Maximus Internet » Forms http://www.maximusinternet.com/blog Internet Strategy | Websites | Search | Email Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:49:06 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 4 Problems to Avoid with Web-Based Forms http://www.maximusinternet.com/blog/index.php/2009/08/4-problems-to-avoid-with-web-based-forms/ http://www.maximusinternet.com/blog/index.php/2009/08/4-problems-to-avoid-with-web-based-forms/#comments Tue, 11 Aug 2009 03:36:22 +0000 jminder http://www.maximusinternet.com/blog/?p=29 I recently moved and as everyone knows, moving is a terrible experience.  I was hoping one of the easier tasks would be updating my address on the websites of banks, magazines, etc.  I sat down planning to spend about 30 minutes and be finished, but an hour later I should have known better.  Here’s a few highlights of form usability problems that in my opinion are unacceptable in 2009:

- Never break standard browser functions:
My friends at AT&T thought it would be a good idea to move the cursor from one field to the next after I entered the proper number of characters for the field I was editing.  For example, on phone number, once you type 3 digits in the area code field, the site automatically moves you to the number prefix box.  I’m sure someone at AT&T thought it was a good idea that would make things easier, but after using the internet for 14 years and expecting to use the tab key or mouse, it was more frustrating than helpful.  I find it hard to believe that this was user tested before deployment and there’s no excuse for that when you have the website budget of AT&T.

- Make your website work with all common browsers:
http://www.mykplan.com: These guys aren’t kidding about the compatible browser list in the left column.  This website has a lot of issues, but the biggest offender is that the site only works with Internet Explorer.  I use a Mac, so none of my browsers worked.  I could access the necessary forms, but was unable to enter any information.  Having a website that only worked with certain browsers stopped being OK at least five years ago.

- Avoid drop-down menus:
This will be the most controversial issue on this post, but after suffering through multiple drop-downs, mostly to enter my state, I agree with Jakob Nielsen on this one: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/annoyances.html

- Don’t ignore your error messages.

Following web standards and properly testing functionality before launching any website or addition is cheap and easy.  If you need help, contact me.

What other common problems do you encounter with online forms?

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