Error messages: the neglected area of the man/machine interface
Communications of the ACM
Toward a more civilized design: studying the effects of computers that apologize
International Journal of Human-Computer Studies
Error prevention in online forms: Use color instead of asterisks to mark required-fields
Interacting with Computers
Exploring the feasibility of web form adaptation to users' cultural dimension scores
User Modeling and User-Adapted Interaction
Building an interaction design pattern language: A case study
Computers in Human Behavior
Multimodal interaction: A suitable strategy for including older users?
Interacting with Computers
Interacting with Computers
Advances in Human-Computer Interaction
An experimental study of home page design on green electronic products web site
HCD'11 Proceedings of the 2nd international conference on Human centered design
Working towards usable forms on the worldwide web: optimizing multiple selection interface elements
Advances in Human-Computer Interaction
Working towards usable forms on the world wide web: optimizing date entry input fields
Advances in Human-Computer Interaction
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Online form validation can be performed in several ways. This article discusses two empirical studies with 77 and 90 participants, which have found evidence that the best way of presenting error messages is to provide the erroneous fields after users have completed the whole form. Immediate error feedback recommended by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) showed the worst performance in these studies. Where presented with immediate feedback, users often simply ignored the messages on the screen and continued completing the form as if nothing happened. These results lead to the postulation of the ''Modal Theory of Form Completion'': Users are in either ''Completion'' or ''Revision Mode'' when filling out online forms. These modes affect the users' way of interaction with the system: During Completion Mode the users' disposition to correct mistakes is reduced, therefore error messages are often ignored.