One of the most consistently neglected parts of today’s user experiences is our handling of errors.

We’re so busy designing the happy paths through our products that we often forget to give the same care and attention to the times when things will go wrong.

Our digital products are littered with dead ends, meaningless error codes, decipherable only to developers, and infuriating whimsy that leave our users frustrated and stuck. Even when we do take the time to craft helpful error copy, we rarely document or encode such decisions so they can be easily reused and standardised across our digital landscape.

This article nails a critical but overlooked aspect of UX that most developers neglect - how to write helpful error messages instead of frustrating ones.

I love the practical approach with clear before/after examples showing how to transform robotic "invalid input" messages into actual human guidance. The section warning against cutesy "whoopsie!" messages when users are already frustrated is spot-on. What makes this especially useful for developers is the focus on creating consistent error patterns - something that helps both users and engineering teams.

Rather than reinventing error handling with each new feature, the article advocates for documented patterns that can be reused throughout your app.