Progress bar – single or multiple for multi-step process?
Is it better to switch status bars in-place when the next process occurs? Or do users prefer to see stacked bars for each step?
I am developing a status page where the user submits data and the following occurs:
- CSV file is uploaded to S3
- Records are imported into database
- Success message is displayed (or error, if one occurs)
I can show percentage progress during the file upload, but cannot track progress while records are imported. At the high end this process can take 2 to 3 minutes.
The site is built in Bootstrap 2. What I am planning to do is display a single status bar, that shows percent progress for file upload in blue. Then it changes to green when the file is uploaded. Text below will say 'File uploaded successfully'.
Then it changes to blue striped animated while processing the CSV file. Then that changes to green when it is done. Another text status is added that says 'File processed successfully, xx records imported.' Does that sound appropriate?