Do you have an estimate of how many times you’ve entered the wrong password? With every failed retry, your system issues the same polite warning. Had it been an actual human, the results would be quite dramatic and harsh – and understandably so.
You see, technology is meant to assist human life and help humans do better at everyday functions. However, technology isn’t the same as the human mind. It isn’t supposed to have or exhibit emotions when someone hacks a device or forgets their tenth password. Even though every computer program is designed by the human mind, there’s one thing you must leave out: human error.
Every one of us has received an error code message at least a few times. It could be an expired code, an invalid email address, or an obsolete action. If the input you give to your device is corrupt or faulty, you receive an error message. These messages are how the system you’re using, communicates the problem to you. And despite being fully programmed by the human mind, these messages need to sound neutral and robotic.
So, how do you write an effective error notification? Here are some error message writing guidelines for your benefit:
Table of Contents
1. Make Your Message Clear to the User
When people are using your software or hardware, they’re essentially a part of the flow of information. Whatever input they’re providing determines the output from the other end. To make operations successful, you need to make the error message absolutely clear. Using ambiguous expressions and can make it difficult for the user to understand the exact problem.
- In other words, your message should openly explain the root cause of the issue within the system. This way, the users can see for themselves where they are going wrong. Read the following messages and decide which one is the most suitable:
- ‘Login failed.’
- ‘Incorrect login.’
- ‘Your credentials do not match our record.’
- ‘Your email address/password is incorrect.’
The first message fails to explain the problem and only relates to what has happened with the operation. The second one only mentions why the login has failed, but it’s still unclear. The last two are reasonably much better at explaining the error to the user. These last two are perfect error message examples for a standard program.
2. Keep the Sentence Short and Precise
The average user is always in a hurry to get things done. If your error messages fail to inform precisely what’s going on, it’s practically no use. The ideal length for such notifications should be around 8-10 words. Anything longer than that gets lesser attention from the user, who will probably forget most of what the message said.
Let’s understand this using a different example when you look for an essay writer free and paid services contrast in a lot of aspects. Hiring an essay writer for free can turn out to be a disastrous choice. You can probably message something like ‘write an essay for me’ or ‘do my essay.’ If this free writer isn’t qualified enough, you’ll get the same ambiguous and abrupt responses in return. On the other hand, what if you go for a paid service such as Edubirdie? Well, such experienced writer teams do discuss your essay with you before working. Their questions and responses are short, concise, and quite clear in meaning and expression. Your error messages need to be on a similar note!
3. Don’t Make the User Feel Guilty
Machines don’t discriminate or judge or humiliate. You don’t see your laptop using a harsh or sarcastic tone if you’re ignoring the low battery warnings, right? This unending politeness and ethical language are what make users stick to these complicated machines. In fact, when it comes to user experience, a friendly error message tone is more than enough to establish a lifetime of the trust factor.
While coding the error messages, make sure that the words and expressions don’t have a taunting or tiresome effect. Using words like ‘please’ and ‘kindly’ ensures that the user doesn’t feel humiliated or dictated. Here’s an example:
‘You’ve entered an invalid PIN code.’
Versus
‘Please enter the correct PIN code.’
The tonal diffidence in the two is pretty apparent. One sounds a bit rude in informing the user of the mistake they’re making, the other guides the user on what to do to avoid an issue.
4. Avoid Technical Jargons
There’s no point in writing a 50 character long file name with numbers and alphabets in simple error notification. Your user won’t understand what you’re referring to and will probably spend an hour searching the problem source. It’s best to avoid complex technical words that only a few people can understand.
Instead, ask the user to take direct actions such ad restarting the Wi-Fi router or rebooting the system. Remember, the error message should guide the user on what to do next instead of worrying about what’s happening.
5. Use Progressive Disclosure Approach
Sometimes your error message may need to exceed short lengths. While a longer length is to be avoided, in these cases, it’s okay. However, there’s an appropriate way to deliver that message. If a message contains details about individual actions or files that have an error, don’t display them immediately. Instead, use a Show/Hide setting so that the user can decide whether or not to read these details.
Please find a summary video of what makes a good error message and how to write an effective error message below
