What Are Tooltips UI and How To Use Them in UI UX Design?

“There are three responses to a piece of design – yes, no, and WOW! Wow is the one to aim for.” – Milton Glaser, famous American graphic designer. 

There is a difference between UI/UX design and good UI/UX design – the one that makes us go “WOW”. And the entire difference lies in our ability to create products that are not only aesthetically pleasing and easy to use but are also intuitive. 

But as product designers, we also want to develop new and innovative products, pushing the boundaries of the features we already have on the market. However, we sometimes forget something: intuition doesn’t come automatically. And creating a perfectly intuitive design is, indeed, a challenge. In reality, if you think our users will immediately understand our features, well, you are wrong. 

That’s why our role as UI UX designers goes beyond that of a product designer. We, as UI UX designers, are also educators. And we are responsible for introducing our users into our minds – our designs. So, how do we do that? Tooltips, exactly!

Imagine going to a store looking for a shirt. But there is a slight difference from other regular stores – there are no signs. No visible aisle markers, no department labels, and no clear product category indicators. Just a lot of customers wandering around, feeling as lost as you are. Well, this is what our users would have to deal with if they didn’t have any tooltips or way of being educated on our designs. 

So, read on to find out what tooltips are, when to use tooltips, how tooltips work, and what components a tooltip has while also finding out how to create good tooltips and examples of good designs.

A tooltip is a UI design element commonly used to provide additional information about other components in a graphical user interface (GUI). In other words, tooltips are small pop-up messages that appear when our users interact with buttons, icons, links, functions, and so on, explaining how these elements work, what they are, or how to use them. 

These UI design elements are triggered as users simply hover over an active GUI element – whether it is through a mouse or keyboard. Usually, tooltips are not quite used for mobile apps due to the absence of a hover. However, in the future, advanced eye-tracking-enabled devices might actually be able to trigger these tooltips when the user looks at a specific element for a more extended period of time. 

In the meantime, it’s important to remember that tooltips are not part of the user flow, nor do they explain it entirely. Rather, the importance of tooltips lies in the fact that they are helpful – maybe even a necessity – in the user experience. Especially for users who are first interacting with our product or for beginners altogether. Even more so, these tooltips are essential because they make our users understand what to expect from certain interface elements. 

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Tooltips vs. Popup Tips

Indeed, tooltips and popup tips may have the same goal – to give a description regarding a specific GUI element. However, they are quite different.

For us, as UI UX designers, the key difference lies in how these two work. While tooltips work by being triggered by a mouse or a keyboard hover, popup tips are activated through clicks or touch interactions on the element. Because of this, popup tips can work on any screen – even mobile ones, compared to tooltips, which only work on desktop screens. Even more so, because tooltips work by hovering, the message from the tooltip disappears when our users move their mouse. In contrast, the message closes for popup tips when the user explicitly closes it. 

Bur users can differentiate between tooltips and popup tips just based on their appearance. Popup tips often feature a distinct “?” or “i” icon. On the other hand, tooltips are automatically paired to a specific element – text link, button, icon, etc. 

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Why Are Some Tooltips Bad?

One thing is clear – the issue with some tooltips isn’t the tooltips themselves. No. Rather, it’s where the tooltip is placed, when it is shown, and especially the content it contains. So, why do some UI/UX designers fail to create useful and effective tooltips? 

Well, it all starts with the placement. We want the tooltip to be noticeable, indeed. So, we tend to position it in a way that it stands out. However, this can involuntarily block other essential components on the screen, resulting in user frustration and causing them to overlook the message. 

Another problem that makes our readers ignore those tooltips is the information given. Sometimes, we want to ensure the user understands our elements perfectly. We might end up with too many tooltips and too much information that overwhelms them.  

Creating and designing tooltips is essential. Not only that they should not distract our users from the actual elements, but they should be placed in such a manner that they are noticeable but not annoying. Tooltips should blend with the layout and the content – not be the content. So, how can we make sure that we use these elements efficiently? How do these tooltips actually work? 

1. Before using a tooltip, ask yourself –Is a tooltip necessary?”

I know – we want to make sure that our elements are understood, and users know how to use them. But sometimes, the answer might actually be no, not really. 

Tooltips should only be used when users likely encounter unfamiliar elements or functionalities. Think about it! Using tooltips to explain basic password requirements would be redundant, as most of us are already familiar with this. Instead, we could use them if we have a new feature. 

Use these tooltips wisely and only use them when you really need them. Put yourself in the shoes of your user. Nothing is more annoying than skipping over too many unnecessary tooltips. 

2. KISS – Keep it short and simple! 

Regarding tooltips in UI design, the most crucial rule to remember is KISS. To ensure that tooltips are effective, they should be concise and straightforward. Our users only need to know how to use it, nothing more. Overwhelming them with unnecessary details only leads to frustration and causes them to overlook the message. 

Again, put yourself in their shoes. As UI/UX designers, we tend to overcomplicate these messages. But no. A well-crafted tooltip should convey the message clearly and in a user-friendly manner, making it easy for our users to understand certain element and how it works. 

3. Use tooltips for their intended purpose!

Remember that tooltips are here to provide extra information about how an element works, adding value to the user experience. So, avoid using tooltips where a tooltip is not needed. 

Let me give you an example. Using a tooltip like “Now let’s get things a little bit busier. Add a new member here.” is merely used as a means to create engagement with users. Not only can this be misleading, but also counterproductive. Instead, use tooltips that serve their intended purpose so you don’t cause any confusion or unnecessary distractions.

Remember! Tooltips are here to help you with your elements – not replace the elements! 

Yes, each tooltip is different – especially since they might have distinct purposes, such as informational, navigational, contextual, etc. But there are some standard rules we need to follow in order to create these tooltips. 

• Tooltip Label: The content with a short description of the element;
• Tooltip Arrow: The little arrow that points to the element;
• Close Button: A little “X” so that our users can close the tooltip after finishing reading;
• Call-to-Action Buttons: These elements are optional and usually are represented by “Learn More” buttons;
• Container: The element that houses all these elements.

We at uinkits understand the importance of great user experiences and creating amazing UI designs. That’s why we’ve developed a Figma UI Kit with design components that include these essential UI elements that enable you to design intuitive and user-friendly interfaces effortlessly.  

“You press the button, we do the rest,” – Kodak.

Inspired by this iconic tagline from Kodak, we believe in simplifying the design process for you. Our Figma UI Kit, uinkits, is a complete design system with UI components that allows you, as a UI UX designer, to create your products as quickly as pressing a button.

Our design system includes components, icons, variables, cards, buttons, and everything you need for your design process. All you have to do is take your UI design component needed, and you’re ready to use it in your designs!