An HTML form is used to collect user input. The user input is most often sent to a server for processing. An HTML form is a section of a document containing normal content, markup, special elements called controls (checkboxes, radio buttons, menus, etc.), and labels on those controls.
Example
First name:
John
Last name:
Doe
Why use HTML Form?
HTML forms are required if you want to collect some data from of the site visitor.
For example: If a user want to purchase some items on internet, he/she must fill the form such as shipping address and credit/debit card details so that item can be sent to the given address.
HTML Form Syntax
<form action="server url" method="get|post">
//input controls e.g. textfield, textarea, radiobutton, button
</form> | How does an HTML Form work? |
This is a beginner’s tutorial for understanding the working of a web form and the different parts involved.  1. Your visitor loads the form page in her web browser.The browser sends a request to the web server. The web server returns the HTML page that contains the form.The HTML page returned can bean HTML file on the server.an HTML page generated by a script running on the web server (like, a PHP script )  The HTML page can contain references to Cascaded Style Sheets , Javascript files and images. The web browser downloads them as well. Then the page is displayed.The Cascaded Style sheets (also known as CSS files ) contains the visual aspects (fonts, colors, etc) of the page. The JavaScript files are to control the behavioral aspects (input validations, messages etc). 2. Your visitor fills the form and submits itWell written forms will have a bit of Javascript code that gets triggered when the form is submitted. The Javascript code checks the form submission values and informs your visitor if there is any error. If there is no error, the form is submitted. 3. The form submission data is sent to the web server Once the visitor has submitted the form, the form data is sent to the web server. In the form, the author of the form has to mention an ‘action’ URL that tells the browser where to send the form submission data. The ‘action’ usually points to the URL of a script that knows what to do with the data. 4. The web server processes the requestThe web server passes the form submission data to the form processor script ( mentioned by the ‘action’). The form processor script is written in languages like PHP, ASP, or Perl. The form processor script can send the form data by email, save the data to a database or file. 5. A response is sent back to the browserThe form processor script sends a response indicating the success or failure of the form processing operations back to the server. The response could be to re-direct to another web page. What does Simfatic Forms do?Simfatic Forms can generate the code for all the above! The HTML form page, Javascript validations, CSS and the form processor script (in PHP). You just have to design the form. Simfatic Forms generates the code and uploads it to your webserver. The whole form works on your web server. |
The <form> Element
The HTML <form> element is used to create an HTML form for user input:
<form> . form elements . </form>
The <form> element is a container for different types of input elements, such as: text fields, checkboxes, radio buttons, submit buttons, etc.
The <input> Element
The HTML <input> element is the most used form element. An <input> element can be displayed in many ways, depending on the type attribute.
Here are some examples:
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| <input type=”text”> | Displays a single-line text input field |
| <input type=”radio”> | Displays a radio button (for selecting one of many choices) |
| <input type=”checkbox”> | Displays a checkbox (for selecting zero or more of many choices) |
| <input type=”submit”> | Displays a submit button (for submitting the form) |
| <input type=”button”> | Displays a clickable button |
Text Fields
The <input type="text"> defines a single-line input field for text input.
Example
A form with input fields for text:
<form> <label for="fname">First name:</label><br> <input type="text" id="fname" name="fname"><br> <label for="lname">Last name:</label><br> <input type="text" id="lname" name="lname"> </form>
This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:
First name:Last name:Note: The form itself is not visible. Also note that the default width of an input field is 20 characters.
The <label> Element
Notice the use of the <label> element in the example above. The <label> tag defines a label for many form elements.
The <label> element is useful for screen-reader users, because the screen-reader will read out loud the label when the user focus on the input element. The <label> element also help users who have difficulty clicking on very small regions (such as radio buttons or checkboxes) – because when the user clicks the text within the <label> element, it toggles the radio button/checkbox. The for attribute of the <label> tag should be equal to the id attribute of the <input> element to bind them together.
Radio Buttons
The <input type="radio"> defines a radio button. Radio buttons let a user select ONE of a limited number of choices.
Example
A form with radio buttons:
<p>Choose your favorite Web language:</p> <form> <input type="radio" id="html" name="fav_language" value="HTML"> <label for="html">HTML</label><br> <input type="radio" id="css" name="fav_language" value="CSS"> <label for="css">CSS</label><br> <input type="radio" id="javascript" name="fav_language" value="JavaScript"> <label for="javascript">JavaScript</label> </form>
This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:
Choose your favorite Web language:
- HTML
- CSS
- JavaScript
Checkboxes
The <input type="checkbox"> defines a checkbox. Checkboxes let a user select ZERO or MORE options of a limited number of choices.
