Form Accessibility

Aug 14 2021- POSTED BY projecth 0 Comment

Form Accessibility Intro

Forms are notoriously difficult to use for even the most capable users. Online shopping carts, for example, have an abandonment rate of almost 70%, according to Baymard Institute. While many users are merely browsing and not ready to buy, Baymard found that over 40% of abandonments are due to problems with checkout form usability.

Principles of an Accessible Form

  • Avoid unnecessary questions
  • Minimize questions per screen
  • Provide context clues
  • Group related questions
  • Use clear input labels
  • Make focus indicators obvious
  • Help users spot and correct errors

Error Messaging

You might recall a Nielsen Norman Group article I mentioned previously that gave us three principles for error reporting. Error messages must be easy to notice and understand, highlighted visually, and accompanied by clear instructions for fixing the problem. With those principles in mind, I’m going to create a page visualizing two types of common errors: a user making an invalid entry, and leaving a required field blank.

When Reporting Form Errors
  • Make messages easy to notice and understand
  • Highlight errors visually
  • Keep instructions simple

Further Reading

  • 41 Cart Abandonment Rate Statistics
    https://baymard.com/lists/cart-abandonment-rate
  • Accessibility user testing: a cautionary tale
    https://uxdesign.cc/disabled-user-testing-a-cautionary-tale-b6cf64425adb
  • Better Form Design: One Thing Per Page (Case Study)
    https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2017/05/better-form-design-one-thing-per-page/
  • Best Practices for Mobile Form Design
    https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2018/08/best-practices-for-mobile-form-design/
  • Designing Accessible Forms
    https://blog.prototypr.io/designing-accessible-forms-82f2ea11697f
  • Designing accessible forms: the 10 foundational rules
    https://uxdesign.cc/10-tips-for-designing-accessible-forms-a016dae8e9aa
  • Recruiting Usability Test Participants
    https://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/recruiting-usability-test-participants.html
  • How to Report Errors in Forms: 10 Design Guidelines
    https://www.nngroup.com/articles/errors-forms-design-guidelines/
  • 6 Form Error Message Mistakes Almost Everyone Makes
    https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/error-message
  • How to Write a Perfect Error Message
    https://uxplanet.org/how-to-write-a-perfect-error-message-da1ca65a8f36