From: <[log in to unmask]>


> I agree with Tod, the error message at the top of the page is most useful.
>
> Also, I disagree with Juan Lanus's premise that the best thing for the
user
> is to give them an error message immediately if they fail to fill out a
required
> field, preventing them from going on. The user experience will be
something like:
> "Fill out some stuff. Ooops error. Fix error. Fill out some more stuff.
Ooops error. Fix error. Fill out some more stuff... etc." I believe the user
will become rather frustrated by this, and will prefer correcting all the
input needs at once. Its less interuptive.


Well, I think I disagree again. If you're really getting errors this
frequently, then the form experience is a rather broken one anyway. If it's
a thoughtfully designed form that asks relevant questions in an appropriate
way, then users are likely to make no or few errors. So if an error is a
rare experience within the form then it makes more sense to tell the user
about it immediately.

If you're getting errors constantly, then there's a deeper problem: a
mismatch between the user's expectations and the form design.

Best,

Caroline Jarrett
e: [log in to unmask]
p: +44 (0) 1525 370379

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