Example
A form with checkboxes:
<form> <input type="checkbox" id="vehicle1" name="vehicle1" value="Bike"> <label for="vehicle1"> I have a bike</label><br> <input type="checkbox" id="vehicle2" name="vehicle2" value="Car"> <label for="vehicle2"> I have a car</label><br> <input type="checkbox" id="vehicle3" name="vehicle3" value="Boat"> <label for="vehicle3"> I have a boat</label> </form>
This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:
I have a bike
I have a car
I have a boatThe Submit Button
The <input type="submit"> 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:
<form action="/action_page.php"> <label for="fname">First name:</label><br> <input type="text" id="fname" name="fname" value="John"><br> <label for="lname">Last name:</label><br> <input type="text" id="lname" name="lname" value="Doe"><br><br> <input type="submit" value="Submit"> </form>
This is how the HTML code above will be displayed in a browser:
First name:Last name:The Name Attribute for <input>
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:
<form action="/action_page.php"> <label for="fname">First name:</label><br> <input type="text" id="fname" value="John"><br><br> <input type="submit" value="Submit"> </form>
HTML Form Attributes
This chapter describes the different attributes for the HTML <form> element.
The Action Attribute
The action attribute defines the action to be performed when the form is submitted. Usually, the form data is sent to a file on the server when the user clicks on the submit button. In the example below, the form data is sent to a file called “action_page.php”. This file contains a server-side script that handles the form data:
Example
On submit, send form data to “action_page.php”:
<form action="/action_page.php"> <label for="fname">First name:</label><br> <input type="text" id="fname" name="fname" value="John"><br> <label for="lname">Last name:</label><br> <input type="text" id="lname" name="lname" value="Doe"><br><br> <input type="submit" value="Submit"> </form>
The Target Attribute
The target attribute specifies where to display the response that is received after submitting the form.
The target attribute can have one of the following values:
| Value | Description |
|---|---|
| _blank | The response is displayed in a new window or tab |
| _self | The response is displayed in the current window |
| _parent | The response is displayed in the parent frame |
| _top | The response is displayed in the full body of the window |
| framename | The response is displayed in a named iframe |
The default value is _self which means that the response will open in the current window.
Example
Here, the submitted result will open in a new browser tab:
<form action="/action_page.php" target="_blank">
The Method Attribute
The method attribute specifies the HTTP method to be used when submitting the form data. The form-data can be sent as URL variables (with method="get") or as HTTP post transaction (with method="post"). The default HTTP method when submitting form data is GET.
Example
This example uses the GET method when submitting the form data:
<form action="/action_page.php" method="get">
Example
This example uses the POST method when submitting the form data:
<form action="/action_page.php" method="post">
Notes on GET:
- Appends the form data to the URL, in name/value pairs
- NEVER use GET to send sensitive data! (the submitted form data is visible in the URL!)
- The length of a URL is limited (2048 characters)
- Useful for form submissions where a user wants to bookmark the result
- GET is good for non-secure data, like query strings in Google
Notes on POST:
- Appends the form data inside the body of the HTTP request (the submitted form data is not shown in the URL)
- POST has no size limitations, and can be used to send large amounts of data.
- Form submissions with POST cannot be bookmarked
Tip: Always use POST if the form data contains sensitive or personal information!
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The Autocomplete Attribute
The autocomplete attribute specifies whether a form should have autocomplete on or off. When autocomplete is on, the browser automatically complete values based on values that the user has entered before.
Example
A form with autocomplete on:
<form action="/action_page.php" autocomplete="on">
The Novalidate Attribute
The novalidate attribute is a boolean attribute. When present, it specifies that the form-data (input) should not be validated when submitted.
Example
A form with a novalidate attribute:
<form action="/action_page.php" novalidate>
List of All <form> Attributes
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
| accept-charset | Specifies the character encodings used for form submission |
| action | Specifies where to send the form-data when a form is submitted |
| autocomplete | Specifies whether a form should have autocomplete on or off |
| enctype | Specifies how the form-data should be encoded when submitting it to the server (only for method=”post”) |
| method | Specifies the HTTP method to use when sending form-data |
| name | Specifies the name of the form |
| novalidate | Specifies that the form should not be validated when submitted |
| rel | Specifies the relationship between a linked resource and the current document |
| target | Specifies where to display the response that is received after submitting the form |
