Good Form for Forms
Originally posted August 23, 2008
Section 508 – Forms can be easy to make accessible to the visually impaired. Jim Thatcher’s blog post does an exceptional job of describing the necessary html tags to help screen readers and talking browsers deliver page content to the blind. Jim also points out how important it is to place labels close to entry fields and controls. This helps low vision users who rely on magnifiers to keep information in context.
There are additional things you can do to make your forms more accessible.
- Provide text at the beginning of the page describing the purpose of the form and the information requested.
- Provide a single purpose for the page. Keep other information for other pages.
- Keep clutter to an absolute minimum. Do not use additional advertisement or provide more information to confuse the user.
- Keep navigation simple. Do not have links for additional information as this may confuse the reader and make it difficult to navigate back to where the user needs to be to complete the form.
- Keep the form page static; that is, do not change the input controls based on user input. Do not use mash-ups or web 2.0 techniques for input on the form. Use large buttons that are easy to find for low vision page users.
- Be predictable. Do not change the style of entry from one page to another. If you are using rows for labels and entry fields on the first page, do it on all input pages. Buttons should be in the same place on all pages. If you are using buttons, don’t change to using links for submission of pages.
Accessibility does not start and end with screen readers. There are more low vision users who have to overcome magnification oriented contextual issues. Keep your form design simple and everyone wins.