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Toasts are bad UX

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Re: Toasts are bad UX

#101

Post by nkozyra »

lolinder wrote: post #46

I'm not convinced. Most of the argument seems to be that redundant UX is bad UX: > But by archiving the email, the email disappears from the list, which already implies the action was successful. > In this example, the button already includes a confirmation so the toast is entirely unnecessary. I vehemently disagree with the idea that just because you're already communicating something one way it's bad UX to include…

> redundant UX is bad UX

In general, I think the best use of toasts are to present options for further action (if needed).

Take the example of deleting an email and getting a toast that lets you undo. Your action has already been completed and you can see it. But you have more context that can be acted on. In this case it's not redundant, even though it relays the action you just take.

In this scenario, it's ideal to move this away from the viewport the user was in. In most cases, they don't need it. But if they do, it's onscreen.

Simple confirmations that do nothing else are redundant. But toasts don't have to be used that way.

Re: Toasts are bad UX

#102

Post by krysp »

I really like the short and visually descriptive layout of this article. It clearly conveys the message. I'm not in agreement that toasts are always bad though.

It can be useful to follow an expected pattern; users are likely to understand that a toast gives feedback for an action they have taken. Although other ways exist to accomplish this, they will follow different formats depending on the action (by necessity).

As with lots of design, expected patterns change over time. Although they are non-local, toasts are familiar.

Re: Toasts are bad UX

#103

Post by JohnFen »

Mackser wrote: post #2

I haven't heard many developers/designers talk about the overused practice of using toasts for UI feedback. The post shares a few real-world examples and illustrates some of the problems with how they use toasts. What do you think? Are toasts overused? In which cases do you use them in your own apps?

> Are toasts overused?

I think so, yes.

> In which cases do you use them in your own apps?

I don't. But I don't write mobile apps (where they make more sense) for distribution, so they don't address any need my applications have.

Re: Toasts are bad UX

#104

Post by jimmygrapes »

Sakos wrote: post #86
arcbyte wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you worked with an old person? Redundancy in UX confuses them. The closer you can get to the whole UI being a single sentence and two buttons the better.

Have you? Things disappearing with insufficient explicit feedback for what actually happened to the things is one of the most common issues I've encountered with older computer users. I think it's the most common issue. Toasts add persistency and visibility for users who barely or don't understand the UIs they're interacting with, which makes it easier to understand what happened. If Outlook gave feedback to every us…

If Outlook showed a toast for every action I take, I would immediately do everything in my power to make it stop, up to and including hermitage.

Re: Toasts are bad UX

#105

Post by ben_w »

tomaytotomato wrote: post #42

How about just getting rid of all food related jargon; salad bars, burgers, toasts, heroes etc.? As a backend developer this stuff is mind-boggling, just call it "notification widget", or a "confirmation widget" etc. Try explaining what toast is to an Indian subcontractor who has never eaten toasted bread in their life and then apply that to the UX usecase. Removing these terms will also improve accessibility and und…

Off topic, but: what food (and indeed what UI element) is "heroes"?

I've heard of "hero pictures" (detailed close ups, I think named via the highest quality film props), but not food or other UI uses.

Re: Toasts are bad UX

#106

Post by dagmx »

I think the actual issue is that Google makes bad UX often, and not toasts in general.

Toasts themselves can be done well, but like every UI and UX element, they need to have some thought.

I know Google have some good UI (sometimes UX on Android) every now and then but they are so fractured as a company, with so much product and feature churn, that their UX is all over the place.

Every single Google app reinvents how things are done or communicated. Even within an app, it’ll do things differently because different teams implemented different features in the app since sections of an app might be shared with other apps.

Even Samsung offer a more cohesive experience. The most Google try and do is introduce new design guidelines every few years and then promptly have teams break them. Material design? Material You? Both barely touched UX but even with their own incredibly straight forward design rules, Google couldn’t adhere to them.

Re: Toasts are bad UX

#107

Post by ben_w »

lolinder wrote: post #79
tomaytotomato wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would argue that FUBAR, P-trap, Dequeue, HALO are going to have a less likelihood of a context collision than borrowing an existing word that is ubiquitous in society. For example in Google "toast" "toast menu" "toast ux" All yield different results However "p-trap" gets you a narrowed list of results

"Platoon" turns up military answers until I specify traffic. And I'm actually not at all sure what meaning of "HALO" you're referring to—it must be jargon not in my vocabulary, but for me it refers to a thing angels have and to a video game. Again, it seems like you're inconsistent in applying your frustration with jargon. You're frustrated with jargon in an adjacent profession to yours, but don't seem to apply the s…

High Altitude Low Open, of a parachute approach.

Re: Toasts are bad UX

#108

Post by hddqsb »

I thought this was going to be about Android (which makes heavy use of that term), and I was expecting completely different complaints:

- The toast disappears quickly, so you might not have time to read it / take a screenshot

- It's not possible to copy the text

- Long text is truncated (e.g. exception messages)

Re: Toasts are bad UX

#110

Post by INTPenis »

If you're analyzing the youtube UI I can show you a lot worse issues than the toasts lol. That's a minor issue. I consider myself a heavy youtube user for over a decade and to summarize; Youtube doesn't care about UX.

Yesterday they added a sleep timer, yesterday! A feature that shouldn't take more than a day to develop. But it's highly valuable to a large number of users, Youtube doesn't care. Good UX is only valuable as long as they can make a profit from it.

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