HTML <form> Tag

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Description

The <form> element in HTML represents a section of a document that contains interactive controls to submit data to a server or process it locally. It acts as a container for various input elements, such as text fields, checkboxes, radio buttons, select menus, and buttons, allowing users to provide information in a structured way. Forms are a fundamental part of web applications, enabling functionalities such as user registration, login, search queries, feedback submission, and e-commerce transactions.

A form provides a structured environment where user inputs can be organized, validated, and sent to a server or handled through client-side scripts. Each form can have a variety of input controls, labels, and grouping elements like <fieldset> and <legend> to enhance accessibility and usability. Forms also facilitate communication between the user interface and server-side processes, often triggering actions when submitted through a button or other control.

The <form> element supports features like input validation, user guidance via placeholder text, and structured grouping of related fields, ensuring that the data collected is accurate and complete. Additionally, forms can be enhanced with JavaScript to provide dynamic behaviors, such as instant validation, interactive feedback, or conditional display of fields.

Properties

Permitted Parents: Any element that accepts flow content
Content: Block, inline, and text, but not containing <form> elements
Start/End Tags: Start tag: required, End tag: required

Example

HTML

<form action="" method="post">

  First name: <input type="text" name="first_name" /><br />

  Last name: <input type="text" name="last_name" /><br />

  <input type="submit" value="Submit" />

</form>

Result

Editor

Attributes

accept-charset

Specifies a list of character encodings that the server accepts.

action

Specifies a URI/URL of the page that will process the form.

autocomplete

Specifies whether a form should have autocomplete on or off.

enctype

Specifies the content type used to encode the form data set when it's submitted to the server.
Possible values:

application/x-www-form-urlencoded (default)
multipart/form-data (use this when uploading files)

method

Specifies the HTTP method to use when the form is submitted.
Possible values:

get (the form data is appended to the URL when submitted)
post (the form data is not appended to the URL)

name

Assigns a name to the form. This is used when referencing the form with stylesheets or scripts. If there are multiple forms, the name of each form must be unique.

novalidate

Specifies that the form should not be validated when submitted.

target

Specifies where to open the action URL.
Possible Values:

_blank
_parent
_self
_top

Global Attributes

The <form> tag also supports the Global Attributes in HTML5

Event Attributes

The <form> tag also supports the Event Attributes in HTML5

Browser Support

The following information will show you the current browser support for the HTML <form> tag. Hover over a browser icon to see the version that first introduced support for this HTML tag.