User-Friendly Error Messages – A Good Example

One of my pet peeves with most software is the cryptic, unfriendly error messages thrown up by so many of them.

At Accompa, we try to make error messages in our own software as friendly and useful as possible. I think we still have a long way to go, but we work hard at it.

I just saw the following error message from bit.ly – the URL shortening service used on sites like Twitter. On most websites, this is usually a cryptic “404 Error” message. See how bit.ly has made it so friendly and fun!

I'm your author, Michael Shrivathsan, an expert in product management with successful experience over two decades. I live in Silicon Valley, USA. For my day job, I'm the VP of Product Management at Accompa, we make the popular requirements management software used by PM teams and related teams.

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