Axel Norvell
Aug 8, 2017 · 1 min read

That’s fine and all, but now you’ve opened up a whole other can of worms.

As a user using your form, this is what might happen:

  1. For your alpha-only field, I try to type a number. It doesn’t work. If the field is obviously only for numbers, I might be clued in. If it isn’t, I’d be wondering why? It’d be better if I typed a number, the field told me in plain english that numbers aren’t allowed, use only alphanumeric characters.
  2. Instead of denoting all of the required fields, how about just writing “optional” on the one’s that aren’t required? This makes the form look less intimidating which a bunch of “required” written all over it.
  3. So now I’ve finished your form, but I overlooked a required field and I attempt to click your disabled button…it doesn’t work because it’s disabled. What’s going on here? No feedback or validation?
    Alternatively I see that it’s disabled, and I’m wondering why? Again, as a user it’s now up to me to figure out why (instead of having the page tell me in plain english).

Long story short, your user can potentially make a mistake. It’s not realistic for you to design something so intuitive that user-error is completely eliminated. Form validation that explains to your user what they need to correct is quite necessary for situations where your end-user makes a mistake.

    Axel Norvell

    Written by

    Lead UX/UI designer https://www.goco.io, living in Houston, Texas. I love anything and everything related to web and technology.