Create FAQs using React and Tailwind CSS

A Frequently Asked Questions section is a common feature found on websites and applications that helps users find answers to common queries in an organized manner. A well-designed FAQ can improve user experience reduce support requests and provide users with quick and easy access to helpful information.

This article will build an interactive FAQ section using React for the front-end functionality and Tailwind CSS for styling. React, a powerful and flexible JavaScript library for building user interfaces, allows us to create a dynamic component where users can toggle the visibility of answers by clicking on the corresponding questions.

Prerequisites

• React.js
• Tailwind CSS
• Node.js npm
• React Icons

Approach

• Clicking on a question will toggle the visibility of the answer.
• Using Tailwind CSS for styling the FAQ section to ensure it is visually appealing and responsive.

Steps to Create & Configure the Project

Here we created a sample React project then we installed Tailwind CSS once it was completed we started creating the FAQs section using React and Tailwind CSS. Below we provide step by step process to achieve this application.

Step 1: Set up a React Application

First, create a sample React JS application by using the mentioned command then navigate to the project folder

npx create-react-app react-app

cd react-app

Project Structure:

Updated Dependencies:

dependencies: {
    "@testing-library/jest-dom": "^5.17.0",
    "@testing-library/react": "^13.4.0",
    "@testing-library/user-event": "^13.5.0",
    "react": "^18.3.1",
    "react-dom": "^18.3.1",
    "react-icons": "^5.3.0",
    "react-scripts": "5.0.1",
    "web-vitals": "^2.1.4"
  }

Step 2: Install and Configure Tailwind CSS

Once Project is created successfully Now install and configure the Tailwind css by using below commands in your project.

npm install -D tailwindcss postcss autoprefixer

npx tailwindcss init -p

Step 3: Install React Icons

Once Project is created successfully Now install react icons by using below commands in your project.

npm install react-icons

Step 4: Develop Business logic

Once Tailwind CSS installation and configuration is completed. Now we need to develop user interface for FAQs section using tailwind CSS and html. And it is responsive web page for this we use App.js and App.css files we provide that source code for your reference.

• App.js ( src\App.js )
• index.css ( src\index.css )
• tailwind.config.js ( tailwind.config.js )

Example: This demonstrates the creation of FAQs using React and Tailwind CSS:

/*index.css*/
@tailwind base;
@tailwind components;
@tailwind utilities;

body {
    overflow: hidden;
    margin: 0;
    font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', 'Roboto', 'Oxygen',
        'Ubuntu', 'Cantarell', 'Fira Sans', 'Droid Sans', 'Helvetica Neue',
        sans-serif;
    -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;
    -moz-osx-font-smoothing: grayscale;
}

code {
    font-family: source-code-pro, Menlo, Monaco, Consolas, 'Courier New',
        monospace;
}

//App.js
import React, { useState } from 'react';

const FAQ = () => {
    const [openIndex, setOpenIndex] = useState(null);

    const faqs = [
        {
            question: `What is React?`,
            answer: `React is a JavaScript 
                     library for building user interfaces.`
        },
        {
            question: `What is Tailwind CSS?`,
            answer: `Tailwind CSS is a utility-first 
                     CSS framework for creating custom designs.` },
        {
            question: `How do you install Tailwind CSS?`,
            answer: `You can install Tailwind CSS using npm 
                     and configure it in your project.`},
        {
            question: `How do you toggle content visibility?`,
            answer: `You can use state management in 
                     React to toggle content visibility.` },
        {
            question: `What is a state in React?`,
            answer: `State is an object that holds the 
                     values that determine the behavior of a component.` }
    ];

    const handleToggle = (index) => {
        setOpenIndex(openIndex === index ? null : index);
    };

    return (
        <div className="max-w-2xl mx-auto p-4">
            <h1 className="text-2xl font-bold 
                           mb-9 mt-4 text-green-600
                           text-center">
                Frequently Asked Questions
            </h1>
            <div className="space-y-4">
                {faqs.map((faq, index) => (
                    <div key={index} className="border border-gray-300 
                                                rounded-lg p-4">
                        <button
                            onClick={() => handleToggle(index)}
                            className="w-full text-left
                                       font-semibold text-blue-600
                                       hover:text-blue-800 focus:outline-none"
                        >
                            {faq.question}
                        </button>
                        {openIndex === index && (
                            <p className="mt-2 text-gray-700">
                                {faq.answer}
                            </p>
                        )}
                    </div>
                ))}
            </div>
        </div>
    );
};

export default FAQ;

/*tailwind.config.js*/
/** @type {import('tailwindcss').Config} */
module.exports = {
    content: [
        "./src/**/*.{js,jsx,ts,tsx}",
    ],
    theme: {
        extend: {},
    },
    plugins: [],
}

Step 5: Run the Application

Once Development is completed Now we need run the react js application by using below command. By default the react js application run on port number 3000.

npm start

Output: Once Project is successfully running then open the below URL to test the output.

http://localhost:3000/

React makes it easy to build a reusable FAQ component where you can manage the expanded/collapsed state of each question-answer pair. This flexibility allows for quick updates, ensuring the FAQ content remains relevant and engaging.

Benefits of an Interactive FAQ: Provides users with immediate access to important information in a structured format.

Efficient Use of Space: Answers are hidden by default and only shown when a question is clicked saving screen space.

Engagement: The dynamic behavior encourages users to explore more questions without overwhelming them.

Conclusion

This implementation demonstrates how to build an interactive FAQ section with React and Tailwind CSS enhanced with icons from react icons to indicate the expanded or collapsed state. This provides a visually appealing and user friendly interface for frequently asked questions. The FAQ section displays a list of questions. Clicking on a question toggles the visibility of the corresponding answer. Tailwind CSS is used to style the component making it responsive and visually appealing.