Usable messages

An example of an unusable message. Messages should be constructive, comprehensible, precise, visible, and polite. The above message meets four out of these five guidelines.

In my experience, basic rules for error messages and examples are often ignored, which leads to serious or critical usability problems.

I offer the following advice:

  • Error messages
    Great error messages are constructive, comprehensible, precise, visible, and polite;
    Writing usable error messages;
    Error 50
  • Writing great examples
    Contrast between examples;
    Explanations in examples;
    Dynamic examples;
    Indirect examples;
    Non-optimal examples; and more.