Nielsen’s 10 usability heuristics in plain words
These are the good manners of interface design. In plain words, with examples you see every day.
1. Visibility of system status
The idea: People should always understand what is happening right now. The system should never go silent.
Example: When you order a taxi, the map shows where the car is and how many minutes until it arrives. Or the progress bar while a file downloads.
2. Match between the system and the real world
The idea: The interface should speak the user’s language. Use familiar words and images, not technical jargon.
Example: A trash can icon for deleting files, a toggle switch for turning features on, or a heart for adding something to favourites.
3. User control and freedom
The idea: People should be able to undo a mistake and go back easily. They need an “emergency exit”.
Example: The back arrow in the browser, Undo (Ctrl+Z) after deleting something, or a “Remove item” button right at checkout when you added something by accident.
4. Consistency and standards
The idea: Don’t reinvent the wheel. The same things should work the same way on every page and screen.
Example: On almost every website, “Sign in” or “Profile” sits in the top right corner, and the company logo that leads home sits in the top left. Swap them, and people get lost.
5. Error prevention
The idea: It is better to stop a mistake from happening than to point it out afterwards.
Example: While you create a password, the site tells you right away: “Add one capital letter”. Or you type “Pariss” into a search engine and it gently asks: “Did you mean Paris?”
6. Recognition rather than recall
The idea: People shouldn’t have to strain to remember things. The hints they need should be in front of them.
Example: “Recently searched” or “Recently viewed” in an online store. You don’t have to type in the product you opened five minutes ago all over again.
7. Flexibility and efficiency of use
The idea: The interface should work for beginners and experts alike. Beginners follow the prompts; experts use keyboard shortcuts.
Example: You can copy text with a right click (for beginners) or with Ctrl+C (for power users). Or a “Repeat last payment” template in a banking app.
8. Aesthetic and minimalist design
The idea: Nothing extra. Every unnecessary element, banner or line of text pulls attention away from what matters.
Example: Google’s home page. Just the logo, the search box and a couple of buttons. No news, weather or ads, because your main goal is to find information.
9. Help users recognize, diagnose and recover from errors
The idea: If an error does happen, the message should be clear and offer a way out, not just scare people with a code like Error 404.
Example: Instead of “Invalid input”, the site says: “Your phone number is missing one digit” or “The email address has no @ sign”.
10. Help and documentation
The idea: Ideally, the system is clear without instructions. But when help is needed, it should be short, simple and there at the right moment.
Example: A question mark next to a tricky field in a form. You tap it and a small pop-up says: “Enter your contract number here — it’s at the top of the first page”.
In my concepts
My own examples from my projects:
- Visibility of system status and recovering from errors: in AI Assistant, the Verify answer screen shows a status for every step (Supported / Partial support / No source) and says honestly what the source does not prove.
- User control and freedom: saving an insight comes with “Undo save”, and sign-in works with an email and a code, no password.
- Recognition rather than recall: in the North & Bean mobile flow, “Order again” sits on the home screen, so you don’t have to build your order from scratch.