Introduction

The Stopgap is a page type used to provide customers with an interstitial loading or processing page.

Purpose

• The purpose of the Stopgap is to inform the customer that there is a temporary pause in their experience, whilst we action or process the information they have provided. It should be clear that this is the expected behaviour of the journey they are using.
• This page type should provide a clear message to reassure the customer.
• If possible, we should set their expectations by providing them with a realistic time frame of how long they are likely to have to wait.
• If closing or refreshing their browser window will result in failure, we must convey this message clearly.

Example

Content guidance

Use the ns-landmark - lakeside type to display clear messaging.

Include the ns-icon - loading within a <p slot="paragraph"> to provide visual feedback that their action is being processed.

The copy must be in plain English, and help the user understand what is happening.

You should not use:

• Generic messaging such as ‘Loading’ or ‘Processing’
• An unrealistic or dishonest time frame length
• Include additional content that could encourage them to abandon this page and potentially result in failure

Principles

• Creative - Modern and dynamic
• Tone of voice - Be active, Be natural
• Keywords - Promotional, Informative

Best practice

Do

• Use for wait times in excess of 10 seconds.
• Use for end of journey processing and purchases.
• Communicate the message in a clear and concise way as possible.
• Provide a transparent expectation of their wait time.

Don't

• Use as a placeholder when loading in individual components.
• Rely on this page type instead of optimising your journey.
• Encourage the user to abandon if it would result in failure.