Article · ~14 min read

How to Report Errors in Forms: 10 Design Guidelines

Rachel Krause (Nielsen Norman Group) · Nielsen Norman Group Free Beginner

Sign-up and checkout forms are where founders lose users, and this piece is a focused rulebook for the error text on exactly those screens. It covers where to put the message, when to show it, and how to phrase it so people can recover fast. Concrete enough to apply to your form this afternoon.

  • Show the error next to the field, not in a lump at the top only
  • Keep the user's input so they never retype everything
  • Phrase the fix, for example 'Use 8 or more characters'
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The question it answers

  1. How do I write clear button and error messages so users know exactly what to do next?

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