Comments on: Designing Web Forms – Label Placement & Primary vs. Secondary Actions

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By: Krishna Reddy O.V

Krishna Reddy O.V — Thu, 21 May 2009 05:46:16 +0000

Thanks for providing information regarding “Designing Web Forms – Label Placement & Primary vs. Secondary Actions”. I got a plenty of information from your site.

By: Georgia Otto

Georgia Otto — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:57:48 +0000

Thanks Chris.

Visitors may hate forms. But that’s kind of inspiring – how can we make forms not just usable, but enjoyable?

Granted, efficiency is often a priority, but there are still many cases where completing a form could be a pleasant and even delightful experience.

By: Chris Moyles

Chris Moyles — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:50:17 +0000

Yes, Poorly written forms are annoying – visitors hate forms, hence poorly validated/written forms only help to irritate users – use legends, tip boxes, enable radio button text not just the buttons – and if you have validation tell the user exactly which fields need correcting and whatever you do – do not loose data that has already been entered – that is just plain infuriating.

but this is only a fraction of the picture you might want to take a look at this blog for a bit more info http://www.vuzudesign.com/web-design-blog.php

By: forestninja

forestninja — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 19:02:38 +0000

Caroline,

Thanks for your comment! Please accept my apologies that it didn’t appear on this post instantly. For some reason it went to my spam queue, but I’m glad I discovered it.

I agree that inline validation could seriously derail the user’s momentum with its interruptive, dynamic and thus distracting nature. As with most interface design patterns, it’s one to be applied with care and deliberation.

The main thing that concerns me about compact labeling is that the label disappears when the user starts to type. What if they forget what the label said? And like you suggest, what if the field’s styling fails to afford input?

Your article does a good job of explaining how the general summary I gave here can be applied in a wider variety of situations. The findings of one study can be a helpful guide, but shouldn’t be applied to every situation indiscriminately.

So in short, I totally agree with you.

By: Caroline Jarrett

Caroline Jarrett — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 11:42:29 +0000

The really crucial point that you make is this one:

“an interesting preference on the part of users: they’d rather be prevented from making errors, even it if means sacrificing a bit of time”.

In our book on forms: “Forms that work: Designing web forms for usability”, we discuss inline validation. It’s great if it gives users polite, accurate feedback when they have finished putting in each entry. It’s seriously annoying if it starts to comment on their typing before they’ve had a chance to do what they need to do.

The difficulty with compact form labeling is that users look for ’space for me to type into’ when they come to a form, and then they look left (and then above) for the label that tells them what to do. If the label is _inside_ the field, then there is a definite possibility that they won’t realise that typing is necessary. I have seen users repeatedly make the same mistake on this.

The advice you have summarised on where to place the labels is sort of correct, but not completely. It depends on the type of questions. See my article “Label placement in forms” http://www.usabilitynews.com/news/article3507.asp

Best
Caroline Jarrett
http://www.formsthatwork.com