Dynamic Help Systems in Web Forms
UXmatters just published my new article on Dynamic Help in Web Forms which surveys a number of automatic and user-activated Help systems designed to assist the completion of forms. From the synposis:
"...there are many types of forms that require lots of obscure data, use unique formats, or have input restrictions. In such cases, the amount of Help text necessary for each input field could quickly overwhelm a form, making it appear quite intimidating or complex. For forms like this, it might make sense to consider using dynamic contextual Help. As various Help systems have emerged online, I’ve started to catalogue the different types I’ve come across."
Check out the full article on UXmatters and if you have any additional examples or insights about how well dynamic Help performs in Web forms -let me know!
Comments
Just in case you haven't seen this case yet, I like that Weber addresses one of my form pet peeves, having to choose state from a list -- they trust me to type everything else in but then slow me down and expect me to scroll through a pull-down to find my state.
Weber asks for zip code first, then fills in the city and state for me! That's form love.
https://www.weber.com/bbq/pub/shop/checkout/billing.aspx
Posted by: Victor Lombardi | November 23, 2007 3:49 PM
Victor, thanks for the comment. You inspired me to write up an article based on your find. I agree with you that long drop-downs are problematic but wouldn't a simple input field make the Weber form much easier:
http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?605
Posted by: LukeW | November 24, 2007 12:38 AM