Name and address fields commonly appear together and often accompany other form patterns in single or multi-step forms.
Best practices
Name inputs
When a name is required, remember to only ask for what’s absolutely necessary. Sometimes data requirements necessitate asking for ‘First name’ and ‘Last name’ as separate values. Where this isn’t the case, always use a combined name field (‘Full name’). This approach is culturally inclusive and makes forms usable for everyone, regardless of culture.
In cases where additional name data is mandatory (middle name, former last name etc.), be sure to include helper text that explains why this data is needed.
Name fields should always be grouped together and are typically the first inputs in a larger form.
Addresses
Wherever possible, integrate with a location service that enables autocompletion as a user begins entering their street address. For example; if most addresses are expected to be in Manitoba, have country and province fields preselected with the option to change.
Avoid using a large dropdown menu for country selection in favour of a text input with autocomplete.
Avoid dropdowns for selecting street type (St., Ave, Dr. etc) in favour of one text input field for street data.
Ensure postal code fields match the length of the expected input. Wherever possible, consider auto-completing the postal code field based on the address entered.
Do: Ensure field length matches data length
Don't: Use fields that are too long for the expected data
Example
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