10 Essential FAQs to Add to Your Childcare Website

You might not realize it, but your audience is likely to have a lot of questions about your childcare services. One of the best ways that you can address them is to set up an FAQ page that offers answers to the most common inquiries. Of course, how can you know what the most common questions are in the first place? And how can you guarantee that you set up an effective FAQ page? 

Fortunately, we’re here to help. You can do a lot of things with a good self-service portal, including boosting your reputation as a reliable source of information for your audience. Even people who might not choose your childcare business could find value in the information that you offer and pass the word along to others. 

It's the best of both worlds: self-service and marketing in one. And, it’s a great place to showcase your expertise and take advantage of the opportunity to answer people’s most pressing questions about your business and the industry itself. 

Speaking of self-service, it’s a must these days. As many as 82% of all consumers expect brands to offer some type of self-service portal. And in terms of knowledge bases, the FAQ page is among the most-used self-service tools available today. That means that you can’t just have a page—you have to have the right page with the right information. 

Check on your competitors. See what others are doing. Feel free to nose around and search for some of your own “FAQs” to find out what’s ranking in the search results. Remember, too, to phrase the questions like the average Internet user would for the best results in boosting your SEO efforts. 

It's not like it used to be. If you build it, they will come—but only if you also promote it and build it properly. Let’s talk more about that and then we’ll look at 10 FAQs that will get you started on building the best page for your childcare website. 

How to build a successful FAQ page for your childcare business

There’s not a set list of rules to follow, per se, when it comes to building an effective FAQ page. There are, however, some best practices and tips that you can keep in mind to help you along the way. For starters, you’ll want to come up with a strategy and a plan ahead of time. You can’t just put some questions and answers on a page and call it a day. 

Take a minute to think about how you want to set up your page. Are you going to have a single page divided by topics? Will you keep it brief so that division isn’t necessary? Perhaps you’ll choose to go full database and start with a general FAQ page that branches into more specific pages like:

• Your childcare business
• Security and safety
• Childcare services
• Staff FAQs
• Rules and policies
• And so forth

Anything that becomes a topic with a lot of questions and answers can have its own section or page, depending on what you come up with. This is just an idea to get you started. 

If you’re not sure how to structure your page, feel free to try out a few different styles. Test out one style and take feedback, and then try another one. You can even ask a web expert or consultant to advise you on which format might get better results. It pays to get advice from the people who know what they’re talking about. 

Once you’ve got a better idea of how to set up your FAQ page(s), make sure that the following questions make the cut. 

The 10 FAQs every childcare website needs

1. Are you licensed and properly insured?

When building your childcare business, there are certain legal steps involved, including making sure that your business (and staff) is properly licensed and insured to operate. Each state has different laws and requirements. Make sure that you use this question to share your own professional licensing and any other relevant information about your childcare company that people would find relevant in helping them get peace of mind. 

It's more about being transparent and reassuring people that you’re doing things by the book and that you care about what you do than actually listing out all your credentials (although that is important). 

2. What kind of experience and training does your staff have?

Some childcare facilities are stricter about their hiring and staffing than others. Parents want to make sure that their children are somewhere with people who are educated and trained on how to interact with and care for them properly. By explaining how you hire, train, and source your staff, you’ll be able to give people peace of mind when choosing your childcare facility. This also gives you the chance to point out any special accreditation or training you have that can make your facility or childcare business better than the rest. 

3. Can I check on my child during the day?

Some parents want to be able to stop in or use video to check on their child throughout the day. Some childcare centers offer this feature but not all do. Make sure that you explain where you stand, as well as what the exact policies are if this is an option. There are laws regarding privacy and recording people’s children without their consent, of course, so you have to let people know that recording is happening if you do have cameras. 

If you don’t offer check-in services for one reason or another (most recently, such as in the case of COVID), be sure to explain why in the best way possible so as not to discourage parents, but suggest why this is the better alternative. 

4. How much do you charge for childcare?

Here’s the big question for every client. Money is a big part of childcare, unfortunately, with some people spending thousands of dollars each month just to ensure their children are safe while they’re out working. You should provide as much information about your rates and how you charge for services as possible, even if you can’t give exact prices. Tell people whether you charge by the day, the hour, or even if you have weekly or monthly rates available. Then, explain that they can contact you to discuss their exact needs and find out what they can expect to spend. 

