k13

Meaningful error messages at a glance

Site Genre: Pattern Group k

magnify imageFigure K13.1 Dell’s Web site handles errors during account creation with two error messages, which are positioned near the problem area. Each message states the problem and what the customer must do to fix it.

Background

Web sites need to be engineered for PREVENTING ERRORS (K12), as well as making it easy to recover from errors. This pattern focuses on providing meaningful error messages that facilitate recovery.

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PROBLEM

When customers make mistakes, they need to be gently informed of the problem and how to recover gracefully, or the error condition may persist.

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SOLUTION

magnify image Figure K13.2 Provide simple, blame-free error messages that let people know what’s wrong and what to do to fix the problem..

Provide meaningful error messages in familiar language without assigning blame and without trivializing the problem with humor. State the severity of the problem and provide steps that customers can take to recover. Display the error message near the problem area, and highlight it to make it stand out visually.

Other Patterns to Consider

In your Web site design, focus first on PREVENTING ERRORS (K12), resorting to error messages only as a fallback. Always use FAMILIAR LANGUAGE (K11) in error messages. Also use PERSISTENT CUSTOMER SESSIONS (H5) so that customers do not have to reenter the same information after an error message is displayed. Meaningful error messages are especially important for PPROCESS FUNNELS (H1), such as SIGN-IN/NEW ACCOUNT (H2) and QUICK-FLOW CHECKOUT (F1), where they help maintain focus so that the customer does indeed complete the process.

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