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Thread: Form submission on mobile devices

Number of posts in this thread: 10 (In chronological order)

From: Sarah Ward
Date: Wed, Feb 12 2014 4:33AM
Subject: Form submission on mobile devices
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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

From: Joe Chidzik
Date: Wed, Feb 12 2014 5:21AM
Subject: Re: Form submission on mobile devices
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> 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.

An immediate concern would be how screenreader users would expect to submit the form. A submit button typically demarks the end of the form for screenreader users, and will act as a prompt to then submit the form. Without a submit button, this prompt is not present, and will likely cause difficulties. As you also point out, without a text input field on the form, the onscreen keyboard will not be displayed anyway, and no-one will be able to submit the form.

Joe

From: Joe Chidzik
Date: Wed, Feb 12 2014 7:38AM
Subject: Re: Form submission on mobile devices
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> > 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.
>
> An immediate concern would be how screenreader users would expect to submit
> the form. A submit button typically demarks the end of the form for screenreader
> users, and will act as a prompt to then submit the form. Without a submit button,
> this prompt is not present, and will likely cause difficulties. As you also point out,
> without a text input field on the form, the onscreen keyboard will not be displayed
> anyway, and no-one will be able to submit the form.
>
> Joe

Quick followup:

As a test, I created a simple form with two text input fields, and no submit button. Even with the focus in a text field, pressing Go on the onscreen keyboard had no effect - the form was not submitted. I repeated the test having added a submit button onto the page, and pressing go on the onscreen keyboard this worked to submit the form. Removing the submit button caused the form to fail once again.

Even with the a submit button present in the code, but hidden via display: none, the form would not submit.

I tested this on:
-Safari, iOS 7 on an iPhone 4s.
-Chrome, Android 4.4.2, Nexus 4

Both had same results.

Joe

From: Ann Wawrose
Date: Wed, Feb 12 2014 9:04AM
Subject: Re: Form submission on mobile devices
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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 ADDRESS 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
>>>

From: Whitney Quesenbery
Date: Wed, Feb 12 2014 9:59PM
Subject: Re: Form submission on mobile devices
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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 ADDRESS 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 ADDRESS 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
> >> >> >>
> > > >

From: Sarah Ward
Date: Fri, Feb 14 2014 6:15AM
Subject: Re: Form submission on mobile devices
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Hi Joe,

When I tested in on Safari iOS it did submit :( One of my team also tested on a version of android, so it's interesting that we are getting different results.

Thanks,
Sarah

On Wednesday, 12 February 2014, 14:38, Joe Chidzik < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:

> > 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.
>
> An immediate concern would be how screenreader users would expect to submit
> the form. A submit button typically demarks the end of the form for screenreader
> users, and will act as a prompt to then submit the form. Without a submit button,
> this prompt is not present, and will likely cause difficulties. As you also point out,
> without a text input field on the form, the onscreen keyboard will not be displayed
> anyway, and no-one will be able to submit the form.
>
> Joe

Quick followup:

As a test, I created a simple form with two text input fields, and no submit button. Even with the focus in a text field, pressing Go on the onscreen keyboard had no effect - the form was not submitted. I repeated the test having added a submit button onto the page, and pressing go on the onscreen keyboard this worked to submit the form. Removing the submit button caused the form to fail once again.

Even with the a submit button present in the code, but hidden via display: none, the form would not submit.

I tested this on:
-Safari, iOS 7 on an iPhone 4s.
-Chrome, Android 4.4.2, Nexus 4

Both had same results.

Joe

From: Sarah Ward
Date: Fri, Feb 14 2014 6:16AM
Subject: Re: Form submission on mobile devices
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From: Sarah Ward
Date: Fri, Feb 14 2014 6:19AM
Subject: Re: Form submission on mobile devices
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Hi Ann,

I think we are now making progress in the right direction with this one. Problem is there was some internal testing done by another team and they found that the submit button they had created was being missed by the user and them pressing the 'Done' action in the keyboard instead. This is one of the reasons why they did not want the submit button, as they thought it would be a frustrating experience. But I believe this is a common issue for everyone, and probably will need a design rethink. Hopefully we can convince them of that.

Thanks,
Sarah

On Wednesday, 12 February 2014, 16:04, Ann Wawrose < = EMAIL ADDRESS 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 ADDRESS 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
>>>

From: Sarah Ward
Date: Fri, Feb 14 2014 6:19AM
Subject: Re: Form submission on mobile devices
← Previous message | Next message →

From: Sarah Ward
Date: Fri, Feb 14 2014 6:27AM
Subject: Re: Form submission on mobile devices
← Previous message | No next message

Hi Whitney,

Thanks for the reply. I totally agree with you. In the mean time I think we have started to make progress on this internally now, but cases where the button is not being pressed due to close proximity with the keyboard functionality may be a little tricker to convince the case.

You also make the point that this is a usability issue, rather than accessibility - apologies if I am mistaken by this assumption. I am able to offer the team accessibility advice, but my feedback does not have to be considered. Even though I strongly believe they go hand in hand.

I wonder if anyone else on the list has the same problem convincing the business of usability issues that have an impact on accessibility. It's a hard case to fight, but I am open to ideas on what else I can try. Often doing a prototype of the experience is the only thing that will convince people sometimes.

Thanks,
Sarah