What are constraints?
As the name suggests, constraints represent limitations. In web and app development and design, constraints refer to the intentional parameters that define what a user can and cannot do within the environment of a given website or app.
If you wish to know more about this topic, check out the FAQ section below:
Question #1: What are the benefits of constraints?
The main benefits of implementing constraints are:
- It minimises the risk for errors
- It minimises the risk for user confusion
Let us take a closer look at each one:
First, by limiting what a user can do in a website or app, you also minimise the risk of things going wrong.
For example, if you have a website that sells skin care products to both retail customers and resellers, you can create a splash page that sends the former to a version of your website that is specifically designed for retail transactions and the latter to one that is designed to handle bulk orders.
Doing so would allow you to, say, eliminate the risk of a retail customer accidentally buying 1,000 bottles of a product or a reseller receiving one pack of a product instead of an entire box.
Another example would be online flight booking websites that only allow users to book available seats on available flights. Without such a constraint, there would be a whole lot of issues not only on airline databases, but at the physical check-in counters in airports as well.
The second benefit of constraints is that they also help keep users from getting confused. By limiting what they can do, you end up leading them to the content and features that would be most beneficial to them.
For example, if you run a global tech company that serves customers from different parts of the world, it would be a good idea to not allow users to access the products, services, and deals that are not available in their respective countries.
This is exactly what Apple, and other similar companies, does. Since not all their products are available in all the countries they serve, they automatically send users to the correct regional version of their website to avoid any confusion as to what products, services, and deals each customer can avail.
Question #2: What are the downsides to implementing constraints?
The main downside to implementing constraints is that they can negatively impact the overall user experience if executed poorly.
An example of this would be the required fields in online forms. Of course, there are fields that are actually required and should be marked as such. However, there are instances where fields that do not necessarily apply to all users are also marked as required, preventing all affected users from ever being able to move on to the next step.
Another example would be websites that have an extremely long list of password requirements. Sure, encouraging users to create strong passwords is always a good thing. But doing it in a way that forces them to create a password that they will never remember without listing down ultimately defeats the purpose.
As a general rule, if a particular constraint does not add much to the user experience—or worse, takes a lot from it—it is best to just not implement it at all. At the end of the day, your goal should still be making things easier for your users.
Question #3: How do I decide what constraints to implement?
To decide what constraints to implement in your next web or app development project, you need to understand three things:
- What the website or app is for
- What the user is looking for
- What the user journey should look like
The goal is to only put constraints that support the goals of the website and helps the user find what they need as quickly and easily as possible.