— PATTERN · UNDER CONSIDERATION
Notifications & feedback
Choosing between transient toast, inline alert, and modal — matching interruption to severity.
Telling the person what happened at the right level of interruption. The core decision is which surface to use — the more it interrupts, the more important it should be.
Choosing the surface
- Transient (toast) — brief, self-dismissing confirmation of a completed action (e.g. “Changes saved”). Non-blocking; never use for anything that needs a decision.
- Inline Alert — contextual status shown next to the thing it relates to. Best for validation results, warnings, and info that should persist until resolved.
- Modal / Notification Modal — blocks the flow and requires acknowledgement. Reserve for critical messages or ones the person must act on before continuing.
When to use each
| Situation | Surface |
|---|---|
| Success confirmation, no action needed | Transient / toast |
| Warning or error tied to a specific field or region | Inline Alert |
| Critical issue or mandatory decision | Modal |
Do & don’t
Do
- Match the level of interruption to the severity of the message.
- Place error feedback next to its cause so it's easy to find and fix.
- Keep copy clear and specific — see Notifications & alerts.
Don't
- Use a modal for a routine confirmation.
- Stack interruption patterns — see the UX Guidelines.
- Rely on a transient toast for anything that needs a decision or must be acknowledged.
Related
- Components: Alert, Notification Modal, Modal
- Content: Notifications & alerts