Daily UX Writing Challenge: Day 3
Login Error Message
Hey guys!
Welcome to Day 3 of my 15-day UX Writing Challenge. Today’s task is short and straightforward. A seemingly easy one. But is it? Have a look and be the judge:
UX Writing Challenge: Day 3
Scenario: The user entered the wrong email address to sign in to their account.
Challenge: Tell the user to enter the right email.
40 characters max
Don’t be fooled by how short the task description is. Inline error messages are notoriously hard to get right. We want to alert the user to an error (one they probably caused) without putting the blame on them. As if that’s not tough enough, we also have to keep the text short and sweet. I mean, how many characters can you possibly squeeze under a small input field?
Well, read on to see how I tackled this challenge.
My Solution
The user has just entered the wrong email address and therefore can’t move forward in the experience. This can be pretty frustrating. So my goal was to nudge the user to move forward in the quickest and least intrusive way possible.
To achieve this, I used an inline error message. I also made sure to use a tone that is both polite and helpful, to show empathy toward the situation.
Solution Explained
“We can’t seem to find this account. Please try again.”
‘It’s not you, it’s us’ sort of message.
The message lets the user know that there’s a problem with the email they entered but doesn’t assign any blame to them.
I used an inline message (directly below the input field) because the error is just in one input field. That way, the user can see the exact error that’s stopping them from moving forward, fix it, and get back on track.
Also, by highlighting the input field, I can further draw their attention to the exact error, so there’s no ambiguity.
