RESET buttons have been around for many years HTML 2.0 appeared in 1995. At that time, I was working in usability of forms – and I still am. But I didn’t have email or an internet connection. So I thinkContinue reading… Avoid putting a reset button on your web forms
Tag: better forms
Label placement in forms – and other time-consuming controversies
A presentation on label placement in forms for the Technical Communication Summit in Seattle, April 2010. Amongst the time-consuming controversies we look at are left and right alignment, labels above and below fields, how to handle required fields, colons, andContinue reading… Label placement in forms – and other time-consuming controversies
Helping a user choose from a very large list
Sometimes it is necessary for users to select a precise entry from a very large list. For example, one client described the need (for compliance purposes) to have users choose an ‘Occupation’ code from a list of almost 1000. SheContinue reading… Helping a user choose from a very large list
Can I use an asterix to indicate optional fields?
I was asked recently: ‘Our form has many required fields and few optional fields. We think that we should use an asterisk to indicate the optional fields. Do you agree?’ It makes sense but it is also a bad idea.Continue reading… Can I use an asterix to indicate optional fields?
Usable forms
How can we design forms that are easier to read? In this presentation to the Media Trust I highlighted problems in both the ‘conversation’ and ‘appearance’ of some typical forms – and shared tips for improving the experience of users.Continue reading… Usable forms
Tom Johnson interviews Caroline about her new book, Forms that Work
In this podcast for Tom’s blog, I’d Rather Be Writing, I get to talk about my new book, Forms that Work: Designing Web Forms for Usability, co-authored with Gerry Gaffney. We discuss the perceived value users must feel in order to partContinue reading… Tom Johnson interviews Caroline about her new book, Forms that Work
Progressive disclosure: valid or sneaky?
Gianpiero on social media asked: “What do you feel about progressive disclosure in forms? Valid or sneaky (considering you’re probably hiding a lot of fields)?” I’m a huge fan of progressive disclosure, provided it’s used in an honest way. LetContinue reading… Progressive disclosure: valid or sneaky?
How to deal with international addresses on a website
Caroline Jarrett explains why offering users a plain field to enter their address is a better option than forcing them to use a format you’ve devised based on your own country’s standard way of expressing an address.
Buttons on forms – where to put them, and what to call them
Here’s a question that I get asked quite often: “Should we put ‘OK’ button to the left or the right of the ‘Cancel’ button?” A common variant is to ask the same question with ‘Back’ or ‘Previous’ instead of ‘Cancel’,Continue reading… Buttons on forms – where to put them, and what to call them
People before pixels: what to think about before you start
Luke Wroblewski asked me to contribute some thoughts to his book “Web form design: filling in the blanks”. Here’s what I wrote. I love forms, mostly because they offer so many opportunities for improvement. And I love discussing forms withContinue reading… People before pixels: what to think about before you start