Information

You appear to be using an unsupported browser, and it may not be able to display this site properly. You may wish to upgrade your browser.

Error summary

An error summary appears at the top of a page if a user makes an error in a form. It summarises any errors they've made.

Sample HTML

<div class="ds_error-summary" id="error-summary" aria-labelledby="error-summary-title" role="alert">
    <h2 class="ds_error-summary__title" id="error-summary-title">There is a problem</h2>

    <ul class="ds_error-summary__list">
        <li>
            <a href="#resolve">Did this resolve your issue?</a>
        </li>
        <li>
            <a href="#topics">What topics are you interested in?</a>
        </li>
        <li>
            <a href="#more-detail">Please provide more detail</a>
        </li>
    </ul>
</div>

About this component

Use an error summary to let users know when they’ve made any errors in a form and how to fix them.

An error summary summarises all the errors at the top or a page. Users can see everything they need to fix at once.

Error summary also allows users to click through to each single error from the top of the page.

Why we use this component

We based our design of the error summary on the GOV.UK approach. We have tested this component and have found it works well with users.

Research showed users:

  • understood what went wrong
  • knew how to fix the problem and carry on
  • were able to recover from the error

Components related to this

Error message

Website analytics

You can track the incidence of error summaries through the original page path, the error text and a data attribute showing the type of error.

The Design System’s ‘tracking’ script adds this data attribute.

Live example

Apply to Rent Service Scotland about your rent increase (mygov.scot)

Back to top