5. What is your child-to-teacher ratio?

Parents want to make sure that their kids aren’t just being tossed into a room with 20 others and a “teacher” who is reading a book and barely paying attention. Even if you have a higher ratio, you can explain how the classrooms or groups work to reassure parents that everyone gets the appropriate amount of attention, and no one is overlooked. 

If you’re like most childcare facilities and it varies based on age group, explain that here, too. That way, not only do people understand, but they see and respect you as an authority and reputable source of information and feel like they can trust you. 

6. What types of payments or vouchers do you accept?

Some childcare programs take vouchers or payment assistance from various programs—you may or may not be one of those. Be sure to be clear about that here. If you have a private childcare business that only takes standard cash, check, or credit card payments, explain that clearly. If you do work with various programs or offer different payment solutions, list them all here and make sure that everyone knows what options they have. That way, you can ensure that everyone gets the childcare services they need. It will also guarantee people don’t come into the process thinking you can take a payment that you don’t, which saves everyone a lot of stress and time. 

7. Do you have different rooms for different age groups?

Depending on how many children you accommodate in your childcare business, you might separate them into smaller groups. This is usually done by age and parents prefer it that way. It is safer and ensures more natural socialization because children tend to do better around kids their own age. Of course, this question is about more than how kids are separated—it’s about finding out how much you know about your line of work and how seriously you take putting the kids’ interests first. 

8. Are meals and/or snacks provided?

Parents sometimes don’t have the time to feed their kids. Others need childcare during peak mealtimes like lunch or dinner, or even during after-school snacks. Because of that, a childcare service that offers meals or snacks is always helpful. Those that have parents bring food are good, but the ones that provide it are even better. Remind people that they will probably spend more on services that include meals or snacks, but that it’s often worth the investment to save their own expense and hassle. 

If you have people with children that have allergy concerns, be sure to invite them to contact you and discuss their needs specifically to see how you can accommodate them. Sometimes, they want to bring special snacks or meals so that their children don’t feel left out, and you should always consider accommodating requests like this to be more inclusive. 

9. What security measures do you have?

Security matters more than anything with people’s children. They want to know that their kids are safe and these days, that requires more than just taking someone’s word for it. People want to know that your building is secure, that you have enough staff to manage all the children, and that nothing is going to happen to their babies while they’re in your care. Even if you don’t have Fort Knox-level security, explain what you do have and what measures you take to make sure that kids are safe at all times. 

Provide as much information and peace of mind for parents as you can. Explain what steps you take to ensure that things are safe and in the event that something does go wrong, explain the processes in place to stop things in their tracks and resolve issues before they get out of hand (which, by the way, you should have). 

10. What is your policy for illness?

This is a big one with parents. They want to know that their children are somewhere safe and that they’ll be properly cared for when they aren’t feeling well. Not only that, but parents don’t want to send their kids to daycare only to have them come home with a cold because someone else didn’t keep their child home that day. Have a policy for sickness that keeps the best interests of the kids in mind at all times and explain it clearly to the parents. Don’t let anyone guilt you into taking a sick child “just this once” or you could create a big problem. Set a solid policy for illness and explain it in this Q&A so that every potential client knows what to expect. 

Care for your most valuable clients while we take care of the chats, calls, and more

Running your childcare company should be your first order of business. Of course, once you set up that stellar FAQ page, who’s going to field all those new incoming leads? At Smith.ai, our team of dedicated receptionists know how to deliver 24/7 professional service for incoming phone calls, live website chats, Facebook and SMS messages, and so much more. We can even help you create a strategy to tackle it all while you’re taking care of the kiddos. 

From new leads to returning clients, people are going to need to reach you in several ways. They’re going to expect you to be available, and yet you’re going to need to be running your business. That’s where we come in—just put us to work and we’ll take care of everything that you need, from calls and chats to appointment scheduling, intake, and more. 

To learn more, schedule a consultation to discuss how the virtual receptionists at Smith.ai can deliver 24/7 solutions for your communications so that you can focus on the children. You can also reach us at hello@smith.ai or (650) 727-6484.