FAQs are common across websites and an easy way to get content up quickly. But are they always the best, most effective choice? This session will look at the pros and cons of using FAQs, when to use them, and how to craft them to best serve the user and the university. It will also include a case study on the use of FAQs to deliver information to the George Mason University community during the COVID-19 crisis.

Key takeaways:

• FAQs should not be the automatic go-to for conveying information, and the questions should be exactly that: frequently asked.

• FAQs might have a place on your website. They can be posted quickly in an emergency. Users often look for them. They can effectively convey certain types of material.

• FAQs should be crafted carefully and strategically to maximize SEO and fit naturally into the user journey. They should be tightly focused on user goals.

About Lisa Hitt

Lisa Hitt is Content Strategist at George Mason University, where she writes and edits content for websites, as well as social media posts, ad campaign copy, and other digital projects. She provides guidance and governance on content for Mason's college, school, and departmental websites, and leads workshops on content strategy, writing for the web, curating photos, and creating information architecture. She presented at the EduWeb Digital Summit in 2019 and at the ContentEd Conference in March 2021. Prior to joining Mason, she was a journalist, most recently an editor in USA TODAY's Money section. She has also taught courses in journalism and public relations as adjunct faculty. She has a BA in journalism and MS in public relations.