A client who is only shopping for the cheapest..is a client that I ( and possibly "you" ) don't want..I don't do "cheap" at all..and if they can't be bothered to read the FAQ..then they'll probably be trouble ( or chargeback ) later, so I ( and possibly you ) don't want them either..

I'm in a luxury market, with an element of "bespoke"..I agree with Samizdata..

What I sell as ready "now" is very comprehensively described ( and care is described in the FAQ )..questions about such things as "does it'( whatever ) get referred right back to the description..or the FAQ..clients too dumb to read the descriptions or the FAQ.. I do not need..

I'm not at all worried about them going to the competition, what little there is..But that is the difference between providing truly genuinely unique items..and selling widgets..

all they care about is a cheap quote

Then they are on the wrong website, MartiniBuster.

As I said in my first post, most sites don't need an FAQ.

I don't run a widget store, I provide a highly specialised bespoke service.

And some people are more trouble than they are worth.

Now YOU get this: Contact forms are about lead generation.

My website and its search engine ranking are about lead generation.

Contact forms are just an alternative to phone calls.

You seriously expect a potential client (or even a current client) to read a FAQ?

No, I invite people to read the FAQ before requesting a quotation by email.

Whether they are a potential client or not is my decision.

Those with an arrogant or entitled attitude need not apply.

There's more than one business model out there

Quite so, Tangor.

Weeding out idiots and timewasters at the earliest opportunity is an important part of mine.

If someone wants me to work for them it is my way or the highway.

I am very polite about it, and provide all the help they need.

That is what the FAQ is for.

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Again..Î agree with what he ( Samizdata ) said ^^^

I've just remembered the #1 most common reason I end up on a site's FAQ: their technical support, online help or other contact mechanism is so incompetent and miserable-to-use that the only way to get information without going stark staring bonkers and throwing the telephone across the room is to plow through the site's FAQ ... no matter how unreadable and poorly organized that is.

Now, if you could make it so that reading the FAQ is faster, easier and more pleasant than communicating with a human--where “faster, easier and more pleasant” is not even remotely the same thing as “less slow, difficult and unpleasant”--then you’d have something.

For the uninitiated, an FAQ is online help (the original, presented in Q&A format).

The first item in mine is how to get a quotation.

The site has no other online help to plough through.

But there is no helping some people, as we all know.

And they are the clients I can definitely do without.

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When I said “online help” I meant the kind where you are “talking” to a human.

"When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean" (Humpty Dumpty).

"PEBCAC" (Every tech support person ever).

Perhaps you should have started by reading the FAQ.

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Memo to self: Do not attempt to buy anything from samizdata. It will not end well.

I don't offer any items for sale Lucy.

Nothing on the website in question suggests that I do, and the FAQ clearly states that I do not.

That doesn't entirely stop misguided people from trying to buy various things from me.

But it cuts it down a lot.

Happy shopping.

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We have a FAQ but changed its title to "Q&A" because we have a mainstream audience. Not everyone knows what "FAQ" means, but anyone who's comfortable with English can immediately recognize the meaning of "Q&A."

SMILE. :)

Q&A
1. Frequently Asked Questions
2. All the other Questions

Another easily understood option would be to call it "Help".

But some people will still refuse to look at it, and (with apologies to Paul Simon) a certain type of person sees what s/he wants to see and disregards the rest.

My site has some well-ranked pages that describe the various obscure widgets used in my profession, with helpful links to the few sites that (unlike me) actually sell them.

These pages state my profession at the top and feature a very prominent notice explaining that I don't sell any widgets and inviting readers to use the links provided.

But I still get occasional emails and phone calls from people expecting to buy widgets from me (and once had someone waiting outside my house hoping to do so).

The problem is that almost half the population are of below average intelligence - they Google for something they want to buy and assume that the top result is an online store, despite all the evidence in front of them.

Attempting to buy widgets from me does not end well because I don't sell them (and never have).

There's no helping some people.

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Another easily understood option would be to call it "Help".

One problem with "Help" is that users may associate it with the Web site itself, rather than the content of the Web site.

In other words, if I were visiting (for example) a mail-order doughnut site, I'd assume that "Q&A" or even "FAQ" was about the doughnuts and "Help" was for problems in ordering doughnuts, paying with my credit card, or whatever.

I find it interesting that everyone tries to circle around the fact that a FAQ does exactly what it is supposed to do. It may not be a good fit for some sites, but it is the right tool for many others.

FAQ does exactly what it is supposed to do

Google apparently agrees - they have FAQ pages for most of their services.

They seem to think that FAQs still "fit the atmosphere" just fine.

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As Joe Friday used to say:

"Just the FAQs, ma'am."

I never understood why we didn't call them "TFM" instead of "FAQ"...

Then "RTFM" would have made sense :-)

Sadly, even though my site is almost 16 years old and has had FAQs since day 1, I still have to field dozens of daily emails from people that simply didn't bother to read them. I have them in the main navigation, at the very top of the page, and again on the Contact page. It's very frustrating. I don't know if it's because people don't know what FAQ means, or if they're just lazy...

but I'd bet money that it's the latter.

I still have to field dozens of daily emails from people that simply didn't bother to read them....

Interesting that FAQs don't work for you.

I don't know if it's because people don't know what FAQ means, or if they're just lazy...

