Writing Accessible Error Messages
Writing Accessible Error Messages focuses on W3C WAI notification wording and correction guidance, distinct from an existing guide about how literal error strings are capitalized and quoted in technical documentation.
Write error messages that are concise, easy to understand, identify the problem, and give simple instructions for resolving it.
Key details
Important caveats
Scope Boundary
This page covers the wording and communication of form errors, not sentence-case or quotation formatting for literal product error strings.
Further guidance
Content
State the error clearly and tell the user what to change or which format is required.
Purpose
Accessible error text helps users understand the problem and recover from it.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- User Notification — W3C WAI Forms Tutorial (opens in a new tab)World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) · W3C WAI guidance for concise, clear form notifications, error-resolution instructions and success confirmation.