Ben Barden

Product management and process tips

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UX 101: put the cursor in the first field

When loading a page where a form is the focal point of the page, always put the cursor in the first field. This allows the user to start typing immediately.

A good example is when you go to create a new blog post at WordPress.com. Have you noticed how it works?

  1. When the New Post page loads, the cursor goes right into the Title field.
  2. After typing your title, hit the Tab key. Now you’re right in the Body field.

The little details make all the difference.

There’s an exception though. If there’s a search box on a page where the main function isn’t search, don’t put the cursor in the field. If the user scrolls down when the page is still loading, the cursor can make the page jump back up to the top so the search box is visible.

Putting the cursor into the first field is really useful for speeding things up for the user. You’ll notice it the most if you have a lot of repetitive data entry to do. Anything you can do to reduce a mouse click and get the user started much faster will help to make your screens a joy to use.

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UX 101: hit Enter to submit

Usability testing is something I do a lot. Whether I’m testing what my technical team has built, or I’m using a website or app for the first time, I have some expectations when it comes to how the application behaves.

I’ve found there can be quite big differences between how the front-end of a site works, and how the admin screens work. The front-end is more important if you have a large userbase, but staff shouldn’t be ignored when it comes to UX.

One of the main things is being able to hit Enter to submit. This goes for simple search forms with a text field and a Submit button, or longer forms that are used for things like registration.

Hitting Enter is important particularly on long forms, as if you type a lot of information it’s possible to fill it in completely using the keyboard. Hitting Enter in the last field will submit the form.

It’s also handy if you can type into a search box and hit Enter to submit. This doesn’t always work however, as search forms are sometimes custom coded and the Enter key can end up doing nothing at all.

Allowing users to hit the Enter key to submit a form is a small but important benefit for making your forms user-friendly.