Evaluating the Usability of Search Forms Using Eyetracking: A Practical Approach :: UXmatters
Monday, February 6, 2006
Evaluating the Usability of Search Forms Using Eyetracking: A Practical Approach :: UXmatters
- Clearly label input fields. Doing so won’t bother pro users, but is a great help to your novice users.
- Drop-down lists are very eye catching form elements. You should always consider very carefully whether you should include a drop-down list in a search form. Use a drop-down list only if no alternative element would serve its purpose as well. Maintain adequate distance between the drop-down list and other elements in the search form. In general, if you want to create a simple search form that is easy to use for even novice users, avoid using drop-down lists in the form, because they tend to cognitively overload users.
- Compactness makes search forms easier to peruse. Therefore, make search forms as compact as possible. Most users visually navigate a form broadly before they can understand its scope, so the smaller the area of a page over which they’re forced to navigate, the better. In our tests, the site search form that performed best was that on Flickr. Their search form is very compact, with a label placed over the input field, so users need look at only one place on the page. Thus, our test results suggest that the ideal location for the label of an input field in a search form is left aligned, immediately above the field.
- Consistent placement of search forms in a standard location on Web pages overcomes some of the problems of unlabeled input fields. If you don’t want to label the input field, at least place your search form in a discrete area of the page where it’s simple for users to understand its purpose. If you do so, your form will serve not only pro users, who usually don’t look at the labels, but also rookies, who rely heavily on such labels to perform their tasks.
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