Errors are inevitable in any product — what really matters is how helpful you are towards guiding your users out of these error states. According to the Nielsen Norman Group, the principles that go into a good error message are pretty straightforward — keep the language explicit, concise, polite, precise, constructive, and human.^[1]

Errors can also occur on the part of users — for example, a mistyped postal code or a non-existent email address. In this case, avoid blaming users for their mistakes and let them know what went wrong and how to fix it. Better yet, make your microcopy on form labels, placeholder text, and CTAs unmistakably clear, in turn cutting down the chances of errors happening.