In-context descriptions or hints can help clarify what goes inside each form field, and therefore improve completion and conversion rates. There are many ways to provide hints. A common implementation is by inserting instructions within form fields. Unfortunately, user testing continually shows that placeholders in form fields often hurt usability more than help it.
Labels and Placeholders
Labels tell users what information belongs in a given form field and are usually positioned outside the form field. Placeholder text, located inside a form field, is an additional hint, description, or example of the information required for a particular field. These hints typically disappear when the user types in the field.
American Century Investments used a conditional indicator to provide information regarding a specific stock’s performance. When the daily change was negative, the indicator was a red arrow pointing down. When the daily change was positive, it showed a green arrow pointing up. The condition of the
It’s arguably cheaper to develop hybrid and web apps, as these require skills that build up on previous experience with the web. NN/g clients often find that going fully native is a lot more expensive, as it requires more specialized talent. But, on the other hand, HTML5 is fairly new, and good
Most of the methods in the chart can move along one or more dimensions, and some do so even in the same study, usually to satisfy multiple goals. For example, field studies can focus on what people say (ethnographic interviews) or what they do (extended observations); desirability studies and card
When Will You Be Able to Use Cryptocurrency to Buy a Pack of Gum?
Even with these developments, the logistics of spending crypto remain complicated. The first hurdle is the IRS, which has classified cryptocurrencies as assets — as opposed to currencies — which makes spending crypto a taxable event. That means you’ll have to figure in a capital gains tax
3 Areas Where Blockchain Will Propel the Drone Industry Forward
Whether individual recreational drones or entire commercial fleets, having access to immutable, unalterable, reliable third-party data is critical. In the case of claims for damage to drones, property, or even personal injury, Insurance companies need data to determine what exactly happened during
Blockchain Trends that Everyone Should Watch Out For 2019
As indicated by one report, the utilization of blockchain innovation to verify information and gadgets in the web of things (IoT) multiplied amid 2018. This pattern is probably going to proceed one year from now and past, as more associations wake up to the capability of circulated, scrambled
Beyond Usability: 3 User Experiences Reshaping Their Industries
It used to be that you would buy two or three nice outfits to have in your wardrobe and would rotate them for special events. But in today’s era, with social media like Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat, all your friends will see what you wear, whether they go to the same event or not. And even
placeholders in form fields are harmful
Brand Is Experience in the Digital Age
The Concept of Brand: A Lesson from Edward “Blackbeard” Teach Edward Teach, the pirate better known as Blackbeard, is one of the most infamous pillagers in history. More relevant to our interests, however, is that he was also a man who understood the importance of creating an enduring
10 Heuristics for User Interface Design: Article by Jakob Nielsen
Visibility of system status The system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable time. (Read full article on visibility of system status.) Match between system and the real world The system should speak the users' language, with words
The User Experience of Customer-Service Chat: 20 Guidelines
Other businesses chose to offer chat as a floating button on the side of the page — either on mobile or on desktop. We noticed that some of our participants completely ignored these buttons. On HSBC a user opened the menu and did not notice the Live Chat button on the side. However, after she
Also, this lack of information and required registration could have contributed significantly to system failures, because account setup requires more processing power (that is, server or database calls) than simple browsing of the site to gather information. Forcing people to create an account
Eartracking: A New UX-Research Method
Also, while an eyetracker is fairly expensive, the supercomputer required for an eartracking study runs close to $100 million. (Luckily we were granted free supercomputer time due to the revolutionary nature of our research.) A bigger supercomputer currently under construction is named after a
A Look Back at the WP Engine London Summit .
At the end of September, we held our 2018 WP Engine Summit in Austin, Texas. Last week, agencies, brands, and digital innovators from EMEA came together in London for the WP Engine EU Summit. Attendees discussed the future of digital experiences, Gen Z’s perception of the Internet, and the
placeholders in form fields are harmful
WP Engine Culture Recognized at Greater Austin Business Awards
The annual Greater Austin Business Awards competition, presented by The Austin Chamber of Commerce, is designed to honor excellence in all aspects of business. In order to promote awareness and perpetuate good practices, the Awards recognize companies and organization in the Austin region for
WP Engine Named A Best Place to Work in Technology for 2019 .
