Progress indicators inform the users that the system is processing a task that takes a long, determinable amount time.

Best Practices

• Use for displaying system processes where the progression of the task can be tracked and visualized, e.g. generating exports, uploading files, etc.
• Communicate to the user a long task is being processed by the system, and it’s normal behavior.
• The label should dynamically show the current status of the ongoing process. The label’s text depends on the context, can be a percentage (”35% complete”), a number (”85 MB uploaded”), or number of steps (”2 out of 5: indexing database”), etc.
• Show remaining time if possible, e.g. “Less than a minute remaining”.
• Avoid blocking the user from leaving the screen until the process is complete. Long tasks should be either cancellable or running in the background.
• Avoid using Progress for short tasks. Use Loading spinner instead.
• Avoid non-linear progress, e.g. huge jumps.