Forms and fields

Forms are not something people like to fill in. Especially on mobile. To make sure people are happy, follow these simple guidelines to make the forms and fields friendly:

  1. Do you need this field? Do you really need to know this?
  2. Is the label above the field? Not inside, not on the right, not under the field.
  3. Are all fields mandatory? You can mark only optional fields.
  4. Did you remove the placeholder? It can turn into a label.
  5. Is the field large enough to accommodate a possible answer?
  6. Does the active field remain visible when the keyboard is open?
  7. Is the active field highlighted?
  8. Is it possible to fill in the field instead of the person based on the available information (country, index)?
  9. Is it possible to suggest options after the first letter entered?
  10. Do you support copy & paste into the field?
  11. Keypad opens for numbers, keyboard for letters?
  12. Is auto-correction disabled for names, addresses, abbreviations and similar?
  13. Does email entry start with a lower-case letter?
  14. Is the contrast of text and background sufficient? Level AA contrast ratio 4.5: 1
  15. Does the validation occur as the person is typing?
  16. Are the validation messages clear? What went wrong, how it can be fixed?
  17. Do we have tips and help messages?
  18. Are all words understood by ordinary people?
  19. Is the information stored in case of an error or reboot?
  20. Is it possible to show / hide a password or other secret information?
  21. Can people enter phone or credit card number in any format? Do we automatically format and process data in any format?
  22. Can we use alternatives to the drop-down lists? Autocomplete, radio buttons, switchers, steppers, sliders, date-pickers, segmented controls, action sheets.
  23. Does the text on the button correspond to the action that occurs when you click?
  24. Do we really need this field? Can we combine fields? For example, “First Name” and “Last Name” into “Full Name”.
  25. Was the form tested before release?
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