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
Why should you use relative units for font-size
?
How can you increase spacing between form controls?
padding
CSS property.spacer
CSS property.margin
CSS property.boundary
CSS property.