When it comes to facilitating a truly enjoyable and productive workplace, it takes more than just the promise of perks and ping pong. Employees want their workplaces to reflect what they value and expect out of the company they work for: trustworthiness, morality, and the opportunity to grow both in
Exhaustive Review or "I Can't Believe It's Not There" Phenomenon
There, he tried tapping one of the models, presumably to get more details about it, but nothing happened. He scrolled and scanned the titles of the same sections of the page again, and read the menu below more closely; then scrolled to the end of the page, shook his head “no,” and scrolled to
6 Tips for Successful Personalization
Personalization is based on system’s assumptions about the users’ needs based on past behavior. Users rarely have any control over these assumptions. As we move into a world with more and more “smart” devices, we need to make sure that users can override these personalized settings if they
Killing Off the Global Navigation: One Trend to Avoid | Nielsen Norman Group
As with any popular web-design trend, it’s important to determine if a minimized global navigation is appropriate for your site, given your users, their usage patterns, and your goals. Mimicking mobile design on the desktop is not appropriate for all sites. Approaching this design pattern with
8 Things Every Business Should Know About Data Recovery
The frequency of backup must be based on data criticality and affordability. And there’s no debate on whether you should create and maintain a regular backup. The point is when and how. You should backup business database nightly. But in case some data is lost in between the backup cycle, use
The Evolution of Healthcare Data: 5 Little Known Facts
Despite the concerns over patient privacy, there’s no denying that healthcare data is plays an important role in modern patient care. As far back as 2012, healthcare data represented 30% of electronic data storage worldwide. In 2013, the amount of healthcare data was 153 exabytes—which is
How Blockchain Changes Nowadays Business Security
Blockchain is not only used to enable transparency with smart contracts. This technology plays a crucial role in data storage, revolutionizing the way we keep our data secure from leaks, phishing, and other cybersecurity threats. We all know about cloud computing and centralized servers like Google
A 60-Second Trailer of the 60-Day Report on Cybersecurity
She explained that the original design of the Internet was driven more by considerations of interoperability rather than security, and as a result we are now faced with almost insurmountable issues. Some examples include online criminals who steal our information, mass bandits who have the ability
placeholders in form fields are harmful
A 60-Second Trailer of the 60-Day Report on Cybersecurity
She explained that the original design of the Internet was driven more by considerations of interoperability rather than security, and as a result we are now faced with almost insurmountable issues. Some examples include online criminals who steal our information, mass bandits who have the ability
15 Incredible Women in Business to Watch in 2018 and Beyond
Yet Feinzaig doesn’t remain content with that. In 2016, she founded Venture Kits, games that teach and encourage leadership in kids. This idea has attracted the attention of TODAY Parents, Fox 10 News, and other media outlets. Additionally, Feinzaig is a Techstars mentor, a Startup Week
Placeholders in Form Fields Are Harmful | Page Parking: Millennials' Multi-Tab Mania
Page Parking: Millennials' Multi-Tab Mania
In pogo sticking users are forced to continuously alternate the hunting and the digesting of information, while in page parking these stages can be separated and done one at a time. Why is that good? First, because users don’t need to switch and save context between the two fundamental tasks of
Overuse of Overlays: How to Avoid Misusing Lightboxes
If the content is too long to fit into a small lightbox, will you add a scrollbar? If so, consider disabling the browser scrollbar to prevent users from mistakenly scrolling the background page instead of the lightbox. (Though disabling the browser scrollbar can have unintended consequences
TV Meets the Web
When more bandwidth becomes available, it will also be possible to use a television-based Web to assemble more efficient evening news broadcasts optimized for the individual viewer. For example, the show could start by having the anchorperson read the list of the day's headlines. Each family could
