Solution: Clear, simple, polite error messages
eToys, by contrast, helps customers succeed with its clear and prominent checkout error messages. For example, in this screen, eToys asks customers to "Please enter the credit card's month of expiration."
eToys' error message succeeds for three reasons:
- The error message is written politely: "Oops! Before we can go on, please see if you can fix this..."
- It's displayed clearly: The message is displayed in bright red text, beside a large graphic, to indicate that an error occurred (clearly displayed).
- It's worded simply: The message clearly explains how to fix the error and continue to make a purchase (worded simply).
eToys could improve the message further by moving the credit card number field closer to the error message, making it even easier for customers to correct the mistake and proceed in checkout.
KBKids also displays its checkout error messages clearly, helping customers see where they need to make a correction.
KBKids places blinking red triangles next to the fields that customers need to fill in. While this practice would be annoying on practically any other page on the site, it's helpful in checkout, since it's then especially easy for customers to see where to fix the problem and move on.
Amazon's error messages go a step further to explain its checkout process. When customers leave a required field blank, Amazon explains says why the information is necessary. Doing so helps shoppers through the checkout process, and in this case -- explaining the need for a phone number -- reflects sensitivity to customers' privacy concerns.
