Accessible Form Checklist

The forms on your website are the point at which a passive user might become an interested customer. But if your forms are difficult or frustrating to complete, whether the user is disabled or not, you will miss out on that opportunity. Use the Accessible Form Checklist below to help you the next time you are building a form for your site.

To learn more about accessible forms, read Forms For Everyone: Practical Techniques To Build Accessible Forms That Actually Work.

Using native or default controls
Any custom components are accessible
HTML5 components have been used where possible
Every field has a label
Instructions are next to every field where needed
Checkboxes and radio buttons are grouped logically
Required fields are clearly labelled
Error messages are immediate
Success message is clear upon submission
Form can be tabbed through and completed using only a keyboard
Any time constraints are generous and users can save their progress
Field IDs stick to naming conventions to aid autocomplete
CAPTCHA has been carefully chosen or alternative authentication used
Forms are consistent across the whole site
Forms have been tested by a diverse group of users
Dynamic form errors and success messages are announced to assistive technologies