Even taking a few hints from Web Form Design could save us all from that unpleasantness and frustration. When something goes wrong, the worst of them just leave you in the lurch and even the some of the best of them stare at you with an accusing error message without any hint of what to do about it. Wroblewski argues that many web forms are like a stranger coming up to and demanding to know your all your personal and bank details without so much as a “Hello”. Whether it is a simple log-in, a purchasing or sign-up process or an online application, you can’t escape them. “Unpacking a new Apple MacBook Pro is a tactile, engaging experience that reflects the quality of the product inside.'įorms are everywhere online. Or we might have a pleasant interaction when unpacking a product: When we go to a real-life shop, we are usually greeted by an assistent or have some kind of social interaction whilst paying for our shopping, even if it is just “have a nice day” or “thank you”. Forms are conversations between us and the company whose web site we are on. What makes this book so engaging is Wroblewski’s insight that forms are the social interaction part of any web experience.

What we want to do is to vote, apply for a job, buy a book online, join a group, or get a rebate back from a recent purchase.

But for most of us, forms are just an annoyance. You may turn up an accountant who gets a rush when wrapping up a client’s tax return or perhaps a desk clerk who loves to tidy up office payroll. If you don’t believe me, try to find people who like filling them in. Wroblewski lays out his stall right from the outset:įorms suck. Web Form Design is written from a position of sympathy with everyone who has had to struggle through a bad form, and that is pretty much all of us. It deserves a place on every user experience or web designer’s bookshelf right next to Steve Krug’s classic Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability Should be as interesting as watching paint dry, but instead Luke Wroblewski has written on of the best books on user experience and web usability that I have read for some time. A year! What a sad indictment – whoever designed those should be weeping right now.īy rights a whole book devoted to Web Form Design: Filling in the Blanks The ones lying under the book in the picture above have been sitting on my desk for a year waiting to find someone who can understand them. Germany is full of bureaucrats that love them, but their forms are amongst some of the most poorly designed I have ever encountered.

Web Form Design by Luke Wroblewski