Tuesday, November 14, 2017

What can be done to make a long, multi-step wizard more user-friendly?



I need to create a wizard which has numerous sections, each with multiple questions. How can I improve the experience for the end-user?



Answer



My first suggestion would be to try to eliminate as many steps as possible. Really think about the flow, what's required, etc.


Some tips to make a long process more friendly:



  • Show a progress meter of completed steps

  • If possible, allow users to jump back and forth to go back and correct a previous entry

  • Give real-time feedback when an entry doesn't conform to expected input values, instead of notifying the user that something didn't work at the end of the process.


A side note (hopefully not stirring up the flames): Apple hardly ever uses Wizards for set-up processes, and when they do, the Apple set-up assistants are (in my opinion) always easier to figure out than the Microsoft equivalents. I'd suggest looking at the differences and try to identify the tricks employed by Apple.



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