Read the FAQ Before You Hire or Buy

A frequently-asked-questions page shows what goes wrong for other customers. Ten minutes there is the cheapest research available.

What an FAQ reveals

Businesses write these pages to reduce support requests, so the questions are the ones that come up most. They show you where the friction is.

What to look for

• Payment: when you pay, and when you can get money back.
• Verification: what proof they ask for and why.
• Delivery or completion: realistic times, not best cases.
• Disputes: who to contact and how.

Good signs

Specific numbers, plain language and answers to awkward questions. A page that only answers easy ones is telling you something too.

A well-organised example

FAQ pages are easiest to use when they follow the customer's journey in order. One that does, in Traditional Chinese and from an unrelated field, is this beginner's FAQ arranged by stage: registering, claiming rewards and withdrawing (新手常見問題整理). A landscaper's site that walked you from quote to completion as clearly would save everyone time.

Then ask what is missing

Whatever the page does not cover, put in writing before you sign.

Last tended 2026-10-14