What is HTML Form?
HTML Form is a document that stores information of a user on a web server using interactive controls. An HTML form contains different kinds of information such as username, password, contact number, email id, etc.
The elements used in an HTML form are the check box, input box, radio buttons, submit buttons, etc. Using these elements the information of a user is submitted on a web server.
The form tag is used to create an HTML form.
Example of an HTML Form:
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<form>
Username:<br>
<input type="text" name="username">
<br>
Email id:<br>
<input type="text" name="email_id">
<br><br>
<input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>
</body>
</html>
|
Output:
Input Element in HTML Forms: Input Elements are the most common elements which are used in HTML Forms. Various user input fields can be created such as text field, check box, password field, radio button, submit button, etc. The most common input elements are listed below:
Text Field in HTML Forms: The text field is a one-line input field allowing the user to input text. Text Field input controls are created using the “input” element with a type attribute having the value “text”.
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h3>Example Of Text Field</h3>
<form>
<label for="EMAIL ID">
Email Id:
</label>
<br>
<input type="text" name="Email id"
id="Email id">
</form>
</body>
</html>
|
Output:
Number Field in HTML Forms: This field is used to take numbers as input.
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h3>Example Of Number Field</h3>
<form>
<label for="Age">Age:</label><br>
<input type="number" name="Age" id="Age">
</form>
</body>
</html>
|
Output:
Password Field in HTML Forms: Password fields are a type of text field in which the text entered is masked using asterisks or dots for the prevention of user identity from another person who is looking at the screen. Password Field input controls are created using the “input” element with a type attribute having the value “password”.
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h3>Example of Password Field</h3>
<form>
<label for="user-password">
Password:
</label><br>
<input type="password" name="user-pwd"
id="user-password">
</form>
</body>
</html>
|
Output:
Radio Buttons in HTML Form: Radio Buttons are used to let the user select exactly one option from a list of predefined options. Radio Button input controls are created using the “input” element with a type attribute having the value as “radio”.
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h3>Example of Radio Buttons</h3>
<form>
SELECT GENDER
<br>
<input type="radio" name="gender" id="male">
<label for="male">Male</label><br>
<input type="radio" name="gender" id="female">
<label for="female">Female</label>
</form>
</body>
</html>
|
Output:
Checkboxes in HTML Form: Checkboxes are used to let the user select one or more options from a pre-defined set of options. Checkbox input controls are created using the “input” element with a type attribute having the value as “checkbox”.
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h3>Example of HTML Checkboxes</h3>
<form>
<b>SELECT SUBJECTS</b>
<br>
<input type="checkbox" name="subject" id="maths">
<label for="maths">Maths</label>
<input type="checkbox" name="subject" id="science">
<label for="science">Science</label>
<input type="checkbox" name="subject" id="english">
<label for="english">English</label>
</form>
</body>
</html>
|
Output:
File select boxes in HTML Forms: File select boxes are used to allow the user to select a local file and send it as an attachment to the web server. It is similar to a text box with a button that allows the user to browse for a file. Instead of browsing for the file, the path and the name of the file can also be written. File select boxes are created using the “input” element with a type attribute having the value as “file”.
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h3>Example of a File Select Box</h3>
<form>
<label for="fileselect">Upload:</label>
<input type="file" name="upload"
id="fileselect">
</form>
</body>
</html>
|
Output:
Text area in an HTML Form: Text Area is a multiple-line text input control that allows the user to provide a description or text in multiple lines. A Text Area input control is created using the “textarea” element.
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h3>Example of a Text Area Box</h3>
<form>
<label for="Description">Description:</label>
<textarea rows="5" cols="50" name="Description"
id="Description">
</textarea>
</form>
</body>
</html>
|
Output:
Select Boxes in HTML Forms: Select boxes are used to allow users to select one or more than one option from a pull-down list of options. Select boxes are created using two elements which are “select” and “option”. List items are defined within the select element.
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h3>Example of a Select Box</h3>
<form>
<label for="country">Country:</label>
<select name="country" id="country">
<option value="India">India</option>
<option value="Sri Lanka">Sri Lanka</option>
<option value="Australia">Australia</option>
</select>
</form>
</body>
</html>
|
Output:
Reset And Submit Buttons: The Submit Button allows the user to send the form data to the web server. The Reset Button is used to reset the form data and use the default values.
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h3>Example of a Submit And Reset Button</h3>
<form action="test.php" method="post" id="users">
<label for="username">Username:</label>
<input type="text" name="username" id="Username">
<input type="submit" value="Submit">
<input type="reset" value="Reset">
</form>
</body>
</html>
|
Output:
Attributes Used in HTML Forms:
The Action Attribute: The action to be performed after the submission of the form is decided by the action attribute. Generally, the form data is sent to a webpage on the web server after the user clicks on the submit button.
Example:
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<h3>Example of a Submit And Reset Button</h3>
<form action="test.php" method="post" id="users">
<label for="username">Username:</label>
<input type="text" name="username" id="Username">
<input type="submit" value="Submit">
<input type="reset" value="Reset">
</form>
</body>
</html>
|
If you click the submit button, the form data
would be sent to a page called test.php .
The Target Attribute in HTML Forms: The Target attribute is used to specify whether the submitted result will open in the current window, a new tab, or a new frame. The default value used is “self” which results in the form submission in the same window. For making the form result open in a new browser tab, the value should be set to “blank”.
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<form action="/test.php" target="_blank">
Username:<br>
<input type="text" name="username">
<br>
Password:<br>
<input type="password" name="password">
<br><br>
<input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>
</body>
</html>
|
After clicking on the submit button, the result
will open in a new browser tab.
Name Attribute in Html Forms: The name attribute is required for each input field. If the name attribute is not specified in an input field then the data of that field would not be sent at all.
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<form action="/test.php" target="_blank">
Username:<br>
<input type="text">
<br>
Password:<br>
<input type="password" name="password">
<br><br>
<input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>
</body>
</html>
|
In the above code, after clicking the submit button, the form data will
be sent to a page called /test.php. The data sent would not include the
username input field data since the name attribute is omitted.
The Method Attribute: It is used to specify the HTTP method used to send data while submitting the form. There are two kinds of HTTP Methods, which are GET and POST.
The GET Method:
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<form action="/test.php" target="_blank"
method="GET">
Username:<br>
<input type="text" name="username">
<br>
Password:<br>
<input type="password" name="password">
<br><br>
<input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>
</body>
</html>
|
In the GET method, after the submission of the form, the form values
will be visible in the address bar of the new browser tab.
The Post Method:
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<body>
<form action="/test.php" target="_blank"
method="post">
Username:<br>
<input type="text" name="username">
<br>
Password:<br>
<input type="password" name="password">
<br><br>
<input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>
</body>
</html>
|
In the post method, after the submission of the form, the form values
will not be visible in the address bar of the new browser tab as it was
visible in the GET method.
Supported Browsers:
- Google Chrome
- Internet Explorer
- Firefox
- Opera
- Safari
HTML is the foundation of webpages and is used for webpage development by structuring websites and web apps. You can learn HTML from the ground up by following this HTML Tutorial and HTML Examples.