Using your confirmation and error pages

by Katharina Scholtz

So much goes into a well built website that it can be easy to neglect the opportunity on your confirmation and error pages. While they both represent the end of some kind of interaction, you should avoid letting them be the end of a site visit. The two obviously perform different functions, and different considerations should be kept in mind for both. In a daring and unusual move, we’ll start with the thank-you.

Don’t waste those open minds

When someone has downloaded something from your site, signed up for a newsletter or made a comment, the confirmation page not only lets them know that their interaction was successful, but also that you have taken note of what they’ve done. Your visitor has chosen to interact with you, and as noted by Marketing Sherpa, this means they’re in the perfect mood to learn more about you.

Confirmation pages can be used to provide links to a few more of your offerings. Whether what you offer is a link to some of the more popular parts of yours site, or perhaps a special download, visitors are more likely to appreciate what you have to offer when they’ve already decided you’re worth their time - a moment not to be wasted. 

Highlight the Humanity

There’s often a contradiction inherent in confirmation pages, especially the ones that say thank-you for commenting. The whole point of offering the space for commentary is to learn from your visitors, and let them know that what they have to say is important to you.

When I’ve taken the time to make a comment on a site, being met with a “your comment is being processed” type message doesn’t make me feel warm and fuzzy. While we all know that my comment is being mediated by a site structure, the point should be that it's just mediating. I want to know that there’s a person on the other side. So, with that in mind, it doesn’t take much extra effort to have the page say “Thanks for your comment Kat”.  Similarly, when an email is sent to confirm a newsletter sign up, it should be written with your brand personality in mind, and also in a way that shows more than an automated system behind the sign-up.

Dead End?

Based on the same principle as your confirmation pages, it’s well worth it to have a look at your error pages. Jennifer Sleg wrote a great post (worth a read) on this a while back, with 11 steps to keep in mind. She points out that you can use a custom 404 page (error page) to, acknowledge that your user has gotten lost, provide a search function and importantly offer the same menu bar available on the other pages of your site. In this way you’ll lead visitors back through your site rather than losing them, and again show the attention to detail that ensures a positive user experience. 

2008/04/09 | permalink | comments (0) | trackbacks (0)

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