Simian Design

August 15, 2003

Multi-Part Forms

Andy Arikawa, of Modulo 26, has written a good post on multi-part forms. I'm a big beliver in multi-page forms. I like having small, conquerable screens to fill out. I especially like it when there is an indication of how much more to expect of this form. (A time indication is a mark of greatness) Andy asks “Why?”. Why not having a single page that is organized with meaningful div elements, and show/hide parts of the form as the user progresses? Pros * Transition from one ìscreenî of the form to the next is fast; * Since no data is posted until the last screen, form fields remain filled if the user needs to go back to edit their entries; * Works in all modern browsers; * Validates. Cons * Requires JavaScript to be enabled; * Using the tab key can take a user into “hidden” territory; * Doesn't degrade gracefully in older browsers; * Having CSS turned off can make the entire form disappear * Some possible accessibility problems. Simon Willison has a wonderful working demo that he has reworked to allow for graceful degredation. This is great example. It combines ease of use, a multi-page effect, and all of the benefits of having a single page form. (for the bad, see the cons listed above) Nice. I like this.

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Tagged As CSS, Interaction Design, Javascript, Strategy, UI Design, Usability

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Posted at 10:30 AM