HTML Forms
An HTML form is used to collect user input. The user input is most often sent
to a server for processing.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h2>HTML Forms</h2>
<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>
<p>If you click the "Submit" button, the form-data will be sent to a page called "/action_page.php".</p>
</body>
</html>
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 Displays a checkbox (for selecting zero or more of
type="checkbox"> 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.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h2>Text input fields</h2>
<form>
<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">
</form>
<p>Note that the form itself is not visible.</p>
<p>Also note that the default width of text input fields is 20 characters.</p>
</body>
</html>
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.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h2>Radio Buttons</h2>
<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>
</body></html>
Checkboxes
The <input type="checkbox"> defines a checkbox.
Checkboxes let a user select ZERO or MORE options of a limited number of
choices.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h2>Checkboxes</h2>
<p>The <strong>input type="checkbox"</strong> defines a checkbox:</p>
<form action="/action_page.php">
<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><br><br>
<input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>
</body>
</html>
The 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.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h2>HTML Forms</h2>
<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>
<p>If you click the "Submit" button, the form-data will be sent to a page called "/action_page.php".</p>
</body>
</html>
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
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h2>The name Attribute</h2>
<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>
<p>If you click the "Submit" button, the form-data will be sent to a page called "/action_page.php".</p>
<p>Notice that the value of the "First name" field will not be submitted, because the input element does
not have a name attribute.</p>
</body>
</html>
HTML Form Elements
The HTML <form> Elements
The HTML <form> element can contain one or more of the following form
elements:
<input>
<label>
<select>
<textarea>
<button>
<fieldset>
<legend>
<datalist>
<output>
<option>
<optgroup>
The <input> Element
One of the most used form element is the <input> element.
The <input> element can be displayed in several ways, depending on
the type attribute.
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h2>The input Element</h2>
<form action="/action_page.php">
<label for="fname">First name:</label><br>
<input type="text" id="fname" name="fname"><br><br>
<input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>
</body>
</html>
The <label> Element
The <label> element defines a label for several 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.
The <select> Element
The <select> element defines a drop-down list:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h2>The select Element</h2>
<p>The select element defines a drop-down list:</p>
<form action="/action_page.php">
<label for="cars">Choose a car:</label>
<select id="cars" name="cars">
<option value="volvo">Volvo</option>
<option value="saab">Saab</option>
<option value="fiat">Fiat</option>
<option value="audi">Audi</option>
</select>
<input type="submit">
</form>
</body>
</html>
The <option> element defines an option that can be selected.
By default, the first item in the drop-down list is selected.
To define a pre-selected option, add the selected attribute to the option:
