We’d just like to give a shout out and a warm THANK YOU to our amazing student callers. They’re revving up for end of fiscal year, so if your phone rings, be sure to give them a moment of your time and help them reach their goals. They’re so excited to talk with you about their beloved UMBC.

Give our student callers a shout out of your own on the UMBC Phonathon Facebook page!

There’s a plethora of new HTML5 form input types (13 new ones to be exact) that make creating engaging and easy-to-use web forms much easier for web designers. The new HTML5 input types give us data validation, date picker controls, color picker controls, inline help text, and more in the web browsers that support them.

Advantage of HTML5 Form Input Types

The benefits of these new input types are tremendous for web designers.

First, the new input types reduce our reliance on client-side- and server-side-scripting for validating common data types like dates, email addresses, and URLs.

For mobile UI developers: You know that creating cross-platform web forms using HTML4 standards is a pain. Using HTML5 form input types could make things easier.

For instance, a form written with HTML5 can utilize the mobile device’s native specialized keyboards depending on what the target input type is.

Here’s an example of using HTML4 input types (on the left) for entering dates in a web form versus using the HTML5 date input type (on the right):

The difference between using HTML4 versus the HTML5 date input type.

Notice how the iPhone’s native keyboard automatically switches over to its native date picker control because it knows that the target input is a date.

Here are other examples.

url Input Type

email Input Type

The New HTML5 Form Input Types

Here’s a table of all the new HTML5 input types for your reference.

HTML5 Form Input Types Demo

Here’s a live demo of each input type so that you can play around with them.

Note: This demo page will only work on browsers that support these input types, so it might not work properly when you view it.

We also recommend viewing this demo page on different browsers so you can see how each browser treats these input types; they differ drastically in some cases.

• HTML5 form input type demo page

Let’s talk about the new input types.

date

The calendar date picker is a standard UI design pattern for allowing users to enter date information in web forms. This is useful for asking users to enter their date of birth or credit card expiration date.

This UI pattern is so common that in HTML5, there’s now the date input type that makes it dead-simple to include date pickers in your web forms. No more JavaScript or server-side programming or installing jQuery plugins, you just need HTML markup (and CSS to make it look prettier).

datetime

This input type is designed to take in a global date and time string.

datetime-local

This input type is for a local date and time string.

month

If you want to allow users to enter a month, this is the input type to use.

week

If you want to allow users to enter a week (such as the 31st week of 2013) this is the input type to use.

time

This is for inputting the time in the the day. Some browsers will use military time by default (e.g. 16:00), while others use the AM/PM format (e.g. 4:00PM).

color

The color picker UI design pattern is a way of allowing users to choose a color. The color input type gives you a form input control for a picking hexadecimal color value.

Some browsers (like Safari) won’t show you a color picker UI though, they’ll just check whether or not the data is a hexadecimal color code (e.g. #000000).

email

In HTML5-compatible browsers, this input type is set to validate the entered data for the correct email address syntax.

tel

This input type is ideal for taking in phone numbers.

search

The search input type is meant to be used with a data set such as the datalist HTML element or the results of querying a MySQL database. It searches the data set for a match, and also gives you a list of suggestions as you type (which is called the autocomplete user interface pattern).

range

This input type is another way to get number-related data from users. By default, it has a slider user interface.

number

This input type restricts data entries only to numerical values. If you include min and max attributes, it also validates the data input to make sure the number is between the min/max values.

url

Theis input type validates the entered data to make sure that it follows the standard URL format.

Conclusion

These additional input types in HTML5 help us build user-centered web forms easier. The modern web designer no longer needs to break his/her back in order to enable more complex data input patterns.

The times are changing for all of us. Let’s not forget to update our forms to match.

Related Content

• 10 Useful Infographics about HTML5
• Introduction to HTML5 Web Storage
• HTML5 Canvas Element Guide
• Related categories: HTML5 and User Interface

About the Author

Yigit Kocak is an online web form specialist at JotForm, a service dedicated to help people create, manage, and share online forms.

The post A Guide to the New HTML5 Form Input Types appeared first on Six Revisions.

I think it’s safe to say that we all love a bit of web nostalgia. Towards the end of last year the Space Jam website — which hasn’t been updated since 1996 — started doing the rounds on Twitter once again and even more recently so did this website from November 1992, which has been widely reported to be one of the first ever.

Today we’re going to take another trip down memory lane and look back on some more old websites that are still up and running. Prepare to smile, laugh and cringe at was is the ultimate reminder of just how far the web has come.

CNN Year in Review 1996

The web page for CNN’s Year in Review 1996. Anybody below the age of 17 wasn’t even born when this page went live.

Batman The Motion Picture Anthology 1989-1997

The all Flash website for the Batman Motion Picture Anthology 1989-1997. No share via Facebook and Twitter options here, it was all about e-mail and AOL Instant Messenger.

Miss Congeniality

Another all Flash website, this time for the movie ‘Miss Congeniality’. Splash screens, loading screens, pop up windows — this one had it all.

The Million Dollar Homepage

One of the first ideas I can recall that made me think “I wish I’d thought of that”. Alex Tew’s classic ‘The Million Dollar Homepage’ was set up as a way for him to raise money for his University education. 

IFINDIT

 ”The largest super search guide on the net” complete with standard ‘Under Construction’ sign.

Billy Elliot

The official website for the movie ‘Billy Elliot’, features more pop-up windows than the movie does pirouettes.

You’ve Got Mail

The official website for the movie ‘You’ve Got Mail’, which features an optional Flash intro that lasts approximately 15 seconds.

