One of the most common questions I get here is about falling for a friend. Where does the line of friendship stop and romance begin? Now, from the dating end of things, Bonny Albo is the best person here to explain all that, so I encourage you to check out her site.
From the friendship end of things, I've got some thoughts on what "the friend zone" really is and how to tell if you're in it. Many of the questions I get refer not just to "is this person a friend or more than that" but also what to do to make sure the friendship doesn't end. Sharing the fact that you have feelings for a friend can indeed end a friendship, or at least change it going forward. It might be difficult to get back to the way things were, which is one reason people hesitate in telling a friend that they're interested in them romantically.
On the other hand, a good relationship of any type (romantic or otherwise) starts with friendship. You have to genuinely like each other as friends in order to have the strongest bond you can. So it's understandable why so many people get confused about it.