Usability Standard 1:
Keep the User Informed

The system should always keep users informed about what is going on, through appropriate feedback within reasonable time.7

Users want to know where they are and what's going on. Use consistent branding and navigation elements to tell users what site they're visiting (in case they've parachuted deep into the site from a search engine or link) and where they are within the site.

If the site includes heavy-duty interactive tools that take more than a few seconds to perform a task, provide a system message while the user is waiting. For instance, airline flight searches on Expedia.com can take several seconds even on fast connections. Once users click "search," this message appears: "Expedia.com is searching for flights. Please wait." This reassures users that the site is not "broken."