Too many interfaces are guilty of displaying too much information at once. Not all that’s displayed is immediately relevant. Some information is temporarily irrelevant until users meet certain conditions.
As such, you should conceal irrelevant info so users can focus on what’s relevant. Focusing on relevant info first allows them to complete tasks with fewer distractions. Users should be able to disclose the concealed info in the instance it becomes relevant. The term for this technique is progressive disclosure, and you can apply it in various ways.
1. Conditional Checkboxes
Checkboxes are useful for indicating whether a specific condition applies to the user. If a condition includes additional form fields, use progressive disclosure to conceal them. Only reveal them if users select the checkbox. This allows users to focus on the required fields for faster form completion.
2. Overview Accordion
Certain areas of an interface have high information density. The natural inclination is to display it all at once. However, this would make it hard for users to focus on the overview information. Displaying the details of each item would take their attention away from what’s relevant.
To provide users with better focus, use an accordion interaction on high-density information. This allows users to scan the overview information first. It’ll then disclose the details on selection when they’re relevant.
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