101: Error - Error Message Not Helpful!

Working Code

Web application developers are notoriously bad about building resilient applications. All too often, we implement the "happy path" and then forget (or simply ignore) that many things can go wrong for any number of reasons. However, even if we do account for the "sad path", and we do catch and handle errors, it's not always clear how those errors should be presented to the user. Luckily, Tim has some very practical guidance on the matter that he shares with us on this week's show:

Error messages sent to the end user need to have an appropriate tone, be free of tech jargon and shouldn't pass the blame. They say what happened and why, provide reassurance, be empathetic, tell them how to fix it (if possible) and give them a course for remediation (customer service, support ticket).

Follow the show and be sure to join the discussion on Discord! Our website is workingcode.dev and we're @WorkingCodePod on Twitter and Instagram. New episodes drop weekly on Wednesday.

And, if you're feeling the love, support us on Patreon.

With audio editing and engineering by ZCross Media.