WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

E-mail List Archives

Re: Form submission on mobile devices

for

From: Whitney Quesenbery
Date: Feb 12, 2014 9:59PM

Everyone needs a clear moment when they switch activities from entering
information (which they might want to review and edit) to actually sending
in the form. That is, not having a clear Submit button is a usability
problem, no matter how someone is interacting with the web.

I wonder if Caroline Jarrett has written anything about this either in her
book Forms That Work, or in the companion site http://formsthatwork.com/

Whitney Quesenbery
www.wqusability.com | @whitneyq

Books:

- A Web for Everyone: Designing Accessible User
Experiences<http://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/a-web-for-everyone/>;
- Storytelling for User
Experience<http://www.rosenfeldmedia.com/books/storytelling>;
- Global UX: Design and research in a connected
world<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/012378591X/>;




On Wed, Feb 12, 2014 at 11:04 AM, Ann Wawrose < <EMAIL REMOVED> >wrote:

> Sarah,
>
> Can you run some simple usability tests on this? Doesn¹t have to be
> anything too formal, just grab some co-workers that are not on this
> project, or maybe your neighbor at home and ask them to fill out the page.
> If you can test this page & get some recorded feedback, it would
> strengthen your argument or show that maybe the button isn¹t that
> important (but I suspect you¹ll find that it is)
>
> Would the ³invisble² submit button work if it was hidden using an
> ³accessibility-hidden² class that hides text from sighted users but not
> screen readers?
>
> Ann
>
> On 2/12/14, 5:33 AM, "Sarah Ward" < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
>
> >Hello fellow WebAIM Mailing-ees,
> >
> >I am looking for advice for forms on mobile devices, and in particular
> >not having a submit button in the design, and instead relying on the user
> >to use the keyboard to submit the form using the Return/Enter key. My gut
> >instinct is this is a major accessibility concern, not just for low
> >vision users, but for everyone! If the form contains any field other than
> >a text entry, in most cases the keyboard disappears when focus is moved
> >to that field too.
> >
> >However, we are getting pushback from the business that they do not want
> >a Submit button and they want to keep the UI clean and simple. If anyone
> >has experience or can direct me to a resource that explains why this is a
> >poor experience I would really appreciate it. Do low vision users assume
> >to press Return/Enter key if they can't find a submit button on the view?
> >Unfortunately I am unable to do user testing for this, and without
> >concrete evidence it is getting increasingly difficult to push for a
> >change in the design.
> >
> >Thanks in advance,
> >Sarah
> >> >> >>
> > > >