Nobody likes to fill out forms, though it seems we are faced with them everywhere we turn on the web. From applying to an account on helium to putting an item up for auction, to simply logging in to your banking system or checking your email, one can hardly turn around on the web without encountering a form.

While it may be a lot to hope that users will enjoy your form so much that they just can't wait to fill it out again, following a few simple guidelines in form design will ensure that those that use your forms aren't frustrated or confused. Poorly designed forms can and are enough to turn a user away from a site in favor of one that doesn't make them suffer an unusable form in order to register, log in, searching, or place an order. If you force someone to go through a 4 page form to place an order, they probably won't. You just lost a sale. Don't make the last form someone fills out on your site be the feedback form to tell you what a miserable experience that had.

HELP!: If there is any potential for confusion, make sure you have readily accessible and clear help information to provide guidance. Mouse overs for more information are a nice way of doing this. Don't go over-board, though, and don't insult your users intelligence. If you provide a tool-tip for each and every field, users are far less likely to look at them and they may miss it when they need it the most. I know that if a field is labeled "Date" you want some sort of point in time and aren't asking me out, so no need to clarify that one, thank you. I'm also fairly confident that "Start Time" probably refers to the time something, well, STARTED.

OOPS....I DID IT AGAIN!: There is nothing more frustrating then trying to figure out just why you can't get the darn form to submit. Did you miss a required field somewhere? Was the password you requested too short? What the heck went wrong?!?! Of course, it's going to be absolutely crystal clear what needs to be filled out, but humans are not as perfect as The Great Form. Do them a favor when they make a mistake. Make it absolutely clear what went wrong and what needs to be done to fix it. Explain what went wrong and, when possible, position the explanation near the area that needs correction. If space constraints make this impossible, position your error message at the top of the form and make sure it is noticed with it's font color and weight. Highlight the guilty field, with the cursor already in it so correction

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

---

Add your voice

Know something about Web design tips: Best practices for designing forms?
We want to hear your view. Write now!