Section notice

v4.0

A section notice is a message scoped to a specific area of the page, used for conditions that affect only that section, like form validation errors, shipping issues, or payment setup.

  • CSS
  • Marko
  • React
Stylized graphic of a section notice.

Anatomy

A section confirmation alert notice. Number 1 points to the title. Number 2 points to the icon. Number 3 points to the button. Number 4 points to the body. Number 5 points to the close/dismiss.
  1. Title
  2. Icon
  3. Button
  4. Body
  5. Close/dismiss

Properties

Title

A bolded title is optional. Title copy is specific and scannable, which quickly summarizes the purpose of the notice.

Lead with the most important information—what went wrong, what happened, or what users need to do. Don’t add long explanations or include multiple actions. Keep headlines contextual to the information or action related to the component you’re referencing.

  • Use sentence case
  • No ending punctuation
  • Keep to 1 line and don’t repeat the body text
  • Max character count: 60
A mobile screen with an information section notice. “Title” points to “Reactivate your account”.

Body

Required. The body provides the context or detail users need to understand the notice and act on it, if needed.

For actionable notices, tell the user what to do next. Don't repeat nearby content.

  • Use sentence case
  • Use ending punctuation
  • Avoid repeating the title
  • Keep to 1-2 lines
  • Only one text link (optional)
A mobile screen with an information section notice. “Body” points to “Fill out a few more details to unlock your ability to list items.”

Dismiss

Alert notices can include a dismiss button that removes the notice from the page layout. This is helpful for general or supplemental information provided by the notice.

A mobile screen with an information section notice. “Close/dismiss” points to an “x” close icon.

Actionable

Actionable notices include a link button below or beside the body text. Include actions if the user needs to complete a step to resolve the notice.

Link button

Link buttons provide a clear next step for users to resolve or engage with the notice. Make the verbs in the title and button correspond, and tell users what will happen when they interact.

  • Use sentence case
  • No ending punctuation
  • Use a [verb] [noun] or [verb] [article] [noun] pattern
  • Aim for 4 words or fewer

See Link button for more guidance.

A mobile screen with an information section notice. “Button” points to the link button “Update account details”.

Semantic

All alert notices are semantic. The available options are information, attention, confirmation, warning, and neutral. Get writing tips, and view more details for each type on the alert notice overview page.

The four variants of section notices including information, attention, confirmation, and general.

Behavior

Placement

Section notices appear on load as part of the page layout and are inset. Content shifts to fill the space when a section notice is dismissed. Section notices should only be related to a specific page section. They should always be dismissible or resolvable, not a permanent part of a design.

An information section notice in the middle of content sections on a mobile screen. The section notice states a new sales report is ready with a button to view report.

Overflow

All text content will wrap if wider than the container. Avoid wrapping for button titles and titles where possible.

A mobile screen with an information section notice at in the middle of content sections. It has three lines of text and no button.

Layout

The action can be stacked below the content or inline with the content. By default, small screens have the action below, while large screens have the action pinned to the right.

The action should remain below the body content if it spans more than 2 lines on small screens.

Two information section notices. One is wide and one is narrow. The wide one has the button on the right, while the narrow one has the action button at the bottom.

Screen sizes

Small

Section notices are inset and can be directly beneath the global header or placed next to other related elements. The action can be below or beside the body content depending on the content length.

A mobile screen with an information section notice at the top of the screen. It has two lines of text and a button.

Large

Section notices are inset and can be directly beneath the global header or placed next to other related elements. Their content adheres to the max width of the grid.

A large desktop screen with an information section notice beneath the page title “Order details”. It states an order is processing and when the appointment time is.

Best practices

Content

Do keep body copy in regular weight to maintain enough visual separation from the action.

An information section notice with regular-weight body text.

Don’t use bold weight for the body copy. The action becomes more difficult to discern from the main content.

An information section notice with bold-weight body text.

Stacking

Do show one section notice at a time and replace it with next priority section notice after the user dismisses or addresses it.

A single section notice.

Avoid stacking section notices. Stacked section notices can quickly become overwhelming.

Two variants of section notices stacked on top of each other.

Specs

Specs for a wide and narrow section notice. Both use 16px icons with 12px of space between the icon and content area. 16px is between the body text and link button. 12px of minimum space is between the content area and close/dismiss button. The close button is 16px. 16px of padding is around the top, bottom, left, and right of the content area. The corner radius on the container is 8px.