1

I have some tables with data where I display for each row multiple action buttons.

I have now sometimes buttons where I am not sure wether I should allow the user to click on it because on the new loaded page he can not do anything.

Now I see 3 options:

  1. On the new loaded page show a user notification like " You have not configured yet entity x and entity y. Click the link to do it: link here..." if he clicks the link he is redirected to the page where he has to configure entity x and entity y.

  2. Technically Its not possible right now, but I also could show the above user notification when the user just clicks on the button - there is no new page loaded at all -

  3. I disable that button which is defined in html table column 5 and I show in column 6 a hint that he has still to configure the entity x/y and I could even show there the redirect link for user friendlyness...

Which option has the best user experience?

Improve this question

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

Out of 3 options you gave, option 3 could be the best solution, but once user will memorise the pattern, it will be quite annoying to get these notifications all the time especially if you have 10 rows with hints. The best user experience would be notifying the user before hand and letting them know if you want this process to run smoothly configure entity x and entity y.enter image description here

Too many direct conversations with users may lead to “notification overkill” and may result in users either tuning out mentally or opting-out altogether.

  1. Don’t show notifications just because you can.
  2. Keep the message clear and understandable. No matter what the content of the notification is, make sure it speaks the same language as your users, literally and figuratively.

enter image description here

Improve this answer
4
  • With option 3 there is no notification alert/toastr/popup. Just a hint text in the action button column why the button is disabled.
    – Pascal
    May 5, 2017 at 5:24
  • That's what you wrote "I disable that button". Anyway, what I meant the option 3 is the best solution out of your options, but I would use a global notification feature so you don't have put hint text in multiple rows and add an icon to indicate that there is something wrong with this row. Repeating your text will be quite annoying for the users.
    – VB2001
    May 5, 2017 at 5:52
  • I thought also about appending an bootstrap addon button to the disabled button which has a certain icon. This icon is shown at the bottom with a hint text so it is not repetetive. What do you think? How would that global notification feature look like? I am already using toastr notifications in the top-right corner when something is sucessfully saved/failed. You mean sth like that?
    – Pascal
    May 5, 2017 at 7:30
  • I have added a example in my answer. Add alert icon on status "not configured" and the same icon in front of the message.
    – VB2001
    May 8, 2017 at 0:50

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.