Ingen (Jurassic Park: The Lost World)

Even in 1997 they were creating websites for fictional companies. Check out this one for InGen (International Genetics Technologies) from the movie ‘Jurassic Park: The Lost World’.

Battlefield Earth

The official website for the book ‘Battlefield Earth’ by author L. Ron Hubbard. A combination of Flash and HTML which perhaps bizarrely but also quite conveniently features a Flash intro which can only be viewed once the main site has already loaded.

I am Jackie Chan: My Life in Action

The official website for the book ‘Jackie Chan: My Life in Action’ and your one stop shop for facts about the man himself.

2001: A Space Odyssey

The official website for the movie ’2001: A Space Odyssey’. Unfortunately there was no Typekit back then so Kubrick’s beloved Futura doesn’t feature.

Wild Wild West

The official website for the movie ‘Wild Wild West’. A nightmare to navigate but hey, it was the 90′s I guess.

Internet Explorer is Evil

Internet Explorer is Evil – a site that proves developers’ dislike for IE goes back more than a few years.

Jason Santa Maria

The first website of designer Jason Santa Maria. Like a lot of people Jason started his career using Flash but just four years and two versions of his website later he was picking up a Web Standards Award.

Phil Gyford

The first website of designer/developer Phil Gyford. Designed in 1995, Phil said himself it was originally intended for a 640×480 monitor.

Equipoise Webcraft

Andrew Hedge’s first freelancing site — a design typical of the 90′s but quite surprisingly it features snippets of content still relevant to the web today.

Do you have any old favourites that are still up and running? What sites should be relegated to the history books? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Thirsty Rough Font Family – only $9!

I think it’s safe to say that we all love a bit of web nostalgia. Towards the end of last year the Space Jam website — which hasn’t been updated since 1996 — started doing the rounds on Twitter once again and even more recently so did this website from November 1992, which has been widely reported to be one of the first ever.

Today we’re going to take another trip down memory lane and look back on some more old websites that are still up and running. Prepare to smile, laugh and cringe at was is the ultimate reminder of just how far the web has come.

CNN Year in Review 1996

The web page for CNN’s Year in Review 1996. Anybody below the age of 17 wasn’t even born when this page went live.

Batman The Motion Picture Anthology 1989-1997

The all Flash website for the Batman Motion Picture Anthology 1989-1997. No share via Facebook and Twitter options here, it was all about e-mail and AOL Instant Messenger.

Miss Congeniality

Another all Flash website, this time for the movie ‘Miss Congeniality’. Splash screens, loading screens, pop up windows — this one had it all.

The Million Dollar Homepage

One of the first ideas I can recall that made me think “I wish I’d thought of that”. Alex Tew’s classic ‘The Million Dollar Homepage’ was set up as a way for him to raise money for his University education. 

IFINDIT

 ”The largest super search guide on the net” complete with standard ‘Under Construction’ sign.

Billy Elliot

The official website for the movie ‘Billy Elliot’, features more pop-up windows than the movie does pirouettes.

You’ve Got Mail

The official website for the movie ‘You’ve Got Mail’, which features an optional Flash intro that lasts approximately 15 seconds.

Ingen (Jurassic Park: The Lost World)

Even in 1997 they were creating websites for fictional companies. Check out this one for InGen (International Genetics Technologies) from the movie ‘Jurassic Park: The Lost World’.

Battlefield Earth

The official website for the book ‘Battlefield Earth’ by author L. Ron Hubbard. A combination of Flash and HTML which perhaps bizarrely but also quite conveniently features a Flash intro which can only be viewed once the main site has already loaded.

I am Jackie Chan: My Life in Action

The official website for the book ‘Jackie Chan: My Life in Action’ and your one stop shop for facts about the man himself.

2001: A Space Odyssey

The official website for the movie ’2001: A Space Odyssey’. Unfortunately there was no Typekit back then so Kubrick’s beloved Futura doesn’t feature.

Wild Wild West

The official website for the movie ‘Wild Wild West’. A nightmare to navigate but hey, it was the 90′s I guess.

Internet Explorer is Evil

Internet Explorer is Evil – a site that proves developers’ dislike for IE goes back more than a few years.

Jason Santa Maria

The first website of designer Jason Santa Maria. Like a lot of people Jason started his career using Flash but just four years and two versions of his website later he was picking up a Web Standards Award.

Phil Gyford

The first website of designer/developer Phil Gyford. Designed in 1995, Phil said himself it was originally intended for a 640×480 monitor.

Equipoise Webcraft

Andrew Hedge’s first freelancing site — a design typical of the 90′s but quite surprisingly it features snippets of content still relevant to the web today.

Do you have any old favourites that are still up and running? What sites should be relegated to the history books? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Convert Photoshop Layers into CSS – only $19!

Facebook has scholarships for students to attend the 2013 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing Conference, which will be held in the first week of October in Minneapolis.

The Facebook Grace Hopper Scholarships will provide 25 students with an all-expenses paid, six-day trip to the 2013 Grace Hopper Conference. In addition to attending conference mentoring, networking, and career development events, the 25 scholarship winners will meet with Facebook director of engineering Jocelyn Goldfein, see the sights of Minneapolis before the conference, and receive a $200 meal stipend.

The scholarships are open to full-time undergraduate or graduate students who are pursuing a degree program in computer science, computer engineering, or a related technical major.

To apply fill out the online application form, attach your résumé and complete a short coding challenge. Applications must be completed by Sunday, June 16, 2013. Award recipients will be notified by June 21.