The Social Justice Dynamics of Good Form Structure

Forms are one of the simplest types of structured, executable code, yet forms are also one of the most important features used on websites and social media platforms.

Here I'd like to bring your attention to the sensitive nature of the way forms are built and why it matters how they are constructed.

Forms Only Use a Few Attributes, But They Must Be Properly Ordered

Only a few essential attributes are used with the form element. The ones I mention here are considered because their sequential order should be respected.

Fieldset, Legend, Label, and input are some of the attributes of the form element. The order of their appearance in the algorithmic structure is important because people that don't use their sight, touch, or hearing(taste and smell are instinctively engaged on good web pages), but use screen readers such as Jaws and NVDA(mdn web docs, 2022), to access the web. Depend on their order for good understandable access to web forms.

Let's Consider This

What if a banking form or a social security number application form had a poor algorithmic structure?

The person using alternate devices to interpret a web form could potentially answer a question incorrectly, and not get a much-needed business loan or get denied for a mortgage.

They could also answer questions about their identity in error if the questions aren't recited to them in the proper order or context.

So those of us that take the simplicity of forms for granted, consider others that access the internet in different ways.

Let's make the world a better place!

With these words, I bid you...

Good night