Button label when applied to checkbox - “Delete”, “Delete Checked”, or “Delete Checked Items”?

Question

Suppose one has a list of 5 to 40 items on a web page, and suppose further that one wants to enable the user to delete one or several of the items by checking a checkbox and then clicking a delete button at the bottom (or top). What should the button be labeled with?

• Delete
• Delete checked
• Delete checked items

(Of course, "items" might be replaced with the specific kind of thing, e.g. emails or files.)

And, as a follow-up--would the same logic be applicable to other bulk tasks (e.g. send checked items, print checked items, mark checked items for follow-up)?

Answer 1

I'd go with "Delete N items", where N is the number of checked items, and just "Delete" when only one item is checked. This way you're giving more precise information on what the user is about to do, so they can be sure that's really what they wanted.

Answer 2

While "Delete" may seem obvious enough, you'd be surprised how often something that seems obvious, when scaled or re-implemented/re-purposed for another tool, becomes indecipherable.

I would strongly suggest you go with "Delete checked items" to ensure maximum clarity.

Furthermore, as an accessibility (a11y) consideration, you want to ensure that visitors who use technologies like screen readers, will correctly interpret exactly what action the button accomplishes.

Answer 3

Definately "Delete Checked" or "Delete Checked Items" or similar, which indicates that items need to be checked and these will be deleted. If it is just Delete, this is not clear exactly what is to be deleted - at least, there is a potential for confusion.