Devit!

As developers we can sometimes overlook ease of use when creating forms. We typically focus on functionality more so than end-user experience and that can leave users frustrated. Site Reference has come up with a great list of tips to help remind us of the different ways we can keep forms functional and easy to use.

Here are a few highlights that should be mandatory on any form:

1. Never ask for duplicate information - For example, any forms that require a billing and shipping address should have the option of allowing the user to simply click a checkbox that will auto-populate the duplicate fields, if the information is the same.
2. Make sure that mandatory fields are clearly marked - This seems like a no-brainer but nothing is more frustrating for the user than continually being returned back to the form to fill in required fields. Which brings us to number three:
3. Return relevant error messages - an error message that might make sense to you as a developer may not be clear enough for the end-user. Remember, they aren’t sitting in front of a computer creating forms all day and may not be familiar with the type of information you are looking for.
4. Have your form tested out by real users before releasing it - I’ve certainly run into the scenario in the past where I’ve created a form, tested it and everything seemed fine. It wasn’t until I opened up the testing where I received feedback indicating that the form progression didn’t really make sense.

Read the rest of the article here.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 8th, 2007 at 8:33 am and is filed under Devit!. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.