Questions tagged [error-message]
information displayed when an unexpected condition occurs, usually on a computer or other device
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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 ...
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What is best practice for designing form error messages?
I've seen quite a lot of research on form design, but so far, I haven't come across any studies on error message design best practices. The only piece of advice seems to be that each error should ...
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Should I show the troll that I know he's trolling?
I'm building an online store that has many features and functions.
Whenever a user interacts with the site a notification is shown.
These notifications should give the user a response to his action ...
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67
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Should software refer to itself in the first-person, especially in error messages?
(I've searched this StackExchange site for posts relating to the use of first-person pronouns, but all I found concerned how to address the user and not the software, e.g. Form instructions/guidance - ...
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What is the recommended wording for a generic error message
What would be the best wording for a generic error message?
With generic error message I mean a message for an error that has occured but there are no details on what the error is or how to recover ...
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13
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Personal information in messages
Is it good to add some personal information (name, username or other) in success or error messages?
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9
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What color for error messages for a form with a red background?
I have a big website with some forms.
There are four background-colours for the form components. One of them is pink/red.
Here the image and the error message:
I can't change the form background-...
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Why is blue used as a background color to indicate no signal?
To my knowledge most projectors' "No Signal" screen uses a blue background:
This might also apply to the legendary Blue Screen of Death
So why is blue the color of choice for such error messages?
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How to create a useful 500 internal server error page
I'm trying to create a useful HTTP Error 500 Internal server error page and the recommendations I have found and the live examples I have stumpled upon use a very simple layout. They basically include:...
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How do I get users to read error messages?
If your intended audience is nontechnical you find yourself at a severe risk that your users will plain ignore the carefully worded error messages, either staring in shock at them, calling and yelling ...
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Using funny error messages in Finance
Currently I'm working on a branch banking application which is going to be used for all banking transactions such as Money deposit, EFT but also Campaign Management etc. (Some user roles are directly ...
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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 ...
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Is it OK to autocorrect users when they have mistyped parts of their email address?
When logging in, users might mistype parts of their email address. For example, [email protected] instead of .com, Yaho instead of yahoo, etc.
The main rationale is that by autocorrecting user input ...
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votes
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answers
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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 ...
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3
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Humor on the deathbed
Here is a rather accurate description of an extremely rare situation, displayed by a program right before seppuku:
cannot handle the fatal error due to a fatal error in the fatal error
handler!
...
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4
answers
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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 ...
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Blocking IE6: Deny outright or warn of issues?
We're looking at (finally) retiring IE6 support.
I've always been a big fan of graceful degradation but we're really pushing ahead and trying to embrace features that we're simply not going to want ...
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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 ...
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3
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When is an exception message too big?
I'm testing a web app that has a cumbersome exception message for attempting to add non-eligible invoices to a payment system, see the image below. The developer sees no issue with this but its ...
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6
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Should we be optimistic or pessimistic with UI updates on AJAX requests?
We are discussing in our team how best to handle UI updates after a user does something to cause an AJAX request to the server.
Here are options we are considering:
Instantly update the UI and add/...
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Necessity of writing the number "404" on a 404 page?
I've been working on a 404 page recently and have been confronted with the issue of whether we need to explicitly write the numbers '404' on the 404 page.
My team's opinion on this issue is split. I ...
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4
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Is giving users false assurance a good thing?
I've seen websites that show messages like - Sorry, Something went wrong, we're trying to fix this ASAP , when they really should be displaying : 404 - the page you're looking for does not exist
One ...
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Recommendations for good resources on writing good error messages [closed]
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 ...
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Is it worth having custom 404 pages for different features of a web app?
We've seen a lot of beautiful custom error pages for server errors such as 404 and 503, but it seems like each site or app has just has one for whatever page you cannot reach.
Is it in anyway ...
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Should I provide errors when client-side validation was bypassed?
I have a form. My JS confirms the field values are valid before the form can be submitted. If invalid, it is highlighted red, focused, and given a tooltip with the reason.
Moreover, the Javascript ...
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7
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How the user should be informed that the file she submitted is not an image?
In a given web application, the user can upload images. Currently, when the user uploads something which is not an image, the JavaScript alert box with the message "Please Select only Image Files!!" ...
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4
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Should we auto-select a new default payment method when the current default expired?
I'm currently working on error message handling for payment failures. A couple of the reasons why a payment may fail is because a card is returned as expired or unauthorised.
