97
votes
Should software refer to itself in the first-person, especially in error messages?
No.
Trying to give applications personality is one of those things that's just not well thought out. It definitely seems like it's one of those solutions that developers came up with and never user ...
- 5,403
50
votes
Should we auto-select a new default payment method when the current default expired?
Don't select a new default card for the user. Usually it's nice for the system to help the user recover from a problem through strong new default, but your instincts are valid in this case. Even if ...
- 12.9k
29
votes
Accepted
Necessity of writing the number "404" on a 404 page?
Include the 404 — problem solvers will appreciate it
There’s no better or more concise way to communicate the nature of the problem to experts who may have to help your user.
“404” on your error pages ...
- 3,951
18
votes
Should I use error message or warning message for optional field validations?
In this case since the user has tried to upload an invalid format, regardless that it is optional, it counts as an error.
Warnings and Errors can be defined as such:
WARNINGS should appear when ...
- 7,423
18
votes
Accepted
Should we auto-select a new default payment method when the current default expired?
...user should have full control over what card they want to use for a transaction...
Rather than make that decision for users, give them the ability to make that decision beforehand...
Replace ...
- 2,673
15
votes
Should software refer to itself in the first-person, especially in error messages?
You should use simple and direct language to communicate with the users. When writing error messages be polite and provide meaningful actionable messages. Keep the apologies for cases when the mistake ...
- 196
11
votes
Accepted
A clear error message for wrong password format
I would recommend writing it in clear requirements and state which requirement is not fulfilled by the user. Such as
Your password must be have at least
8 characters long
1 uppercase &...
- 3,759
11
votes
Material Design - How to display an error on a larger screen
The material design guidelines have a section called Errors.
For your use case, it recommends:
If two or more fields have incompatible inputs:
In the text field, indicate a fix is needed. Add an ...
- 2,814
11
votes
Accepted
Desktop app status bar: Notification vs error message
There's a third option similar to the one used on this page: the message tray icon that is only activated when it has some content with the corresponding number.
Advantage:
The message tray can ...
- 20.4k
11
votes
Why use graphical illustrations on error pages?
I think it's done because of a couple of reasons.
1. To be welcoming to the user
Error 404 never occurs in a situation where everything is alright. The same goes for connectivity errors, server ...
- 6,819
10
votes
Warning message on a successful action
This file will be uploaded even if there are warnings because the
warnings are solved by the application itself.
By referring to your sentence above, would it be worth allocating that much of space ...
- 16.3k
9
votes
Accepted
Warning message on a successful action
The process is successful, but there are warnings detected
What you have is Notice1 + Notice2 + Action.
Product upload successful + There were warnings + View warnings
The examples you propose ...
- 16.9k
9
votes
A clear error message for wrong password format
A minimum 8 characters password contains a combination of uppercase
and lowercase letter and number are required.
That error message sounds awkward and confusing because it's written in a passive ...
- 14.5k
9
votes
Specific messages for wrong password or wrong mail - which is the correct practice?
Giving separate error messages for a wrong password vs a wrong username (or email) allows users to easily find out whether or not a given username exists in your system. All they have to do is enter ...
- 4,602
9
votes
User friendly error message for invisible reCAPTCHA
You mentioned that in most cases a refresh and submitting the form again would resolve the error, but it seems that a refresh and second attempt would not actually resolve it if:
someone is coming ...
- 973
8
votes
Necessity of writing the number "404" on a 404 page?
As you say "I don't think the average user knows or cares what 404 signifies" so it doesn't matter to him.
But to the technical user the 404 gives extra information.
So if the decision is between ...
- 16.9k
8
votes
Accepted
How to display a "Log in" error in Material Design?
Try using a toast in material design:
Material-UI Snackbars Docs
I think this should solve your problem. If not try cards:
In this case, clicking on the icon reveals the error text.
The main thing ...
- 1,741
8
votes
Accepted
When should the error state on an input field disappear?
The error message should stay.
There is a design principle 'recognition rather than recall'. Meaning the user should not be forced to remember things but rather give the information (or options) ...
- 3,445
7
votes
Should software refer to itself in the first-person, especially in error messages?
Generally speaking,
Yes!
Caveat A: If the folks responsible for messages lack humour and/or empathy -- NO!
Caveat B: If writing skills and communication ability aren't strong, don't even try it.
...
- 2,278
6
votes
What's the best way to alert someone to an error on their form?
Try indicating errors (as a summary) both at the top of the page and adjacent to the input itself (for each individual error).
Because of viewport size, scrolling and plain old human attention and ...
- 25k
6
votes
How to manage usability with multiple http error messages?
If you want to show only one error;
note: I wouldn't recommend this option, it removes a lot of important information.
Show the first error the app encounters. That way users can chronologically try ...
- 8,379
6
votes
Desktop app status bar: Notification vs error message
One problem with your first example is in deciding which message to summarize.
In your example, there appear to be two messages (one informative: there's an update available; one error/warning: ...
- 2,665
6
votes
Accepted
Why use graphical illustrations on error pages?
Donald Norman (one of the founders of the Nielsen Norman Group) talks about Visceral Design:
It’s a reference to the concept of “gut instinct”. It’s a subconscious level of reaction to certain ...
- 1,217
6
votes
Empty state design for serious brands
You've already pointed out an important point of minimizing user frustration.
Besides that you also want to help him as soon as he ends on one of the "empty state" page.
This is where you will ...
- 316
6
votes
What should an error state for a number value be?
You can't show a numerical value because that would imply a value, which is a wrong value by definition.
I'd better say you would display a message saying something like "error getting number" with a ...
- 8,270
6
votes
UX improvements for tabs with access control
Users that have no access to a page should not be able to click at it at all. If you let a user click on a button only tell them later that they have no access to its content it can make them ...
- 903
6
votes
Accepted
Error message about recaptcha failure, should it be more generic or specific?
A clear "it depends".
An error like "secrets error" is broadcasting "the admin doesn't know how to implement this feature correctly" to those in the know, while offering ...
- 2,598
5
votes
The universal empty state message
Earlier when I dealt with empty states, I always had the need to be witty about it, but that turned out to be less than effective, as it could annoy the user if they were frustrated with that empty ...
- 171
5
votes
Accepted
Which principle is violated if only one error message is shown at a time?
Two heuristics come to mind.
This rule from Jakob Nielsen's 10 usability heuristics https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/
"Visibility of system status - The system should always ...
- 366
5
votes
Can multiple error screens (e.g. 401, 404) be grouped into one catch-all page?
As you stated in the latter part of the question, catching HTTP errors in a clean, meaningful page is good UX. A stack-trace dump of error messages is scary to most users, and is a potential security ...
- 3,858
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