Web Application Design Patterns- P3: This is the type of book you’ll want to read with your entire team and a fl ip chart because every page will produce a list of actionable changes for the applications you’re developing. Pawan Vora has produced an amazing catalogue of the essential patterns for designing today’s web-based applications. | 40 CHAPTER 2 Forms FIGURE Adobe Buzzword shows an error message above the Sign In area. icon or any other appropriate icon to draw attention to the error message and or the form elements that caused the error s Figure . PROVIDE INSTRUCTIONS TO FIX THE ERROR This could be as simple as asking users to do something simple and specific . Reenter your username and password. Then click Log In to offer suggestions to fix the error . Username is case-sensitive. Check the Caps Lock key on your keyboard . SHOW ERROR MESSAGES ON THE SAME PAGE AS THE FORM Web applications that show error messages on a different page force users to memorize the error s and the instructions to fix them before returning to the form page containing errors. If there are several errors on a page this can become cumbersome because users may have to go back and forth several times to fix all the errors. Showing error messages on the same page as the form eliminates the need to return to the page with the error message and makes it easier for users to fix errors. RETAIN USER-ENTERED INFORMATION When showing error messages it s important that user-entered information is not lost. Asking users to enter the same information again is annoying and may lead them to abandon the form Figure . Error Messages Dur Products for. Customer Service Your Accounts Feature Demo Online Banking Guarantee Security Privacy Online Services Agreement Log In or Sign Up Existing Customers r Take an animated tcur Is online banking safe and secure Forgot your password7 Need help with logging in Protect yourself from fraud Questions about you- account7 Looking for Commerçai Banking access7 New Customers Sign up now to a Access your accounts online a Pay bills online now free Send us a secure message Please log m to view your accounts online User Name j Password 0 Remember my user Name m WaMu Washington Mutual s login form clearly indicates that an error occurred and uses an alert icon to grab users