information displayed when an unexpected condition occurs, usually on a computer or other device
21
votes
13answers
1k views
Is it better to prevent a forbidden action or display an error/explanation message?
There are multiple examples, so I'll pick a specific one to focus the question.
Let's say a user can have specific characteristics (or permissions):
Admin, Virtual, External, Financial, etc.
To ...
248
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 ...
35
votes
6answers
2k views
How can I highlight errors when bright red is the main color of the brand?
I'm working on a mobile website for a client whose main brand color is red. The website header and headings are all red. CTA buttons are red too. How can I effectively separate errors (mostly in form ...
8
votes
12answers
475 views
Bulk actions: what to do when not all items support an action
Picture the following scenario: user selects a bunch of items, and the 'bulk actions' box appears; user selects an action that not all items support (for one reason or another).
What do you do in ...
13
votes
2answers
704 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 ...
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 ...
16
votes
2answers
2k views
Is the color red really appropriate for form validation errors?
It seems to be taken for granted that the color red is appropriate to highlight errors. In the case of serious system errors, I agree. However, I'm having doubts that it's the right choice for user ...
6
votes
4answers
637 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 ...
11
votes
3answers
800 views
Periods at the end of a sentence in alert message
How to classify what type of messages should've a fullstop/period and what should not?
Because there are certain error/warning/success/info messages (be it a dialog, banner, contextual or ones in a ...
8
votes
1answer
211 views
Message Fade Timing
Sometimes one wishes to display a message for some time before removing it in some way (in my case fading). When implementing this idea, a problem arises: how long should the message remain fully ...
6
votes
2answers
115 views
When should the message informing the user that the password they entered is wrong go away?
This is a follow up to this question since it got closed. In a log in form, after the user enters the wrong password, when should the message saying "wrong password or user name" go away? For example ...
6
votes
1answer
689 views
Standardized (web) application error messages? [closed]
I'm in the middle of coding a bespoke CMS for a company and if there is one thing I hate it's coming up with good copy for "flash" messages (short messages that provide user feedback.)
I know how ...
5
votes
2answers
329 views
What image and message use in the “Not found” page (404 error page) [closed]
I've seen the robot of Google, the creature that has Github. I think that is question of imagination and what kind of data manages your web app to design a custom image and the message to show to the ...
4
votes
2answers
291 views
Error Message Advice (for asynchronous/background tasks)
We have a web application which currently performs a number of intensive, time-consuming tasks. The initial design didn't really cope with the levels of information we're now dealing with and we're ...
3
votes
2answers
97 views
Generic or dedicated error pages
The most common errorpage is the 404 error. Right now we are working on a website for a big client with several country websites.
My idea for http errors is:
One generic page which appologies for ...
3
votes
1answer
144 views
Kiosk: If a function is not available, should there be a notification screen?
So if my kiosk cannot print or access account info—which are important features—should I introduce a screen to inform the user about that error after sign in
(2nd screen in the example below), or ...
3
votes
3answers
276 views
Where should a 404 page link back to?
This might be a no-brainer but I can't decide whether the 404 error page should link back to the page, from which the user has come, or should it direct to the main page where the user can navigate to ...
