Forms are the keystone of user interfaces

Learn how to build usable and contemporary forms. So that your users don't suffer. For devs and everyone who is interested in UI/UX.

By Victor - a guy who HAS BEEN MAKING FORMS FOR 10 YEARS.
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Are you a developer? Solopreneur? Don't have a design background? Cannot afford a designer?


I have something for you. A book about how to make your forms better.

Remember - forms are the most crucial thing in applications. And they should be good.

I'm Victor, and I've been working as a frontend and backend developer for more than 10 years.


Have you ever worked in a team that did not have a designer, and you needed to figure out how forms should look on your own?


When your boss just asked you to "make it work", without caring how it looks, without caring about user experience?


But you cared? Then, we are in the same boat.


For some unknown reason, my teams almost never had a dedicated designer. Sometimes the designer and developer were the same people. Nobody really cared about design.


I don't like this approach. I think that if you do your job, you should do it well. That's why I'm always researching best practices related to user interfaces.


This book is a compilation of what I know about forms.

An example of refactoring a form

I took a quite outdated form that violated a lot of common UI/UX principles.


I redesigned it and gave some step-by-step explanations of my decisions based on the theories I describe in the book.


As an example, I have provided a form example below that is a sample of how a form can be redesigned. Here you can see an illustration of why small details matter.


Hover on the icons below to reveal explanations.

After
A secondary button with an icon for making it more obvious what will happen if you click on it.

It might be left as "Cancel" as well, it's just an example of different possible variations.
One clear primary button with correct label alignment, including price.
Mask for expiry date input (which is a single input, no need for two inputs)
No card type selecting
Pay attention that the size of the postal code is smaller.

It's a typical trick to make it easy for users to understand what kind of information we expect from them: postal codes cannot be very long.
The dropdowns are customized (assuming that they have search capabilities).

Notice that the country goes first. Depending on the country selected, we will choose whether to use state and zip, or postal code (naming conventions).
We separated three obvious sections: personal details, address and payment info by using space and headings.
Email address is included in the personal details section
The first name and last name are grouped together since it can be considered as one field.
Now the form has a title that says what the form is about
Before
There are two primary buttons, and it's obvious that cancel should be secondary.
The button label alignment is broken, it's not centered
The expiry date is much easier to type instead of selecting it via dropdowns.

It should be one field with a mask, like MM/YY.
Card types can be automatically detected by the card number, no need to select the card type manually.
The card owner should go before the card number.

Why? You will find out in the package with extra tips! :)
There is a problem with information grouping.

There are a few chunks of information that we ask for from the user: personal info, address details and card details.

They should be visually separated by using space & headings, according to the Law of Proximity.
There is no title for this form. What are users filling this form out for?
These are outdated default browser dropdowns that don’t have any search capabilities.
Contents of the book
A sneak peek of what’s covered
  • The most important rule
    There is a huge common mistake when it comes to form design. We will cover something that will improve your forms drastically and immediately.
  • Layouts
    There is a huge variety of form layouts; each one having their own advantages and disadvantages
  • General concepts
    In this chapter, most of the concepts covered here can and probably should be applied to your forms. Some of them are well-known, while some are more complicated and noteworthy.
  • Validation
    This is I would say the most crucial thing that I attempt to describe in detail. Starting with when to validate and ending with what a good error message is.
  • Help users
    There are a number of ways you can help your users so that they don't even make any mistakes at all.
  • Scrutinizing inputs
    Every input has its own peculiarities. Some of the most complex ones are covered in this book.
Level up your knowledge whether you are a developer, designer, or a product owner
Get the book
Buy book only
Buy complete package
$29
Complete package
A PDF book containing ~100 pages on how to make clean and usable forms
A practical case study of redesigning existing complex form with explanations (PDF, ~20 pages)
Additional non-obvious 19 Tips about form usability (PDF, ~23 Pages)
Checklist with more than 20 points of common errors when designing forms
40% Discount on FramesX ($99+ worth) - UI Kit and Design Handbook for Figma
A PDF book containing ~100 pages on how to make clean and usable forms
A practical case study of redesigning existing complex form with explanations (PDF, ~20 pages)
Additional non-obvious 19 Tips about form usability (PDF, ~23 Pages)
Checklist with more than 20 points of common errors when designing forms
40% Discount on FramesX ($99+ worth) - UI Kit and Design Handbook for Figma
$19
Book only
What people say
Those are real testimonials, not fake ones
  • Adrian Twarog
    Creator of enhanceui.com

    This book provides a wealth of knowledge on the core aspects that make great UI's work, and the UX that goes on behind the scenes often goes unnoticed.


    Grasping these techniques will improve your design skills now and long into the future!

  • Arvid Kahl

    Victor's insight into interfacing with human beings will be "formative" for your product.


    All jokes aside, Re:Form is for a UX designer what a chef's knife is to a chef: a no-nonsense tool to get the job done efficiently.


    A reference book for everyone who touches forms in their work.

  • Simon Høiberg
    CEO of FeedHive and LinkDrip

    By reading this book you'll gain enough knowledge to avoid typical mistakes when working with complex forms.


    By reading the case study you'll see it in practice.


    By reading extra tips you'll even more enhance your knowledge.

About me
Pretending to be serious

I'm a developer that is passionate about UI/UX.


However, my content (tweets) and testimonials say it better. I imported some of my tweets and comments from product hunt launches below.


All are real, clickable posts, with no fake images.

Frequently Asked Questions