Styling forms

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Help users use your form with their preferred browser

To ensure that your form is accessible to as many people as possible, use the elements built for the job: <input>, <textarea>, <select>, and <button>. This is the baseline for a usable form.

The default browser styles don't look great! Let's change that.

Ensure form controls are readable for everyone

The default font size for form controls in most browsers is too small. To ensure your form controls are readable, change the font size with CSS:

Increase the font-size and line-height to improve readability.

.form-element {
  font-size: 1.3rem;
  line-height: 1.2;
}

Help users navigate through your form

As a next step, change the layout of your form, and increase the spacing of form elements, to help users understand which elements belong together.

The margin CSS property increases space between elements, and the padding property increases space around the element's content.

For the general layout, use Flexbox or Grid. Learn more about CSS layout methods.

Ensure form controls look like form controls

Make it easy for people to fill out your form by using well-understood styles for your form controls. For example, style <input> elements with a solid border.

input,
textarea {
  border: 1px solid;
}

Help users submit your form

Consider using a background for your <button> to match your site style, and override or remove the default border styles.

Help users understand the current state

Browsers apply a default style for :focus. You can override the styles for :focus to match the color to your brand.

button:focus {
    outline: 4px solid green;
}

Check your understanding

Test your knowledge of styling forms

Resources

• Learn CSS
• CSS layout methods
• Designing focus indicators
• Reverting the default style of a <button>.