My coworker and I took the previous error messaging style guide entry and completely revamped it. Intuit's content style guide is recognized internationally as one of the top style guides out there, and it serves as an inspiration to many companies and designers. We were lucky enough to contribute to it.    

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After researching numerous best-in-class style guides' handling of errors, collecting feedback from our peers, and writing draft (after draft) after draft, my coworker and I presented our document to the style council for approval. After a few rounds of feedback, we finalized the draft, and it was published live to the Intuit content style guide website. 

 

Here are some of our net new additions to the article:  

• Changing the mindset around error messages 

• Alternatives to error messages 

• A step-by-step guide to writing error messages 

• Principles

  • Clarity

  • Brevity

  • Helpfulness

  • Specificity 

• Our perspective on error codes  

• Voice and tone guidelines  

  • When to use passive voice ​

  • Avoiding blame and judgment  

  • Matching tone to error severity 

• Words to handle with care