101 UX Principles – 2nd edition - Second Edition

#97

Only Use Modal Views for Blocking Actions

A modal view—like a dialog box, or full-screen takeover—is just that: modal. The user is forced into a mode where they have to make a decision, and they can do nothing other than deal with the modal.

It breaks the user’s flow, and that can be a good thing for some actions—“are you sure you want to permanently delete all your stuff?” is a great example. But too often modals are thrown around with abandon and your customer needs to stop and deal with each one.

Dealing with the modal isn’t a zero-effort task; the user must:

1. Switch out of the context they were working in
2. Read the modal text
3. Work out what to do, and how it will affect their current goal in the product
4. Operate the modal

This extra cognitive ...