the art of writing promotional text to make an emotional impression on the reader, usually to encourage a purchase. Don't confuse with [tag:copyright] or [tag:copy-editing].
209
votes
12answers
37k views
Should I use Yes/No or Ok/Cancel on my message box?
Semantically, the Yes/No buttons are roughly equivalent to the Ok/Cancel buttons, but in general what would you recommend to use? Should I always use Yes/No or always use Ok/Cancel? Or does it depend ...
34
votes
6answers
7k views
Using “Sign in” vs using “Log in”
Is there any research in this area, it seems "Sign in" is more common and hence more recommended.
70
votes
7answers
2k views
“Your” vs “My” in user interfaces
Some user interfaces feature titles such as:
My documents
My photos
My previous orders
While others opt for:
Your documents
Your photos
Your previous orders
Are their any guidelines addressing ...
172
votes
12answers
7k views
What to call “Cancel” when “Cancel” is already the default action?
When attempting to cancel a service or setting, "cancel" is the default action. What should the normal "cancel" button be called?
Redbox uses a playful "just kidding", which may not be appropriate in ...
114
votes
12answers
6k views
Why shouldn't we use words such as 'here' and 'this' in textlinks?
Over the years of surfing on the web I have found numerous examples of people saying that you shouldn't use the word "here" in a textlink etc. Personally I like the idea of using the word, because it ...
34
votes
5answers
1k views
Should an interface ever say “please”?
Often I'll see a website, especially when registering or filling out a form that says something like "Please only use letters and numbers in this field" or "Please try again."
Please is a pleasantry ...
54
votes
23answers
4k views
Better term for “user” [closed]
I often have to explain some aspect of an application, and often need to refer to users. I really don't like the term as it is not something with a good connotation (e.g. drug users) to the ...
14
votes
8answers
2k views
How to tell the user his login credentials are incorrect?
When a user has entered incorrect details into a login form, is it better to tell them:
The username or password you have entered is invalid.
or
The user name you have entered is invalid (for ...
254
votes
14answers
29k views
Should error messages apologize?
We are having a discussion on our team about an error message that says "Sorry, you do not have permission to access this feature. Please contact your administrator for assistance."
Is it ...
13
votes
4answers
497 views
What are good rules for naming menu items? [closed]
I'm establishing some style guidance for naming items which are accessed from my application's menu bar.
What are the commonly accepted rules for naming menu items?
When should the names of the ...
10
votes
6answers
894 views
User Profile, My Account, or just Settings?
I am writing a little webapp, and am stuck on a UI hangup. I have a global menu bar at the top of the screen, that when the user is signed in consists of:
Signed in as Joe User (with username as ...
27
votes
4answers
1k views
You, Me, or Joe Soap
When listing content in an application (think of a list of documents) we show the name of the document and the name of the author.
What should be shown for the author's name when the person reading ...
11
votes
3answers
722 views
How can the classic footer elements be integrated into an infinite scrolling layout?
Infinite Scrolling is a fairly new and effective way to display practically infinite amounts of data in a user's window, but one page element simply does not suit itself to this method; the footer. A ...
139
votes
10answers
7k views
Should a sentence ending with a URL terminate with a period?
Suppose my web service needs to send a password recovery e-mail message to the user. The message will contain a link (with some disposable token). Something like:
To reset your password please ...
25
votes
5answers
1k views
Why do we have OS names like Mountain Lion, Jellybean, and Quantal Quetzal instead of numbers?
Less of a pressing question and more a "what happened here"?
At some point in the past decade (most) OS's have switched over to these codenames for their versions with names like Mountain Lion, ...
11
votes
10answers
500 views
Best description for “tags”
Although the concept of tags has become commonplace on the internet in the last few years, there are still many people that don't know what they are or what the point of them is.
You want to make ...
9
votes
2answers
276 views
Formatting relative dates and times
First, when I talk about relative times (or would dates be more accurate?), I mean these 4 minutes ago, 1 hour ago, etc.
When should they be used? With what degree of precision? Shouldn't it be the ...
13
votes
2answers
761 views
Recommendations for good resources on writing good error messages
Writing good error messages which help users understand how to use the system is difficult. Often we get bug reports stating "Error message x is confusing" which usually sparks a long debate in the ...
7
votes
4answers
428 views
Context sensitive help for wordy user preferences
Current UI
Here is a poorly designed panel on a preferences dialog for the open source audio editor 'Audacity'. I'd like to do something about it.
How it got that way
In the past the text beside ...
14
votes
1answer
2k views
When to use “join,” “register,” or “sign up”?
For a user, when is it better to be asked to do the following:
"Sign In" vs. "Log in"
"Join" vs. "Register" vs. "Sign Up"
"Sign Out" vs. "Log out"
Different websites seem to use them differently, ...
10
votes
11answers
2k views
Creative alternatives for word 'Home' on a web application
What could be creative alternatives for word 'Home' on a social network applications that implies as a default space/ a living space or a place where all the updates gather?
3
votes
2answers
281 views
How to notify the user of a system error (out of their control)?
What's an easy-to-understand error message for situations where the error is a system error (out of the control of the user and cannot be fixed by the user)?
Here's a few that I came up with, but ...
11
votes
3answers
1k views
Should we use 'Title Case' or 'Sentence case' for headlines and buttons on the web?
I am wondering if we should use Title Case or Sentence case for buttons and headings and the web?
Title Case:
Sentence Case:
In Yahoo's UI guidelines I couldn't find ...
8
votes
6answers
1k views
Difference between 'modify' and 'edit' buttons
Is there a difference between the words 'modify' and 'edit'? I am creating a form that will allow users to make changes to their order - what should the call to action button name be - 'edit your ...
6
votes
4answers
660 views
What will be the Best notifications and error messages?
As a UI architect, I am always wondering about the best format to display errors and notifications to users.
Which of the following examples is the best format?
Name is required
Name cannot be ...
7
votes
4answers
314 views
Does using bold font for keywords and key points increase readability of user manuals?
I find myself writing quite a lot of articles, user manual-like documents, as well as posting hundreds of questions on stackexchange sites.
Over time, I developed a certain style of writing, which ...
7
votes
2answers
350 views
Best UX to ask for donations
I currently run a free local hiking site for California and people have recently been suggesting I add a way to enable people to give donations since the site is free.
Has anyone had success asking ...
6
votes
3answers
125 views
Where should I display 'free shipping if payment by debit card'?
I've been working on an e-commerce website, and the stakeholders want to add the following text: 'free shipping if payment by debit card'. Where should I display this on the website?
I think the most ...
5
votes
3answers
230 views
Should field labels be nouns or verbs?
On a web form should field labels be nouns or verbs? This issue arose from two fields on an account request form that currently read:
Temporary Password
Re-Enter Temporary Password
There is debate ...
4
votes
2answers
150 views
How to request a third-party login within a seperate mobile application
I'm designing a mobile app that requires the user to log-in with their LinkedIn account.
I feel I might have cluttered too much info into it, but everything seems to be important.
I want the user ...
4
votes
1answer
132 views
How should Ad splash pages be handled for those with ads disabled?
I see it all too often; I click a link to an article on the web and I get this:
It's not (as) readily apparent it's an ad screen, at first I thought it was the classic "white screen" of a page that ...
2
votes
3answers
229 views
What is an alternative way to display a very large number?
In my application I have a text field that should display numbers (representing money) ranging from 0 to 999 trillions...
The users of my application are the general public, so displaying a ...
