Usable Forms for the Web
June 26, 2002
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Usable Forms for the Web provides developers with instant solutions
to their form-building problems. It is the first book to tackle
the subject in a concise, task-orientated fashion, with
substantial on-line support. From glasshaus.
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Summary
Forms are an integral part of many web sites, whether they are registration forms, feedback forms, or order forms. However, forms are time consuming for the site user to fill out, and need to be implemented to be as usable as possible, otherwise they can be frustrating and annoying, spoiling the user experience.
This book takes all the hassle out of implementing forms in whatever way you wish, dealing with client-side forms in HTML and Flash, client- and server-side form validation, and server-side data processing. It provides code samples fully adaptable to your own needs, along with walkthrough tutorials on how they work, and an HTML form element reference.
INCLUDES:
- Easy to Follow tutorials and reference on building form user interfaces with HTML and Flash
- Tips to follow for designing usable forms
- Client- and server-side data validation techniques using JavaScript, ASP and PHP
- Server-side data processing using ASP and PHP, with Access and MySQL databases
- Coverage of .NET Forms
- Extensive online support, including fully operational, downloadable code and a gallery of working form examples
What's great about this book?
Provides developers with instant solutions to their form-building problems
First book to tackle the subject in a concise, task-orientated fashion
Book has substantial on-line support, including errata, code download, and site gallery
All code is written to be cross-browser and standards compliant
Subject area
This book covers:
Creation of client-side forms using HTML form controls and Flash
Use of client-side JavaScript to enhance form functionality
Submission of form data onto the server-side and, data processing using ASP and PHP
client- and server-side form validation using JavaScript, PHP, and ASP (VBScript) - includes regular expressions
Implementing ASP.NET Web Forms
Who is this book for?
This book is for intermediate to advanced web professionals who need to implement a professional form on a web site as quickly as possible, with the minimum of hassle.
(This is the first half of Chapter 2 from "Usable Forms for the Web",
Designing Usable Forms)
Generally, we don't like filling in forms – we associate
bad things with them, such as paying taxes! The design of a form might determine
whether it's used or not. If a form is difficult to understand and use, or
if it's overcomplicated, some users will simply avoid it. Printed forms can
be daunting at the best of times, but electronic forms can be even more daunting.
As you will see in this chapter, it pays to spend a little time thinking about
the form before you start creating it, and when you do start coding it, there
are lots of good practices you can employ to make it more usable.
In this chapter, we'll look at design issues about the forms
you create. The topics covered range from how to make a form easy to use,
to how to make a form accessible to users with disabilities. We'll approach
the topic in a chronological order through design, creation, and testing to
see how we can make our forms easy to understand and accessible to as many
people as possible .
To illustrate some of our examples, we will be looking at some of the
pages from our ongoing-running example, Pizza This, which you will find
discussed in far more detail in Chapters
4 and 5.
Contents:
Part 1:
Before You Design the Form
Designing the Form
Selecting Types of Controls
Drop-down Menus and Select Boxes
Part 2:
Grouping Controls
Using Labels
Splitting a Form into Different Pages
Labeling Controls
Before You Design the Form
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