Comments on: Why Users Fill Out Forms Faster with Top Aligned Labels

By: Dev 2

Dev 2 — Wed, 18 May 2022 03:43:50 +0000

Very useful.
And if we hide Label (screen reader still can read label) and use Placeholder to guide, maybe it’s faster top aligned label, isn’t it?

By: Brian

Brian — Fri, 24 Mar 2017 18:03:25 +0000

I think it also depends on your use case.
I use a bug tracking application with forms, and after the switch from left aligned labels to labels above the input, I find it much harder to scan the fields. It would probably be easier to fill out if you had to fill each field. But if you’re scanning a large form for only a few fields, this design seems worse.

By: Carl

Carl — Tue, 29 Jul 2014 21:25:04 +0000

I had the same concern as I read the presentation.

I would like to see research measuring saccades with an eye tracker.

We are having the same label position discussion in our shop. I like the top aligned labels when the field length is greater than the length of the label. But there arises a conflict. Fields generally should give users a sense of how much data is expected, and how much is possible. A field requiring a one or two digit entry beneath a long label just feels odd to me. For one thing, the label features a colon pointing off into “outer space.”

In one of our projects, the developer made all of a stack of input fields the same length. That included one field for 1 or two digit numbers. That field also featured a spinner control roughly 300 pixels from the cursor (left) position.

By: Adam

Adam — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 20:01:13 +0000

Thanks for the insight, always looking for ways to make the user experience a better one. Where did you get your research information for the article?

By: Dalinda aka

Dalinda aka — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 22:18:29 +0000

I think vertically aligned form elements are easier on the eyes, indeed. Good remark!