It is not uncommon for web designers to spend countless hours perfecting the colours scheme and design on a website. It is mandatory for the website to look flawless and every detail visible. However, while you may ensure that the visual and aesthetic aspect of the design is immaculate, you also need to look for other elements which may seem trivial but in fact have a very high weight age when it comes to efficient web design and web forms is one of these elements. Essentially, this is an important element since it bridges the gap between a person and his reader. It is one way to effectively have the messages communicated to the owner of the website and therefore, while you make sure that your web design looks spot on, it is also vital that you pay equal attention to web forms. Given below are some essential tips that will go a long way in ensuring that your web forms meet the professional standards.
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Using the label tag is essential:
As the name suggests, the Label option gives your text box a suitable name. This is important as it ensures that the readers understand exactly what the input box stands for so that they can fill in the appropriate information. Therefore, it is crucial that you include this basic, yet important element in your web form since it gives a very logical structure to your web form. Not just that, by using this element, you are also entitled to making changes to the styling of the web form using CSS coding.
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Do not make any errors while dealing with the default style:
There are some browsers that make use of default styling for their CSS based web forms. One of the good things about this is the fact that every user who views the web forms in that particular browser will have the same user experience and therefore consistency will be maintained. However, sometimes, you may want something different for your users to experience. While this is possible, executing it in the wrong way can lead you to trouble. Therefore, the best option available at your disposal is to use the CSS reset technique. The coding for this will be:
* {
border: none;
}
Doing this will make sure that you have greater control over the appearance of the borders. However, there are some browsers that are quite resistant to change.
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Make your web form labels more structured by floating them:
To put it simply, floating a label causes the label of the input box to be aligned in a way that would resemble the one aligned in a table element except that using the floating feature does not show the table in its physical form but aligns elements along an invisible table. It is important to use a width that will remain constant throughout.
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Add more style using the :focus element belonging to the Pseudo Class:
You may have seen some input areas of certain web forms that change their colour when you click into that box to enter information. This not only makes the reader aware of the area they are filling the information in but also makes it look visually appealing. Therefore, you can play with contrasting colours to create a good effect and the fact that it is supported by almost all browsers is an added advantage.
Therefore, creating CSS based web forms is a must if you want to connect with your clients well and keep them coming back to your website.
Editor’s Note: Patrick Berenson is a freelance web designer and has been working in this industry for over 7 years at http://fasteasywebsites.com/. Over the years, he has perfected CSS and HTML and loves to keep himself updated with the latest developments. He loves reading design magazines.
