners, giving short answers with a link to a help topic with a complete description of the concept.

You mentioned you are not sure what to document. Well, then FAQ may be a good starting point - while writing answers, you will realize what background information may be needed for readers. And yes - typically you don't know for sure all those questions before they are asked. That's why they are called Frequently Asked Questions :) The typical approach is to start with some basic questions your early beta or internal users are asking. Then you keep adding question as you get those from users. Building an FAQ list is not a one-time project, it's an iterative process.

Also, when planning what to document, make sure you cover the most standard & straightforward use cases for your end-users. This will be a good start! Good Luck!

Answer 3

When deciding between using FAQs or Help documentation for a web service, it's important to consider the specific needs of your users and the nature of your product. Both formats have their advantages, but they serve different purposes.

For a product like SAP, a combination of detailed Help documentation supplemented with a focused FAQ section will provide the most comprehensive support to your users. This hybrid approach ensures that users have access to in-depth information when they need it, while also providing quick answers to common questions.