HTML Form Elements

This chapter describes all the different HTML form elements.

The HTML <form> Elements

The HTML <form> element can contain one or more of the following form elements:

• <input>
• <label>
• <select>
• <textarea>
• <button>
• <fieldset>
• <legend>
• <datalist>
• <output>
• <option>
• <optgroup>

The <input> Element

One of the most used form elements is the <input> element.

The <input> element can be displayed in several ways, depending on the type attribute.

Example

<label for="fname">First name:</label>
<input type="text" id="fname" name="fname">

The <label> Element

The <label> element defines a label for several form elements.

The <label> element is useful for screen-reader users because the screen reader will read out loud the label when the user focuses on the input element.

The <label> element also helps users who have difficulty clicking on very small regions (such as radio buttons or checkboxes) — because when the user clicks the text within the <label> element, it toggles the radio button or checkbox.

The for attribute of the <label> tag should be equal to the id attribute of the <input> element to bind them together.

The <select> Element

The <select> element defines a drop-down list:

Example

<label for="cars">Choose a car:</label>
<select id="cars" name="cars">
  <option value="volvo">Volvo</option>
  <option value="saab">Saab</option>
  <option value="fiat">Fiat</option>
  <option value="audi">Audi</option>
</select>

The <option> Element

The <option> element defines an option that can be selected.

By default, the first item in the drop-down list is selected.

To define a pre-selected option, add the selected attribute to the option:

Example

<option value="fiat" selected>Fiat</option>