Users report confusion when changing preferences—particularly email settings—due to the absence of visible Save buttons and lack of warning when navigating away. watchmanmonitor notes users, even experienced ones, have lost changes, sometimes showing screenshots as proof. codinghorror argues Save buttons at the top and bottom should suffice and doesn’t support adding warnings, viewing preference changes as non-critical. watchmanmonitor counters that users still miss the buttons, especially since they can be hidden during edits. downey adds that UX should be intuitive, noting users often don’t realize settings are saved automatically. watchmanmonitor reiterates that even if buttons are present, they’re not always visible during edits, and users expect explicit confirmation. jesselperry, reviving the old thread, suggests that as preferences grow longer and more complex, clearer Save/Cancel controls—like persistent buttons at top and bottom—are essential for usability. The core issue is balancing simplicity with user expectation: while automatic saving is efficient, users need visual cues or warnings to feel confident their changes are preserved.
As a user, I can change my email preference, not see a Save button (despite them being at the top & bottom of the page) and navigate away from the Preferences page with no warning that my preferences weren’t saved.
Not sure if they should auto-save, or have the same green/red boxes we have on the admin/settings.. or just warn them that settings weren’t saved…
The save buttons are at the top and bottom of the page. I don’t really support a big warning here. Updating your preferences is not a common activity, and the save button at the top and bottom of the page should suffice.
I first noticed when users complained that their settings weren’t saved.
They weren’t “newbies” to the internet, and one even showed me a screenshot of the desired settings, but when I went to his page, the stock settings were still in place.
(Sigh, I should have put that in my initial request.. )
I always wondered why the UX was so different for site settings vs. user profile settings. The next-to-field save/revert buttons in the admin tools are quite nice and ensures things are changed as desired.
The buttons at the top & bottom are hidden when changing that setting, and I get users who complain that our site isn’t doing what we want. IMO the best answer is exactly how the admin controls work. The second best would be showing the save button at all times & having it dimmed until a change needs to be saved.
I know this is an old topic, but I think as user preferences get longer and longer, with more options available — the “Save Changes” buttons at the top and bottom get easily lost.
Just throwing in my vote as well 