Maximum Accessibility: Making Your Web Site More Usable for Everyone

Interactivity and the Use of Forms

Forms are a Web developer’s most important tool for gathering information from users. E-commerce sites use forms to find out what people want to buy, where they want their purchases delivered, and how they’re going to pay. Distance- and e-learning sites use forms for a variety of purposes. Students complete a form when they register or when they provide a profile to introduce themselves to other members of the class. Forms are at the heart of message boards, too. When a student contributes a message to a class discussion forum, she or he enters the text in a form. And when students take tests online, they usually use a form to record and submit their responses.

Forms are powerful tools. But they can pose significant ...