This document discusses making online forms accessible for people with disabilities. It identifies common problems with forms like missing labels, instructions, and error messages. It recommends including clear, descriptive labels and instructions and placing error messages near the relevant fields. It also suggests validating forms with client-side or server-side scripts and highlighting errors without using pop-up messages. Other tips include grouping related fields, providing form security alternatives to CAPTCHAs that cause access issues, and planning forms with these accessibility best practices in mind to be inclusive of all users.

1. Redefining Disability
Accessible Forms
By:
Mamta Tandel
BarrierBreak Technologies

2. Redefining Disability
Objectives
• Identify the need for accessible
forms
• Describe labels & instructions
• Describe validations and error
messages
• Manage security & accessible

3. Redefining Disability
Forms
• Increase in use of Online forms
• Used anywhere and everywhere
– Admission forms
– Passport application
– Ticket booking
– Payment of phone bills
• Accessible forms:
– Anyone and everyone can fill and submit it
– Irrespective of the type of:
• User group
• Technology
• Browser

4. Redefining Disability
General Problems with Forms
• Missing labels
• Missing form instructions
• Placement of error messages
• Inaccurate error messages
• Ungrouped form fields
• Affected user groups:
– Senior citizens
– People using assistive technologies
– People with learning disabilities

5. Redefining Disability
Basic Form Accessibility
• What to fill?
– Labels
– Mandatory fields
• How to fill?
– Basic instructions on filling form
– Any particular format, if required

6. Redefining Disability
Labels - 1
• Describe the purpose and function of form
elements
• Tells the user what information to provide in the
form element
• Not mere ‘text’, but use of <label> tag
• Labels should be:
– Provided to all form fields
– Clear, Unique and Descriptive
– Indicative of whether field is mandatory
– Placement of label text
– With appropriate punctuations

7. Redefining Disability
Labels - 2

8. Redefining Disability
Instructions
• Information about how details need to be
provided in the form
• Identify mandatory fields
• Identify any important field that requires
input in specific format
– Telephone
– Date format
• Instructions should be:
– Complete and descriptive
– Placed before the form starts**
**Between/besides form fields, with ARIA implemented

9. Redefining Disability
Validations and Error Messages - 1
• Indicates error occurred while entering
form details
• Should be clear and descriptive
• May indicate the correct format of
entering data
• Can be displayed:
– As the user enters incorrect data – ARIA
– On form submission
• Avoid displaying besides form fields on form
submission
• Can be through:
– Client-side scripts
– Server-side scripts

10. Redefining Disability
Validations and Error Messages - 2
• Techniques:
– Highlight form fields with error messages along with textual
description as it helps:
• Learning impaired
• Senior citizens
• Users with Low vision
– List the numbers of errors
– Ideally present in the form of list
– Can link the error to the form field with inaccurate data
– Avoid displaying alert messages one by one
– Retain correct values so that users don’t have to re-enter fields
with accurate data
– Upon successive form submission, provide a message to
indicate that the form is submitted successfully and next step if
any

11. Redefining Disability
Validations and Error Messages - 3

12. Redefining Disability
Grouping form fields
• Related form fields should be
grouped
– Radio button options
– Checkbox options
• Use fieldsets and legends

13. Redefining Disability
Form Security
• CAPTCHA
– Completely Automated Public Turing-test to
tell Computers and Humans Apart
– Used for securing forms against SPAMS
• CAPTCHA is:
– Distorted Image with numbers and
characters
– User has to enter image contents for
successful form submission
– Alternative is usually provided in audio
format

14. Redefining Disability
Form Security and Accessibility
• CAPTCHA creates access issues for:
– Visually impaired
– Learning impaired
– Senior citizens
• Alternatives for CAPTCHA:
– Audio CAPTCHA: Sound clarity issue
– Text CAPTCHA: Set of questions that
different users groups can answer

15. Redefining Disability
Points to remember…
• Important to plan and design form
– Descriptive Labels
– Grouping form elements
– Appropriate form instructions
– Placement of instructions
– Appropriate error messages
– Placement error messages
– Form security

16. Redefining Disability
Let Technology be Inclusive!
• Assistive Technology
Products
– Visual Impairment
– Hearing Impairment
– Mobility Impairment
– Learning Impairment
– Elderly
• Accessibility
Services
– Accessible
Web Development
– POUR
Accessibility Testing
• Design Review
• Template Review
• Component Test
• Product Accessibility
Testing
• Task Oriented Testing
– Accessible Conversion
• Digital Talking Book
• PDF Conversion
• Events and
Initiatives

17. Redefining Disability
Where to Contact Me?
email: mamta.tandel@barrierbreak.com;
mamta.tandel@n-syst.com
office: +91-22-2686 0485/6
Connect with me at:
MamtaTandel