What should I ask on delivery and returns pages before Christmas?

Two questions are enough here. Visitors on a delivery page want an answer, not a survey.

• "Did this page answer your question?" (Yes / No)
• "What did you want to find out?" (Last order date for Christmas, Delivery cost, International delivery, Gift wrapping, Returning a gift after Christmas, Something else)

The best options come from the questions customers already email you about in December. Read last December's support emails, list the five topics that came up most and use them as the options, with "Something else" at the end. If you add a third question, make it an optional comment box: it catches the topics you missed.

Put the most-picked topic at the top of the page, in one sentence, such as "Order by 18 December for delivery before Christmas", rather than a table of zones. If "Returning a gift after Christmas" comes up often, say how long the returns window runs and whether a gift receipt is needed.

Watch the share of "No" to the first question. If it rises through December, the page is not keeping up with what visitors ask.

Visitors may look for delivery dates on a product page or in your FAQ before they find the delivery page. If your FAQ has a delivery section, ask the same two questions there, so you can see where the answer is missing.

After Christmas, returns pages get the traffic. "Did this page answer your return question?" shows whether the page explains the window, the gift receipt and the refund before visitors give up and email you.