Comments on: Button Placement on Forms and Popup Windows http://www.meryl.net/2008/08/12/button-placement-on-forms-and-popup-windows/ Content on writing, tech, business, marketing, social media Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:21:37 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Meryl http://www.meryl.net/2008/08/12/button-placement-on-forms-and-popup-windows/comment-page-1/#comment-806093 Meryl Tue, 12 Aug 2008 18:49:08 +0000 http://www.meryl.net/?p=3084#comment-806093 <p>Absolutely right, Graham. Sometimes the company will gear the selection toward the one it wants not what we want. They probably count on us working fast and not making the choices we mean to make.</p> <p>Have to be careful when installing games from certain sites who ask if you want to add a bar (like Google bar).</p> <p>Also -- especially on check out pages -- we need a back button. If you use the back button on the browser, it sometimes loses data. Sometimes it can be avoided and other times it can't.</p> Absolutely right, Graham. Sometimes the company will gear the selection toward the one it wants not what we want. They probably count on us working fast and not making the choices we mean to make.

Have to be careful when installing games from certain sites who ask if you want to add a bar (like Google bar).

Also — especially on check out pages — we need a back button. If you use the back button on the browser, it sometimes loses data. Sometimes it can be avoided and other times it can’t.

]]> By: Graham Strong http://www.meryl.net/2008/08/12/button-placement-on-forms-and-popup-windows/comment-page-1/#comment-806089 Graham Strong Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:55:20 +0000 http://www.meryl.net/?p=3084#comment-806089 <p>Hi Meryl,</p> <p>The "drastic" example is just above -- the "Save Document" button. The "Yes" is highlighted because hitting "No" would (perhaps accidentally) erase everything you have worked on.</p> <p>The thing that drives me batty is when the button is highlighted that the software maker wants you to push, not necessarily the user.</p> <p>For example, I'll be typing away and the "Update [Name of Software Here} Now?" pop-up box will appear. Of course, when I'm typing 120 words per minute (heh, heh, I wish...) I don't have time to react to the window, and suddenly I have to stop everything to deal with this silly download I didn't want in the first place.</p> <p>I try to shut down all those "Automatic Updates" but one or two always seem to make it through...</p> <p>Bottom line: not only make the buttons easy for your website visitors (etc.) to use, make them with their best interests in mind and not your own, or you'll get a lot of negative feelings when you "trap" someone into making a choice they didn't want to make.</p> <p>IMHO,</p> <p>~Graham</p> Hi Meryl,

The “drastic” example is just above — the “Save Document” button. The “Yes” is highlighted because hitting “No” would (perhaps accidentally) erase everything you have worked on.

The thing that drives me batty is when the button is highlighted that the software maker wants you to push, not necessarily the user.

For example, I’ll be typing away and the “Update [Name of Software Here} Now?” pop-up box will appear. Of course, when I’m typing 120 words per minute (heh, heh, I wish…) I don’t have time to react to the window, and suddenly I have to stop everything to deal with this silly download I didn’t want in the first place.

I try to shut down all those “Automatic Updates” but one or two always seem to make it through…

Bottom line: not only make the buttons easy for your website visitors (etc.) to use, make them with their best interests in mind and not your own, or you’ll get a lot of negative feelings when you “trap” someone into making a choice they didn’t want to make.

IMHO,

~Graham

]]> By: Karen Putz / DeafMom http://www.meryl.net/2008/08/12/button-placement-on-forms-and-popup-windows/comment-page-1/#comment-806086 Karen Putz / DeafMom Tue, 12 Aug 2008 13:11:19 +0000 http://www.meryl.net/?p=3084#comment-806086 <p>Another thing that bugs me is the "delete" and "rename" which are next to each other in Microsoft software. I've hit the wrong one before. Thank goodness for the prompt or I would have lost some nice pictures.</p> <p>Karen Putz / DeafMom's last blog post... <a href="http://deafmomworld.com/summer-is-flying-by/" rel="nofollow">Summer is Flying By</a></p> Another thing that bugs me is the “delete” and “rename” which are next to each other in Microsoft software. I’ve hit the wrong one before. Thank goodness for the prompt or I would have lost some nice pictures.

Karen Putz / DeafMom’s last blog post… Summer is Flying By

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