The Art of the Error Message
How to write clear, helpful copy for when things go wrong
By Marina Posniak & Tamara Hilmes
The concept of embracing failure is big in the tech industry. “Fail fast, fail often” is almost an industry mantra. But there’s an everyday type of failure that doesn’t get much attention in the product development process: the humble error message.
The error message should help the user solve the problem and move on.
Error Messages Matter
We’ve all seen an “incorrect password” error once in a while (or, um, daily). While it can be frustrating when things don’t work as expected, we usually just brush it off as no big deal. But what’s the cumulative effect of these small moments?
Every error message is a tiny roadblock that gets in the way of what we are trying to do. Depending on the context, an unhelpful message can mean the difference between continuing or giving up. There’s even some research to suggest that error messages trigger a physical stress response by raising cortisol levels.
Just think of the difference between seeing something like this:
