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A Guide to Implementing Form Validation Techniques

Page 1 of 3

11 July 2007

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Introduction to Forms

Forms are normally one of the most essential parts of any website. For many companies - even those who do not sell online - forms are the last step users take after they have decide a product or service is of interest. They provide the easiest, hassle-free way for potential customers to make an enquiry about a product or service or they are used to complete an online transaction. We are still surprised at just how many companies appear to spend little time thinking carefully about form design. In our Website Evaluation Reports, we apply almost 20 assessments to forms. In this article we discuss one of the most important - form validation.

What is Form Validation?

The primary purpose of form validation is to reduce or prevent the following user errors:

• Failing to remember to include vital information e.g. a post code for a product delivery.
• Inputting invalid information e.g. an email address that does not contain an @ symbol.
• Inputting the correct information in the wrong fields e.g. mixing up the telephone and email field.

Why Validate Forms?

Poor form validation can result in companies not being able to respond to users because they have not forced the user to include vital contact details like a telephone number or email address. Research has shown that users are highly unlikely to return to a website to make a second enquiry if a company has not responded. We must go further than simply adding validation to forms; we must design validation so that it is not confusing. Poor techniques can lead to a high drop-out rate.

The Downside to Form Validation

There is a downside to form validation. Validation normally means that certain fields are mandatory e.g. name and email address. The more users are forced into a particular action - especially sharing personal information - the less likely they are to take that action. The form needs to strike a careful balance between requesting information that will be useful to the company, but without putting too many users off (it is inevitable some users will not go through with completing the form).

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