Comments on: Preventing issues on web forms

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 19:12:34 +0000

thanks for sharing. web forms can be nightmare in done incorrectly.

By: John Hyde :: York

John Hyde :: York — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 07:20:18 +0000

I can’t think of any examples at all where I would ask a site visitor for *optional* information.

I either need the information – or I don’t need it. If I don’t need it then I don’t ask.

By: Form Usability and UX goodness « John On Web Stuff

Form Usability and UX goodness « John On Web Stuff — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 11:26:49 +0000

[...] Preventing issues on web forms [...]

By: Adam

Adam — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 04:59:14 +0000

good info. be careful with AMEX – i use one! it’s a wee bit quirky. but usually there’s an accompanied dropdown to select MC, VISA or AMEX. then the AMEX field expands. or something like that.

By: Caroline Jarrett

Caroline Jarrett — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:00:34 +0000

Hi David

I’m really enjoying this series of posts. I’ve linked this one from my page on Conversation:

http://www.formsthatwork.com/Conversation

Thanks
Caroline

By: David Hamill

David Hamill — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:18:58 +0000

Thanks for commenting folks. I’ve never known anyone to even own an American Express card, so thanks for pointing this one out. It doesn’t surprise me that it’s different for American Express. It always is.

One of the trials of using real world examples is that there’s always an ‘ah but…’ comment that can be made about the example itself. The example is provided simply to illustrate a principle, however rest assured that in this case American Express isn’t accepted by FreeAgent.

Shane, yes I’m sorry about the fact that the comment form doesn’t follow my own advice. Right now I have the choice to leave it as it is and either tell you how to improve your own forms, or keep my mouth shut so I don’t look silly. I’d prefer to help you with your forms.

By: Richard Lennox

Richard Lennox — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:18:13 +0000

Another good article.

A small correction would be where you are talking about the CVV code. An Amex card (some sites do accept them!) uses a 4 digit number which is often on the front rather than the back. You have to offer more help if accepting Amex.

It is also interesting to note how many ecommerce sites still explicitly ask for the card type when this can be deduced easily from the card number itself.

By: Shane Hogan

Shane Hogan — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:03:48 +0000

Just a slight quibble about your proposal for naming the security number field as “3-digit security code”.

The security code is actually a 4-digit code for American Express card users, and is printed on the front of the card, not the bank. So it wouldn’t be a great idea to hardcode “3-digit security code” into the field name (unless you don’t like Amex users).

Regards

Shane

PS I think you need to do some work on the validation of the ‘website’ field in the comments entry section. It breaks your own rules!

By: Keith Bell

Keith Bell — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:21:50 +0000

All good points, David — which despite the state of maturity of the web, are so often missed in form design. My personal favourite is “Only ask for the information you need”. I won’t say I’ve ever actually been asked for the name of my maternal grandmother’s first husband’s dog, but sometimes it feels pretty close! If you’re not going to do anything useful (to the form filler) with a piece of information, don’t ask for it…