Gmail usability feature examined

In all the years I’ve used Gmail, I don’t think I’ve ever “accidently” hit a button that I didn’t want to. This is because Gmail seems to have intentionally made certain buttons wider than others.

Gmail users know that Google has included some of the best usability features into it’s email software. This brief article discusses an overlooked usability feature of Gmail. When composing a message in Gmail, you’ll notice three buttons along the top - one for “Send,” “Save Now,” and “Discard.” Notice how they’re placed directly next to each other.

Putting three buttons so close to each other should be a recipe for mistakes, wouldn’t you think? For instance, what’s stopping me from accidently hitting “Discard” instead of “Save Now,” in a mad rush to save a message?

Gmail Usability

In all the years I’ve used Gmail, I don’t think I’ve ever “accidently” hit a button that I didn’t want to. This is because Gmail seems to have intentionally made certain buttons wider than others.

By increasing the size of the “click target” for a button, Gmail helps users avoid accidently making a mistake by clicking the wrong button.

Since the “Save Now” button is the largest of the three, I have the best chance of hitting that button, in a random shot at all three.

And this is perfect, because “Save Now” is the least harmless of the three. “Send,” on the other hand, is the most harmful, because if you meant to “Save Now,” you may not have been finished typing the email, and hitting “Send” would mean your recipient gets a partial email.

“Discard” is the smallest of the three buttons, but comes with a safety-net: even if you hit “Discard” by accident, you can still choose to “Undo discard.”

Also, notice how “Send” is in bold. This is another visual cue that helps your eye locate it more quickly.