Apply these UX standards to all public-facing forms before you submit your draft form to the forms designer.
1. Keep your form as short as possible
Lengthy and overly-complex forms intimidate people. People should not feel intimidated when they access government programs and services.
Follow our UX advice to keep your form as short as possible.
2. Order form sections and fields in a logical sequence
As you draft your form think about what information a person will need to provide to access the service or program. Follow our guidance for ordering form sections and fields to see standards for ordering form section and tips for ordering form fields.
3. Form inputs should match the information people will enter
It's important to think about the information people will need to enter in a form to access your program or service. Make sure you:
- choose the best input type to collect the data;
- choose the best input type to make it quick, easy and accurate for people to provide the information; and
- size the form fields to match the expected input character limit or size.
Read more about how to choose which type of input to use.
4. Present form fields in a single column (online forms only)
People work though forms from top to bottom, especially if they are using a mobile device. Creating multiple columns forces people to scan it in a Z pattern. This creates usability issues because people:
have to reorient themselves at each row; and
tend to interpret the fields inconsistently which leaves room for them to make an error.
Exception: PDF forms will have more than 1 column because there is limited space.
5. Let people know if there are formatting or input requirements
If a field requires a specific format or type of input, you must let them know so they don't get an error. Find out how to add this advice to your form.
6. Indicate optional fields
When we create forms, we should only be asking people for information we need to deliver the service. So by default, all form fields are mandatory or required.
If there is an exceptional occassion where you must add optional fields, you must let people know they are optional. To do this, add (optional) to the end of the field label. In cases where this is not possible, you can use a black asterisk at the end of the form fileld label.
7. Make sure your form is available in French
Public-facing forms must be in English and French. Follow our advice for getting your form translated.
8. Create consistent forms
Apply all of the standards for form design, content, branding and user experience. Government forms must be consistent in how they look, read and function. This ensures people know it's a government form just by looking at it and they understand how it works.
9. Give people feedback they can see and action
In instances where a person makes a mistake entering data or try to move from one page of a form to another but can't, you must give them feedback they can see and action to resolve the issue. The quicker you can provide that feedback, the better for the user experience.
Find out how to give people feedback.