Or maybe they want an answer now and the FAQ format doesn't fit that user's expectations.

Or it could be that browsing through a list of questions and reading a FAQ is inconvenient for a multitude of reasons.

I asked on my FB profile and most of the people who responded said they used FAQs. So evidently, in that demographic FAQs are popular.

But now we have CSDude reporting that FAQs are a failure because they have to field dozens of questions daily that were answered in the FAQ.

Why is that? Is that common that people don't read FAQs? Or is it common that FAQs go unread in certain niches?

There is, of course, the unique phenomenon that some things will never work for some people ;)

More likely it is that all above are in play and no matter what you do the obtuse will rise to the surface.

You do what you can. That's all you can do. And don't lose sleep if it fails for one or two ... the rest get it, use it, and off we go to tomorrow.

The world is imperfect, but FAQ actually works for the vast majority of sentient beings.

Which begs the question: Do we code for the lowest common denominator or for the rest of the folks?

Personally I have no problem with RTFM attitude as life is to freakin' short and hand holding is reserved to loved ones.

maybe they want an answer now and the FAQ format doesn't fit that user's expectations

When I get a phone call from someone wanting to buy widgets I ask them which page of my website they are on.

It's always the one that says in big bold letters "I do not sell widgets, please use the links provided".

"The two most common elements in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity".

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We have FAQ, KB, Pages of deeper content, etc. And have a get help button that floats on the bottom right of every page. If they click that can search for answers, email us or initiate a live chat. And a phone number plastered around the site too.

If they have any questions about our product/service I want to be able to answer it for them.

I am paying for traffic in one form(PPC/SEO/Content/Social) or another so I do whatever I can to squeeze sales out of that traffic.

Samizdata - could you make your form have the main FAQs and have them tick a box after they read it.
Like agreeing to the TOS on a site, but having it with the main points.

-I Understand that Samizdata does not sell widgets. Please type YES [_ _ _]
-I Understand that Samizdata only sells luxury goods that cost more than 100000. Please type CASH [_ _ _ _]
What is your question? [open text field]

I Understand that Samizdata only sells luxury goods

I don't sell any goods at all.

"There are none so blind as those who will not see".

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We need a FAQ that states Samizdata does not sell anything.

No need..if ..You read Samizdata's posts, it is crystal clear ( beginning at post 4914830 ) that he doesn't sell anything..

The problem is not what one calls the FAQ / QA etc..it is that most people do not read..or do not understand what they read ( many do not understand the meaning of simple words )..or cannot read well at all..*

The "youtube" generation ..is merely the lastest example of the above problem..

*I don't want / need them as my customers, life is too short..

Back on topic, I agree with Google and others that FAQs are still a useful service to literate users, and would encourage those who assume otherwise to read them once in a while.

They can save a lot of time and embarrassment.

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Yeah, I read the posts, too. But with so many asking the same question it would be easier to point to a FAQ with that answer. :p

When I started I had the delusion that a solid site architecture and navigation would be sufficient. I was wrong. :)

So I added a site map. And an Index. And a Glossary. And an FAQ. And finally site search. All in attempts to counter 'you can't get there from here' or 'where the blank is it?' or 'what the bleep does that mean?' etc.

FAQ was always an interesting critter. Over time bits became incorporated into the content, eg: overtly as a description or innocuously, i.e. an 'i' or '?' in circle link to modal window, info by an input. FAQ and context seem to go about hand in hand. Quite quickly I dropped the idea of a stand alone FAQ page and incorporated it as appropriate at the page level through out the site.

Of course the 'Samizdata Concern' aka somehow nobody ever notices the honking big flashing neon strobe sign is a perennial problem. And when it is such a broadly applicable FAQ such as 'I don't SELL anything' it can be highly frustrating. As a strictly info site operator I encounter similar oblivious visitors (you're allowed to drive?!). My partial answer has been affiliate pre-sell. Not applicable to everyone or even to all I offer but the ability to contextually link a product/service and an info block/page minimises the obliviates [sic] by taking some to many down the affiliate path.

I'd belabour the horrendous horde of oblivious idjits except that I just spent ten minutes trying to remember where I put my glasses down... we all need help occasionally. How best to do that will vary by business model et al. Even though I have a highly optmised site search I have kept the Index because it still gets used once in a while; I wouldn't incorporate it new but retaining it existing costs nada. The Glossary is still a set of pages but also a modal option for the words in content. How to best help may change in degree or in kind but the need to do so does not.

Excellent summary of servicing the visitor. I think we all do exactly this, or try to, to some degree. For me the "frequently asked questions" are actually "help/info" hypertext to the "faq" page fragment. Started doing that years ago and it made a lot of difference for both myself and the users. :)

the 'Samizdata Concern' aka somehow nobody ever notices the honking big flashing neon strobe sign

To be fair, the sign has reduced the problem a lot (though not entirely).

The page is purely informational - no specific products, no prices, no "buy it" buttons, no shopping basket, no checkout - and features prominent links to the actual suppliers and manufacturers.

But, as we have seen here, unfounded assumptions can be very powerful.

I'd say that Tangor had it right:

no matter what you do the obtuse will rise to the surface

So I will stick with the FAQ that I have.

It serves its purpose for those who are looking for answers.

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