
What would be super nice is if the message itself contained a link to the ‘Log in with Google’ page - so you don’t have to look around the page to find the link. Try using the Log in with Google button.” Not everyone agrees, and it’s true that it goes into possibly unnecessary detail about the implementation of Google account authentication.Īn alternative, rephrasing the detail so it’s relevant to the user, is “You signed up with a Google Account, so you can’t log in with a password. I like the contents of the message: the information it gave me about what was wrong guided me towards what I needed to do next, and helped me understand.

And actually, I’d argue that a conversational (if serious) tone here is exactly what a user needs in an error case. It shows you don’t need to be formal, stuffy or alarming in error messages. I also liked the error message I got when I tried to log in:įor me, it’s a great example along the lines of the Voice & Tone guidelines on errors: it’s calm, serious and straightforward, and offers a next step. They’re cleanly and concisely phrased, targeting users with questions and giving them clearly phrased actions to follow up with.

Looking out for users who want to log in with a username, not an email. A clear title, reminding you where you are and what’s happening.So I wanted to call out a nice example with decent writing, from Trello: A page for logging in isn’t a complex idea, but often they’re overdone, overcomplicated, or confusing.
