FAQs
about FAQs
Frequently asked questions are very popular amongst CDC subject matter experts. They want compact all of the information into a single place, relying on accordions to condense the content. During COVID-19, UX worked to minimize the use of FAQ pages. When the vaccine was released, an FAQ page was posted but closely monitored in my weekly metrics reports.
Monitoring activity
The UX team agreed to FAQ pages in a few instances with the caveat they would be closely monitored and frequently updated. To accomplish this, I identified metrics we could use to gauge how well the page was performing. Based on my findings, we would made updates to the FAQs.
FAQ approach
Our recommendations allowed 5-7 FAQs per H2 header. This forced SMEs to categorize their FAQs, making it easier for UX to design in-page navigation.
Key metrics
For the quickest analysis, I monitored:
Questions - click to open each accordion
With this information, I was able to tell what questions were most popular. If most clicks were in a topic section at the bottom of the page, I knew that section could move higher on the page. In some cases, we were able to eliminate FAQs when there were very few opens.
Next page - exits or next page views
While we could pull a full click map for this page, using next pages gave us quick insights into what users were clicking on. It also framed the data in the context of exits, so we could easily tell the volume of users navigating to a next page.
Top internal searches - searches from the page
I monitored external searches to the site as part of larger reports, so I already had a sense of most important topics to users. Monitoring internal searches from this page let us determine if users were able to find information. At this time, we did not have the ability to track users going from CDC > Google > CDC.
Booster confusion
We knew users wanted information about vaccine booster so we prioritized that content on the FAQ page. “Do I need a COVID-19 vaccine booster?” was the first question on the page. It was the #1 most opened question on desktop and #3 on mobile.
Considering the popularity of the question and answer, I identified a potential pain point from the next page and internal search data.
Most searches from the page included “booster.”
The answer could have been hard to quickly find and process
It was the first word in the answer but followed by a linked file, which could overshadow the answer.
The complexity of the content may have also confused users. From usability testing, we know that users struggle with public health jargon.
Users had more specific questions
Users wanted to know if they could get their booster after or while having COVID-19. This answer was included in “Can I get vaccinated against COVID-19 while I am currently sick with COVID-19,” which was further down the page and not obvious.
As each variant emerged, users wanted to know if the original CDC guidance still applied.
Users, who went to a second page, viewed the main vaccine content page.
The top next page was linked to in the booster answer.
Presumably, desktop users were going to this page from the booster question.
Vaccine FAQ page and metrics for Sept. 1-7, 2021.
Clarifying links
Based on these, and similar, findings I recommended a crosslink strategy for FAQs. Often times, when a new FAQ was added to the page any crosslinks links had unclear names, were too long, or buried in text.
At the end of each FAQ, I recommended identifying at least one primary page to direct users to additional information. This allowed us to better control the possible journey after a user opens an FAQ.
In this case, my recommendations included:
Adding Related pages section
Putting links into a bulleted list
This also helped remove ‘fluff’ text
Updating link text
From usability testing
Later user testing showed 75% full and 25% partial success on FAQ tasks. While testing did not directly test the related pages links, it was another tool in our toolbox.