Error Handling | Staff Gateway

Clearly communicate errors with descriptive messages, suggestions for resolution, and, where applicable, links to relevant help documentation.

Give user feedback as soon as possible.
Describes the issue as accurately as possible using non-technical language.
Ensure that the feedback is actionable: where possible provide guidance on how to resolve the issue.

Needs to be meaningful, descriptive and constructive

Don’t blame the user
Don’t validate or display an error until the user has been in and out of the field
Don’t use exclamation marks
Don’t display error messages before the user has entered a field
Show errors inline - don’t group them all together at the bottom/top of the page on submissions
Provide feedback for successful actions, so users know it’s worked

Specific error messages for common form fields

Field	Scenario	Error message
Your name (assuming separate fields)	User leaves the field blank	Please enter your first name
Email address	User leaves the field blank	Please enter your email address
Email address	User enters invalid format	Please enter a valid email address e.g. your.name@email.com
Password	Password doesn't meet complexity requirements	Your password must be at least x characters long and contain x and x
Date of birth	User enters invalid date format	Please enter the date in dd/mm/yyyy format
Preferred contact method (radio button)	User doesn’t select an option	Please select your preferred contact method
Terms and conditions (check box)	User doesn’t check the box	You must agree to the terms and conditions to agree