Make help and error messages actually help
Help and error messages that are clear and in context can assist residents as they go through forms.
If messages are not clear, they can frustrate residents and cause them to abandon a form altogether.
Don’t use help text to address shortcomings of a form. Strive to make the form as user-friendly and easy to understand as possible and minimize the amount of help text you even need.
Avoid having chunky, help paragraphs under each field. This starts to make the form look chaotic. Keep it concise.
Make sure the help and error message is adjacent to the question it’s referencing so that the resident quickly sees it. Don’t make the user search for the message.
Make sure the error message appears in real-time. Don’t make the resident have try to go to a new page before they are alerted to an error.
Make sure the error messages clearly tells the user what the error is and how to resolve it easily.
Use polite phrasing in error messages. Don’t blame the user by having messages like “illegal action.”
Use color, icons, and messages to clearly indicate an error has occurred. Just using one can leave the user lost or confused.
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