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North Square completes its third evaluation in 5 years for Royal & SunAlliance (recently rebranded to RSA).
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(June 2008)
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When a form has been submitted with errors, we have the following advice for communicating those errors:
Ensure the form is re-displayed. Do not force users to click a link to return to the form, or force users to scroll to the form. The whole form does not need to be in view, but the top of the form must be visible. If your coding method allows it, make the first incorrect field the active field (i.e. with the cursor in it).
JavaScript pop-up error messages are problematic because users have to remember the errors shown in the pop-up. Also, some screen readers do not read JavaScript pop-ups which means some users will not be able to progress.
A far better way to communicate errors is with standard text on the page. Text is accessible and remains on screen allowing users to refer back to errors at all times. Error messages displayed on the form must appear either above the form, or above each field. For those using screen readers, placing errors above each field is better because the error is read out and immediately followed by the field, making it easier to remember and correct the errors.
Error messages must be clearly distinguished from body text. To increase the visibility, it is often a good idea to use a different coloured text, and a combination of the following:
Remember that usability must override aesthetics. Ensure your error messages can be seen immediately. When you test your forms (see below), ask users to complete a form with errors, press the button to submit the form and then point to error messages as soon as they have seen them. Should your test subjects take more than a second to see the error messages, more styling techniques should be applied.
We often see general messages like the following:
"Fields were either missing or improperly completed."
The message is then followed by a list of fields. This is poor practice; each field should be given a specific instruction on what the problem is, and how it can be rectified.
Once your forms have been created, it is essential to test them with users from your target audience. Problems can normally be identified by observing just 3 or 4 people but if you can test with 6 or 7, you should be confident of finding most, if not all problems. Ideally, test your form on about 3 people, make any required changes and then test the form on 3 new users. Try to choose users from both ends of the ability scale e.g. 3 novice users and 3 advanced users.
We highly recommend testing your forms with screen readers, to ensure they are accessible. The two leading software packages are JAWS (by Freedom Scientific) and HAL (by Dolphin). These packages are expensive so if you cannot test your forms internally, an accessibility agency, such as North Square, can test one or all of your forms for you. Ideally, your forms should be tested with disabled users. Again, most accessibility and usability agencies can help you to do this.
by David Miller
Website Analyst,
North Square Interactive
North Square Interactive is an online consultancy that delivers cost effective, best practice, Website Evaluation reports, Usability Testing, Website Competitor Analysis, Accessibility Audits, Browser Testing, and more. For further information about all of our services, please visit our Online Consultancy Index.
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