Form UX Checklist
A review pass for any form, covering structure, labelling, validation, errors and accessibility.
Definition
Forms are where most products lose people. This pass covers the decisions that determine whether a form completes: what you ask, how you label it, when you validate, and what happens when something goes wrong.
Expert heuristic. A review criterion developed by practitioners. Useful and widely taught, but evaluated by judgement rather than measurement.
Work through it
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Structure and content
0/6Labels and input
0/6Validation and errors
0/6Accessibility
0/6Continue from here
Each link says what the connection is, so you can tell a principle from an alternative from a thing people mix this up with.
Applies when you are designing
Practical example
A worked decision where this was the deciding factor.
- One Long Form or Several Short StepsCase study
- Whether to Require an Account at CheckoutCase study
What this checks
The guidance behind the items in this list.
- Error Identification and SuggestionAccessibility
- Labels and InstructionsAccessibility
- Default EffectCognitive bias
- Sunk Cost FallacyCognitive bias
- CheckboxComponent
- Date PickerComponent
- Radio GroupComponent
- SelectComponent
- StepperComponent
- Text InputComponent
- Error PreventionHeuristic
- Help Users Recognise, Diagnose and Recover From ErrorsHeuristic
- Recognition Over RecallHeuristic
- Hick's LawLaw
- Miller's LawLaw
- Parkinson's LawLaw
- Postel's LawLaw
- Tesler's LawLaw
- Zeigarnik EffectLaw
- Autocomplete and TypeaheadPattern
- Input ValidationPattern
- Multi-Step FlowsPattern
- ConstraintsPrinciple
- Progressive DisclosurePrinciple
- ColumnsUI foundation
- ProximityUI foundation
- Error MessagesUX writing
- Form Labels and Help TextUX writing
- Inclusive LanguageUX writing