HTML Forms

An HTML form is used to collect user input. The user input is most often sent to a server for processing.

Example

The Element

The HTML element is used to create an HTML form for user input:

The element is a container for different types of input elements, such as: text fields, checkboxes, radio buttons, submit buttons, etc.

All the different form elements are covered in this chapter: HTML Form Elements.

The Element

The HTML element is the most used form element.

An element can be displayed in many ways, depending on the type attribute.

Here are some examples:

All the different input types are covered in this chapter: HTML Input Types.

Text Fields

The defines a single-line input field for text input.

Example

A form with input fields for text:

This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:

Note: The form itself is not visible. Also note that the default width of an input field is 20 characters.

The Element

Notice the use of the element in the example above.

The tag defines a label for many form elements.

The element is useful for screen-reader users, because the screen-reader will read out loud the label when the user focuses on the input element.

The element also helps users who have difficulty clicking on very small regions (such as radio buttons or checkboxes) - because when the user clicks the text within the element, it toggles the radio button/checkbox.

The for attribute of the tag should be equal to the id attribute of the element to bind them together.

Radio Buttons

The defines a radio button.

Radio buttons let a user select ONE of a limited number of choices.

Example

A form with radio buttons:

Choose your favorite Web language:

This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:

Choose your favorite Web language:

HTML
CSS
JavaScript

Checkboxes

The defines a checkbox.

Checkboxes let a user select ZERO or MORE options of a limited number of choices.

Example

A form with checkboxes:

This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:

I have a bike
I have a car
I have a boat

The Submit Button

The defines a button for submitting the form data to a form-handler.

The form-handler is typically a file on the server with a script for processing input data.

The form-handler is specified in the form's action attribute.

Example

A form with a submit button:

This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:

Notice that each input field must have a name attribute to be submitted.

If the name attribute is omitted, the value of the input field will not be sent at all.

Example

This example will not submit the value of the "First name" input field: