Use the Same Date Picker Controls Consistently

This problem of fiddly, arbitrary, and unusable date pickers is less pronounced than it used to be, thanks to browsers and mobile device makers producing more consistent date picker UIs. By triggering the device-native date picker, you can give the user an experience they’re familiar with and a UI that has been designed for their device.

There are cases where the native UI won’t cut it, however, as some tools need a more complex or more advanced interface for selecting dates, ranges of dates, or comparison date ranges. When this is the case, always use the same date picker control everywhere in your app.

Showing a different set of controls for the same task in a different part of your product will confuse users and reduce your conversion rates. A common place where this mistake is made is on holiday or hotel booking sites. The home page will often have a big, clear date picker, designed to convert casual visitors...