Keep optional sections genuinely skippable

What to change

Ask for a deliberate skip route that bypasses irrelevant validation and clearly describes whether entered optional answers will be kept.

A worked example

Illustrative example

A visitor skips an optional additional-information section and reaches review. The review says no additional information was supplied rather than showing an unexplained validation warning.

How to check the result

Accept when skipping works from both untouched and partly completed states, with a consistent and understandable result at review.

A mistake to avoid

A skip link that secretly submits partial invalid content can produce a different problem from the one the visitor intended to avoid.

Your action checklist

Use these checks to prepare a discussion with your team or supplier. Tick a check when you have recorded the decision or evidence, rather than when a feature has simply been promised.

Decisions to recordOpen the optional section and leave it completely blank. Use Skip and check that the next section opens without errors from unanswered optional questions.Enter part of the section, including an invalid value, then skip. Ask the supplier to demonstrate the intended treatment of partial answers.Inspect the review screen after both routes. It should distinguish information not supplied from a completed answer and offer editing if the visitor changes their mind.

Evidence, open questions and decisionsNext action and responsible role

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