Creating Error Messages | Best practice in UX Design

Error - A Mistake | The Human Psychology

Published in

UX Collective

4 min readJun 28, 2018

We are human beings, and we often make mistakes, whether it be in our daily life work or while using any application or device.

We often feel frustrated if we are facing an error while using something and we don’t understand the reason or fact behind it.

But if we recognize the reason for that mistake, we would surely be conscious next time and would avoid making it again.

Error occurrence while using an application :

Users often face errors while using an application, sometimes because they make a mistake and sometimes because the system fails to complete its process.

The reasons why an application throws an error could be:

1. The application does not understand user’s input

2. The application fails to complete an expected action

3. The user may not be aware of the app’s process

Each error, regardless of whom to blame, becomes a point of frustration for the users. Whatever the cause be, these errors and the way they are handled can have a huge impact on the User Experience of any application.

Preventing Error’s | User Experience Strategy

If we design an application, we should know the constraints where the app will fail to do certain task.

For example, it’s hard to fill up a certain form or it’s impossible to properly sync a data if a device has a poor network connection.

You should take these constraints into account in order to minimize error by conveying a proper message with actual reason to the user.

Error Prevention & Handling | Usability Heuristics for UX Design

Users hate errors, and even more hate the feeling that they themselves have done something wrong.

Either eliminate error-prone conditions or check for them and notify the users about that before they perform the action.

Below is an example of Google Search trying to correct the spelling:

Making Error Messages | What is recommended..!

An effective error message:

Should primarily avoid confusion.
Should communicate what is happening.
Should describe how the user can fix it.
Should be short and crisp, but should convey full reason.
Should display at right time and place.
Should have right color for the message.

Making Error Messages | What is NOT Recommended..!

1. Avoid using technical jargon.

Express everything in simple words, don’t assume users to be tech-savvy so that they understand message’s context.

2. Show actual field which the user missed.

Never confuse the users where he did the mistake. Show them clearly which field they missed or entered incorrect data.

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Types of Error Messages :

1. Inappropriate Values

Let the users know about an error before they click on the submit button. This will create an awareness in the users that they should enter something else before proceeding to next level.

2. Empty Mandatory Fields

Let the users know which data they missed while filling a form. This will make them aware that they will not be allowed to proceed until they fill the mandatory fields.

3. Exceeded or Insufficient Character Limit

Let the users be aware of the maximum or minimum character/numeric limit for a certain field. This will let them know their limit of typing.

4. Poor Network Connection

In case of poor or no network connection, display a proper message to the users so that they don’t have to wait longer for the page to load or for a failed loading page.