[Sigia-l] Required fields indicator

[Sulleiro, Andres]

Hi all,

I would like to open up the discussion about indicating what fields are required on a web form. One common way of addressing this is by making the text field label bold and adding an asterisk, such as:

         *E-Mail Address: [_________]

Some sites add a message indicating that there are required fields in the form, such as:

         Bold Fields with Asterisk * are required


I'm looking for best practices for the indicator (i.e. the asterisk) as well as the explanatory legend (i.e. "bold fields with asterisk * are required"). Not so much interested in the actual look and feel of the indicator (color, symbol, etc), but the condition of use. What do you think are the best practices in the following situations:

- When a form has a mix of required and optional fields.
- When a form has a ton of required fields and one or two optional.
- When a multi-page system has all fields required except a couple on a page.
- When all the fields in a form are required.
- When all the fields in a form are optional.
- Simple forms like a log-in screen, search engine.
- Etc, etc.


Thoughts?

I'll be happy to summarize and post the results.

--Andrés