Create an Accordion FAQ with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript

Accordion FAQ sections help users find answers more quickly, reduce page clutter, enhance the mobile experience, and boost content views and engagement across all screen sizes.

Key Points

Accordion FAQs increase content engagement by up to 70% on landing and support pages.
Bounce rates drop by 35% when FAQs are structured with collapsible accordion elements.
Responsive accordion layouts improve mobile readability and accessibility by nearly 50% across user segments.

When creating modern websites or web apps, organising information in a user-friendly and interactive way is crucial. One of the best UI components for this is an accordion FAQ section. Whether you're involved in a custom web development project or providing web development services, adding an accordion greatly enhances user experience by displaying information in a tidy, collapsible format.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to build a fully responsive and interactive accordion FAQ section using only HTML, CSS, and JavaScript—no libraries or frameworks required.

Why Use an Accordion in Web Development?

Accordions are an important part of web app development as they:

Keep pages tidy by hiding lengthy content
Improve accessibility and mobile friendliness
Enhance user interaction

This component is widely used in FAQs, dashboards, settings menus, and product info sections.

Step 1: HTML Structure

The first step is to create the basic HTML structure. Each FAQ entry is wrapped inside a .accordion-item block inside a container:

                                          <div class="accordion-container">
    <div class="accordion-item">
      <div class="accordion-header">
        <span class="accordion-title">What is your return policy?</span>
        <span class="accordion-icon">+</span>
      </div>
      <div class="accordion-content">
        <p>We offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you’re not satisfied, you can return the product within 30 days of purchase.</p>
      </div>
    </div>
   </div>

Key Elements:

.accordion-container: Wraps all items
.accordion-header: Clickable header with question
.accordion-content: Hidden content section that expands
.accordion-icon: Visual cue (+) that rotates when active

Step 2: CSS Styling

Next, use CSS to create smooth animations, clean styles, and responsive behavior. Here's how to style your accordion:

                                             .accordion-content {
      overflow: hidden;
      max-height: 0;
      transition: max-height 0.4s ease;
      background: #fafafa;
    }


    .accordion-item.active .accordion-icon {
      transform: rotate(45deg);
    }

Styling Highlights:

max-height with transition creates a smooth open/close animation
Hover effect adds subtle interaction
transform: rotate(45deg) animates the + into an × icon

These are standard design practices in custom web development to enhance UI aesthetics.

Step 3: JavaScript Functionality

Now add the logic using JavaScript to handle accordion interactions — toggle open/close, rotate icon, and auto-close other items.

                                          <script>
    const items = document.querySelectorAll('.accordion-item');
 
    items.forEach(item => {
      const header = item.querySelector('.accordion-header');
      const content = item.querySelector('.accordion-content');


      header.addEventListener('click', () => {
        const isOpen = item.classList.contains('active');


        // Close all
        items.forEach(i => {
          i.classList.remove('active');
          i.querySelector('.accordion-content').style.maxHeight = null;
        });


        // Toggle current
        if (!isOpen) {
          item.classList.add('active');
          content.style.maxHeight = content.scrollHeight + "px";
        }
      });
    });
  </script>

JavaScript Key Functions:

Toggle active class for animation control
Set dynamic height using .scrollHeight for smooth expansion
Close others when a new one is opened

This script ensures a responsive and elegant FAQ section, often seen in dynamic web app development projects.

Responsive Design

The accordion is fully responsive thanks to the container’s max-width setting. You can also enhance mobile experience with a media query:

                                        @media (max-width: 600px) {
  .accordion-header {
    font-size: 16px;
    padding: 12px;
  }


  .accordion-content p {
    font-size: 14px;
  }
}

Mobile-Friendly Features:

Automatic text resizing
Touch-friendly clickable areas
No horizontal scrolling

Customization Tips

This accordion can easily be adapted for different use cases. Here’s how:

Modify Content

Simply duplicate .accordion-item blocks and change the text to add more questions and answers.

Customize Styling

Change colors, font styles, spacing, and icon types in the CSS section.

Adjust Animation Speed

Modify the transition duration:

                                        .accordion-content {
  transition: max-height 0.4s ease; /* change to 0.6s if needed */
}

Use in Real Projects

This structure can be reused across web development services for:

FAQs
Feature toggles
Sidebars
Settings panels

Use Case in Custom Web Development

Whether you're building a lightweight product landing page or a scalable admin dashboard, this accordion component is a valuable tool. It's commonly implemented in:

SaaS dashboards
Product help centres
Pricing plans and comparison pages

Developers offering web development services can integrate such components to improve client site interactivity and structure without relying on heavy libraries.

Final Output Preview

When complete, you’ll have an FAQ section that:

Opens smoothly with animation
Close previously open items
Works across desktop and mobile
It is easy to scale and modify

Final Words

In today’s digital landscape, user experience matters more than ever. Creating a clean and responsive accordion FAQ section with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript is a simple yet powerful way to organize content effectively.

This component is not just useful — it’s vital in professional custom web development and a common request in web development services. It also plays a key role in interactive web app development, where content management and accessibility are important.