Article · 7 min read

Maintain Consistency and Adhere to Standards (Usability Heuristic #4)

Nielsen Norman Group Free Intermediate

This separates internal consistency (within your product) from external consistency (matching the wider world of apps your users already use). That second kind is exactly what the short answer is about. It gives you a clean way to reason about which conventions to inherit.

• External consistency means following the norms of the whole industry.
• Words, icons, and actions should mean what users already expect.
• Consistency is not about your product agreeing with itself alone.