Show message limits before patients lose what they wrote

What to change

Ask the supplier to explain any necessary message limit while people write and preserve their text so they can shorten it deliberately.

A worked example

Illustrative example

A visitor pastes a long administrative question and sees how much must be shortened, with the full draft still available to edit.

Healthcare website design showing connected desktop and mobile service and enquiry layouts. — Make the service and next step clear on every screen.

Healthcare website accessibility illustrated by a focus outline, keyboard key, contrast samples and form. — Review keyboard access, contrast and understandable form fields.

Why this matters to your practice

A visitor may have drafted their message elsewhere before opening your enquiry form. If you impose a length limit, they need to know it before the website discards any words. Ask what operational reason supports the limit and whether it is explained before entry. For a general contact form, keep the prompt focused on the information your team needs to respond. When a draft is too long, the visitor should decide what to remove rather than having the ending silently cut off.

How to check the result

Accept when the limit is known before submission, excess text is handled transparently and the visitor controls any shortening.

A mistake to avoid

Silently cutting the end of a pasted message can remove the very sentence that explains what the visitor needs.

Turn reading into a next step

Your action checklist

Work through these checks with your team or supplier. Tick the ones you have resolved and leave unknowns open.

Checks to discussPaste a fictional message just below the limit, then one above it. Compare visible content, the counter and the value that would be submitted.Use a keyboard to shorten the message in its middle. Check the counter updates correctly and that the form does not unexpectedly move the cursor.Ask the supplier to demonstrate the limit feedback with a screen reader (software that reads the page aloud). Frequent changes should remain useful rather than interrupting every typed character.

Your answers and notes

Record what you know, what is still missing and the answer you need from your team or supplier.

What happens next, and who will do it?

Use project decisions only, without personal, patient or confidential details. Entries stay in this page and are not submitted to Kay & Co. Copy or download before leaving; this page does not save your notes.

Related guides

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