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‹ CHK-041PDP-A01 ›
CHK-042Checkout · mobileLow

No layout jumps when form errors appear

No layout jumps when form errors appear.

Check my store for this rule →Cite this
Free · no card · runs all rules at once · judged on 37 stores · updated
81%of the audited stores we could judge fail this rule
7 pass0 partial30 failPublished audits · September 2026
Stores judged
37
of 40 published audits
Score weight
0.5pts
of the 100-point score
Page share
50%
of the score is the checkout

What earns each verdict

Same outcomes on every UXFix rule · how verdicts work
✓ Pass7

Error space reserved; no shift.

~ Partial0

Minor shift.

✕ Fail30

Content shifts when error message appears.

not assessable is recorded when the rule applied but the store could not be judged on it (bot protection, a region lock, a step we could not reach), and not applicable when the store has nothing for the rule to judge. Those stores are left out of every number on this page, never guessed. Why we do that
Why it matters

When an error message appears, the form visibly jumps, moving fields under the buyer's cursor or thumb.

Layout jumps cause mis-clicks and lose the buyer's place in the form. On mobile they routinely cause wrong-field input.

That sentence is the one a failing store sees in its own UXFix report.How rules are weighted and scored →
37 audited stores, one dot each
30 fail
PassPartialFail

Every published UXFix audit this rule could be judged on, as of 23 Sep 2026. A count of real stores, not a simulation of yours.

How we test it

Scripted walk, fresh signed-out browser · the full walk
  1. 1Fresh browserSigned out, cookies cleared, desktop and mobile viewports, the store's live theme.
  2. 2Open a productA real, in-stock product page, found the way a shopper finds one.
  3. 3Add to cartDefault variant, quantity one, then the cart page itself.
  4. 4Walk the checkoutFrom the cart to the payment step. Nothing is ever bought.
  5. 5Judge this ruleAgainst the standard above, on what a shopper can see.
  6. 6Record the verdictPass, partial or fail, saved with the screenshot it was judged on.
What the agent looks for
No layout jumps when form errors appear.
Confidence
The rulebook rates this check’s confidence unstated. When the agent is not sure, the rule is recorded as not assessable rather than guessed.
Not judged
3 of 40 published audits: the rule did not apply or could not be judged. Dropped, never guessed.

The numbers behind the rule

Published UXFix audits · more statistics
Published audits failing this rule
and 18 more, newest audit first.
No pictures here: this rule is judged by doing something, a click or a typed error, and a still picture of the page before it would show nothing. Audits run from 20 September 2026 capture the moment itself where the probe can reach it.
Where this rule sits among 103 UX rules
Most-failed rank
#16
Score weight rank
#92
Fail rate
81%

Score weight: a fail costs 0.5 pts of of the 100-point score; a partial costs half that. Most-failed rank is among the 79 rules with enough published audits to report a rate.

The fix

The same steps a failing store sees in its report

A pass means: Error space reserved; no shift.

Severity
Low
Score gain
+0.5pts
Page
Checkout

Score gain is roughly what a fail-to-pass change adds; rules that could not be judged are left out, which can move it a little. Re-run a free audit after the change ships to confirm the verdict moved.

Checklist for the pass
0 of 2

Tick each step as you ship it. The audit judges the live store, so re-run it once all of them are done.

Every store that fails this rule

The 30 audited stores that fail No layout jumps when form errors appear, with each store's published score and the day it was audited.
#StoreScoreAuditedPublished audit
1Leathermanleatherman.com65Open audit
2Ooniooni.com64Open audit
3Barnesandnoblebarnesandnoble.com61Open audit
4Arhausarhaus.com60Open audit
5Tupperwaretupperware.com60Open audit
6Caspercasper.com62Open audit
7Thebrickthebrick.com61Open audit
8Wpswingswpswings.com57Open audit
9Benettonbenetton.com58Open audit
10Keenfootwearkeenfootwear.com56Open audit
11Verabradleyverabradley.com58Open audit
12Everlaneeverlane.com62Open audit
13Davidsbridaldavidsbridal.com58Open audit
14Tomstoms.com52Open audit
15Bodenboden.com64Open audit
16Eddiebauereddiebauer.com62Open audit
17Forever21forever21.com57Open audit
18Gymsharkgymshark.com57Open audit
19Reebokreebok.com58Open audit
20Reebokreebok.com57Open audit
21Fashionnovafashionnova.com56Open audit
22Kathmandukathmandu.com.au63Open audit
23Toysrustoysrus.com57Open audit
24Brewdogbrewdog.com56Open audit
25Zulilyzulily.com61Open audit
26Mejurimejuri.com65Open audit
27Fashionphilefashionphile.com63Open audit
28Timextimex.com54Open audit
29Citstorescitstores.com65Open audit
30Tentreetentree.com58Open audit

What our auditors say about this rule

A form that jumps when an error appears moves the button out from under a thumb already on its way down.
Omar Dabbas, Co-founder, UXFix

Written by the person who audits this rule, and reviewed every quarter.

Keep going

All rules →
RuleCHK-001
Guest checkout offered as first-class option (no account wall)Checkout · Critical ›
RuleCHK-003
Clear step indicator showing progress through checkoutCheckout · Medium ›
RuleCHK-005
Ability to edit cart from within checkout without losing progressCheckout · Medium ›
RuleCHK-006
Account creation offered after order placement, not beforeCheckout · High ›
RuleCHK-007
Site logo/name does not link away from checkout (or warns first)Checkout · Medium ›
RuleCHK-008
Header/nav minimized during checkout to reduce exitsCheckout · Medium ›
RuleCHK-009
Total form fields 8 or fewer (industry average is 11.3)Checkout · High ›
RuleCHK-010
Single Full Name field (not first + last)Checkout · Medium ›
Cite this

«30 of 37 online stores audited by UXFix fail the rule "No layout jumps when form errors appear" (CHK-042) as of September 2026. UXFix, uxfix.ai/audits/rules/layout-jump-on-form-errors»

Rule record · JSON
Dataset →
{
  "id": "CHK-042",
  "name": "No layout jumps when form errors appear",
  "area": "checkout",
  "severity": "low",
  "weight": 0.495,
  "published_audits": {
    "judged": 37,
    "pass": 7,
    "partial": 0,
    "fail": 30
  },
  "updated": "2026-09-23"
}
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