When we followed these steps in the conversions part of our service:

  • visit the Confirm local authority information template dates page in our staging environment
  • note the invalid return path in the URL: /confirm-local-authority-information-template-dates?return=someInvalideParam/SomeInvalidPath
  • click the Confirm and continue button

We received a generic and complex error message that would not provide a joined-up experience across all channels.

An unhandled exception occurred whilst processing the request.

Creating a design

We used similar content created by the Apply to become an academy and Complete conversions, transfers and changes teams to create a design.

Apply to become an academy (A2B): Sorry, something has gone wrong

A page with the h1 Sorry, something has gone wrong. In the Apply to become an academy service.

Complete conversions, transfers and changes: Sorry, there was a problem

A page with the h1 Sorry, there was a problem. In the Complete conversions, transfers and changes service.

Prepare conversions, transfers and changes: Page not found

A page with the h1 Page not found. In the Prepare conversions and transfers service.

Reviewing the design

We presented our design to the Regional Services Division (RSD) content community of practice. The feedback was that the content doesn't provide specific instructions on how to solve the issue.

2 digital sticky notes of feedback about the Page not found page in the Prepare service.

The A2B service has 3 types of error message pages depending on the scenario:

  1. Page not found
  2. Something has gone wrong
  3. You do not have permission to view this application

Next steps

We'll consider

  • adapting the A2B team's error message types for our service
  • giving specific instructions to users on how to fix issues

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Tags

Content design User experience Academies