Handholding in form design
We are:London has been lucky enough to have recently been involved in some exciting form design and research. From our recently conducted research some interesting design considerations have come to light. One of the main areas is user handholding.
User handholding is a double edged sword. A fine balance must be struck between useful support and wrapping the user up in cotton wool. Our recent testing revealed some interesting user attitudes towards the support of both inline validation and automatic inline help. Providing the user with inline validation gave the user a sense of achievement. It helped them feel they were walking the correct path, reassuring them.
When creating a password for a Google account the user is provided with reassurance of its security level.
Automatic inline help however had an adverse affect. While on first appearances help of this nature supports the user, holds their hand and aids the smooth completion of the form the user’s impressions however were not of this nature. The user felt this patronised them, that providing automatic help for every field treated them as if they were incompetent and unable to complete the form.
Do users of the British Gas site need prompting to enter their first name in the ‘First name’ field?
These attitudes develop into interesting design challenges. A form must provide a supportive environment for the user. It must help them when they need help and reassure them that they are on the right path. A form must also not patronise the user. It must not try to support when support is not needed. Inline validation helps to reassure the user while trusting the user that they are intelligent and aware enough to complete the form fields without support. Automatic inline help can be used sparingly but overuse makes the user feel they are being patronised. Users do not need help on how to fill out their name. Offering user activated help allows users easy access to support when needed but allows them to choose when they require it.
Blog, information architecture, usability research, user interface