If a customers’ default ...
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6
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Should we avoid negative words when writing error messages?
Does the use of words such as 'fail', 'wrong', 'incorrect' and 'invalid' have a sufficiently negative impact on a users frame of mind to warrant the prohibition of their inclusion in the error ...
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Warning message on a successful action
In the web application that we are building, there is a process where the user uploads a file. This file will be uploaded even if there are warnings because the warnings are solved by the application ...
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Should I make space for error messages in forms?
I'm designing an mobile app for both iOS and Android, which includes a form. The form has several required input fields that the user needs to complete before continuing.
If the user clicks Continue ...
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How to display a "Log in" error in Material Design?
Problem
I am trying to create a log in page that follows the material design guidelines, but I don't know how to handle when the user inputs the wrong email or password.
In the material design ...
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votes
4
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Handling plurals in notification messages
We are migrating from an old system to a new HTML5 web based system. The earlier system had the error messages like
"The message(s) was deleted successfully."
"Are you sure you want to delete ...
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3
answers
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Form validation - When should error messages be triggered?
I'm working on a registration form with real-time inline validation. I'm wondering when we should trigger error messages:
before, when the field is in focus and until the user has entered a valid
...
user25518
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5
answers
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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 ...
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5
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Disabling submit-button until the user has completed the form
How do you think about disabling the submit-button until the user has completed the form or the required fields?
I find similar questions here on ux.se and somebody answered that the user will think ...
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8
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Why are error codes on websites shown as "404 Not Found" [duplicate]
Most error pages on websites display http status codes in messages.
Eg - "404 Not Found"
Is that status code really helpful for a user?
A previous question asked Are HTTP error codes user-friendly?. ...
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7
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Should an 'error message' be shown before or after user interaction?
In a web application we have functionality that enables users to reschedule an appointment that they have previously booked, by clicking on a call to action/link on their summary page.
However, there ...
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12
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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 ...
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3
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Best place for placement of error messages on a form (both generic and specific) [duplicate]
I'm working on a simple registration form which, when invalid data is entered, will display both a generic error (e.g: "There is an error on your form") and also specific errors (e.g: "This is not a ...
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4
answers
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Name or data on this error alert phenomenon?
This is just a curiosity on my part, but I'm wondering if there's a name or studies for what I'm going to describe.
I've noticed in many UX scenarios, not just computer related, that when there's an ...
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votes
5
answers
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How do I manage form validation for either/or fields
I have a form in which there the user is required to enter either a postal code OR select a city in order to do a search. If they fail to enter either and submit the form, currently the form ...
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3
answers
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Reset password, appropriate response if email doesn't exist?
It is common on login forms to see "Email or password is incorrect" when the user types in their account details incorrectly instead of just "password is incorrect". This is, for among other reasons, ...
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Should general 404 page be shown to the user if he clicks one-time link second time?
There is a Sign up function in a web application. After user signs up, an email message with confirmation link is sent to his email address. This confirmation link is obviously valid only one time.
...
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Given CSRF protection, how can I deal with an extremely slow user?
We use a CSRF cookie on all of our forms that send data via HTTP POST. By default, the CSRF cookie out lives the session cookie by 2+ hours, in order to ensure it does not expire for users that still ...
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User friendly error message for invisible reCAPTCHA
Lately we've been using invisible reCAPTCHA, and more recently reCAPTCHA v3.
Both are hidden and don't require the user to enter a code or tick a box to confirm they are human.
So when there is an ...
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Where is the best place to show validation/error messages in a form? [duplicate]
Where is the best place to show validation/error messages in a form?
Beside a field?
underneath a field?
Reserve an area on the top/bottom of the page, and show any error/successful message there?
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What is the best way to display date validation errors?
I am performing date validation on several forms. This validation includes making sure a date does not fall on a weekend, does not fall on a major holiday, is at least 3 business days from the current ...
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Should I use error message or warning message for optional field validations?
I have two types of validation pop-ups (toasts). One is used to display error messages in red and another one is for warning messages in yellow.
I have an (optional) image upload field in my form ...
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3
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When should a messagebox be used?
When I started in programming, there was a manual with a number of GUI guidelines. The input fields were color coded. For instance, a mandatory field would be yellow and an ordinary field would be ...
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"An unexpected error occured"
I know this is more language problem, but in many applications there is a text "unexpected error occurred".
How do you get the sense (in context of UX) of this information? It makes me feel that the ...
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