Alert Message Rules
Posted On 05 January, 2009 at 10:23 AM by Rajeev PrabhakaranIn all web applications and OS based application, validation is very important for that we are using different types of validation or alert or error messages , is that have any rules ? yes just check it ,
1. Should start with capital letter(In a standard format)
2. Error messages should be accessible for as many users as possible regardless of culture, age and impairment.
3. It should be easy to understand that an error has occurred.
4. It should be clear what the user has to do to correct the error.
5. It should be clear for the user where the error was found in the form.
6. It should be possible to be notified about errors before submitting the form, especially if it is a complex form that takes time to process on the server.
7. All errors should be displayed at the same time. No one wants to re-submit the form to find a new error.
8. Do not give any hint about any security event (For example Sign in of an application Incorrect error message -”Password is invalid” , Correct one- “Agent Name or Password is Invalid “)
Where to display these error messages ? Let’s see
1. Should start with capital letter(In a standard format)
2. Error messages should be accessible for as many users as possible regardless of culture, age and impairment.
3. It should be easy to understand that an error has occurred.
4. It should be clear what the user has to do to correct the error.
5. It should be clear for the user where the error was found in the form.
6. It should be possible to be notified about errors before submitting the form, especially if it is a complex form that takes time to process on the server.
7. All errors should be displayed at the same time. No one wants to re-submit the form to find a new error.
8. Do not give any hint about any security event (For example Sign in of an application Incorrect error message -”Password is invalid” , Correct one- “Agent Name or Password is Invalid “)
Where to display these error messages ? Let’s see
- sure the user can see that an error has occurred. Error messages need to stand out from the rest of the layout. They should be placed at the top of the page if that is the area displayed after the form has been submitted with errors.
- An error icon if your layout makes it difficult to visually separate errors from the rest of the page
- Be consistent when you present errors (the user will expect errors to be displayed at the same location and with the same style on all pages)
- Update the page title to indicate that the user is on the same page but with errors (e.g. if the page title is “Registration” you could change it to “Registration - Error occurred”).
Error message text standard
- Make sure the error message identifies the related field with the name as it is written in the label for that field
- Do not use complicated words
- Describe what the user should do to correct the error, especially if it could be difficult to understand
- Make it clear if there were more than one error so that the user can correct all errors at once
Error Messages View
- Make sure all user agents can parse error details. Use a heading to identify the error area.
- Present each error as an item in a list. This makes it easy for the user to understand what has to be corrected. Also, screen reader users will find it easier to keep errors apart
- If you use software specific error id numbers do not hesitate to add them to the id-attribute of the list element. If you use automated functional tests (e.g. Rational Robot) it will be much easier for the test robot to parse and identify errors
- Provide an access key for the error message section. This is valuable if your form can generate many errors and enables the user to move back and forth between the error list and the form
- Make it possible to navigate from the error message to the related field. This makes it easier for users that navigate with the keyboard
Tips for developers
It is better to use some client side validations in forms (like in .net applications)
Example
<——————————————————————————->
4 Errors were found while registration ,Please Correct these errors and Submit again
#Your user name must be between 6 and 30 characters long.
#Email is invalid
#Password is too short (minimum is 8 characters)
#Terms of Service must be accepted
<——————————————————————————>
It is better to use some client side validations in forms (like in .net applications)
Example
<——————————————————————————->
4 Errors were found while registration ,Please Correct these errors and Submit again
#Your user name must be between 6 and 30 characters long.
#Email is invalid
#Password is too short (minimum is 8 characters)
#Terms of Service must be accepted
<——————————————————————————>
