15 Actionable Tips to Make Your Webflow Forms Accessible

The impact of inaccessible forms cannot be overstated—they present a significant obstacle for users with disabilities, excluding them from essential online activities such as accessing information, submitting applications, or participating in surveys. Beyond the frustration and alienation for these users, inaccessible forms also result in missed opportunities for businesses and organizations to engage with a broader audience, potentially losing valuable customers.

Addressing this challenge begins with awareness: educating teams, including developers and designers, on the importance of creating inclusive forms. By adhering to accessibility standards like the WCAG and incorporating feedback from users with disabilities through regular testing, you can ensure that online forms are designed for everyone.

This commitment to accessibility fosters a more inclusive digital landscape and unlocks opportunities for all.  

Here is a list of recommendations to help you design accessible forms. While these guidelines can be applied universally to all forms across platforms and methods, we've tailored them to be particularly relevant for your Webflow builds.

1. Craft clear form names and descriptions

Responsible: Copywriters / UX Designers

Ensure that the form name and description clearly reflect its purpose and provide clarity for users.

• Use a specific and descriptive name that immediately communicates the form's function. For instance, rather than using a generic title like "Survey Form," opt for something precise like "Employee Satisfaction Survey" or "Product Feedback Survey."
• Keep the description concise, explaining the form's purpose in plain language without resorting to technical terms or complicated phrasing.

2. Maintain clear and logical order of the input fields

Responsible: UX Designers

Arranging form fields in a clear and logical sequence is essential for creating a seamless and accessible user experience, particularly for individuals using screen readers. Here's an example of an effective field order:

• First name
• Last name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Message

This order reflects a natural flow, aligning with user expectations and enhancing overall usability. By maintaining logical progression, you help users navigate and complete the form effortlessly

3. If your form has links make them descriptive

Responsible: Copywriters / UX Designers

When including links in your form fields, it's important to ensure their names are purposeful, descriptive, and accessible. Here's how you can achieve that:

1. Use Descriptive Link Names: Replace vague terms like "Click Here" or "Read More" with specific descriptions that reflect the link's content. For example, instead of "More Info," use "Explore Career Opportunities" or "Download Pricing Guide."
2. Ensure Contextual Clarity: Make sure link names are meaningful even when read out of context by a screen reader, so users understand the purpose of the link without additional information.
3. Incorporate Action-Oriented Language: Use verbs to indicate the link's function. For instance, instead of "Details," use "View Event Details" or "Learn About Membership Benefits.
4. Keep Link Text Concise: Maintain clarity without making the text overly lengthy, as excessively long links can confuse users.
5. Create Unique Link Names: Avoid duplicating link text for different destinations to prevent confusion. Each link should have a distinctive and recognizable name.

4. Make sure field labels and placeholders are clear

Responsible: UX Designers

When users interact with a form field, clarity is key—they should instantly understand what information they need to provide. This can be achieved by using explicit, descriptive labels.

For example:

Instead of using "Email," update the label to say "Enter Your Email Address" to specify the input expected.

For a "Name" field, revise it to "Enter Your Full Name" to clarify that both first and last names are required.

These small but effective changes can eliminate ambiguity and enhance the user experience, making the form more intuitive and user-friendly. Clear labels ensure that users can complete forms effortlessly, reducing errors and frustration.

5. Customize your error messages

Responsible: UX Designer / Web Developer

Clear and well-designed error messages are crucial for creating a user-friendly and accessible form. Customize your error messages in the Form Settings to assist users who rely on screen readers in correcting mistakes while filling out the form. Your error messages should clearly explain what went wrong and provide guidance on how to resolve the issue.

For instance, instead of using a generic error message for large file uploads, you could say: "The file you uploaded exceeds the 5 MB size limit. Please upload a smaller file."

Avoid using technical terms that might confuse users. Additionally, make sure to test your form thoroughly with screen readers to confirm that the error messages are clearly communicated to users with visual impairments.

Webflow offers default messages for empty required fields based on their type. Those messages are not customizable.

The error state of Webflow forms is completely customizable. This message is returned when there’s an issue with form submission. Webflow recommends including an email address in the error state in case site visitors have trouble submitting the form.

6. Use clear form instructions

Responsible: UX Designer / Web Developer

Do not rely on placeholder text to convey essential information. Important details needed for successful form submission should be included in a label or as instructions below the field. Providing clear and detailed guidance for each form field ensures accessibility for users with disabilities and improves data accuracy.

Best Practices for Form Instructions:

• Use labels and instructions instead of placeholder text.
• Be specific and clear. Avoid vague directions like "Fill in this field."
• Define required formats. If a field requires a specific format, state it explicitly.

Examples:

Name field: Enter your full name as it appears on official documents. Do not use abbreviations.

Phone field: Enter your 10-digit phone number without spaces or hyphens.

File Upload field: Upload a PDF or Word document (max size: 5 MB) that supports your application.

When specifying formatting rules, focus on what users should do rather than what they shouldn’t. Instead of "Do not enter special characters," say "Use only alphanumeric characters and hyphens." Clear instructions enhance usability for all users, including those relying on assistive technology.

7. Clearly identify mandatory fields

Responsible: UX Designer / Web Developer

When users know which fields are required upfront, they can complete forms efficiently, reducing frustration and the likelihood of abandonment. This prevents unnecessary trial and error, making the submission process smoother. Additionally, clear indications of required fields enhance accessibility by helping users who rely on screen readers and assistive technology navigate forms with ease. Marking mandatory fields also ensures data quality and completeness, as users are more likely to provide all necessary information, minimizing the need for follow-ups. Finally, it saves time for both users and businesses—users don’t have to guess which fields are required, and businesses receive complete and accurate data, reducing processing delays and errors.

Best Practices for Indicating Required Fields:

• Use an asterisk (*) or the word "Required" next to mandatory fields.
• Provide clear error messages if a required field is left empty.
• Avoid making too many fields mandatory, as this can discourage users.

8. Pay attention to color contrast

Responsible: UI Designer / Web Developer

Color contrast plays a crucial role in making online forms accessible to visually impaired users. Individuals with low vision or color blindness may struggle to read text that does not stand out clearly against the background. Additionally, some screen readers convert text to black or white, which can make low-contrast text illegible.

To enhance readability, consider customizing your form’s style with a simple, high-contrast design. If your form includes multiple colors for sections or headers, test the text contrast against each background to ensure clarity. When using background images, make sure the text remains easily readable.

For better usability, implement high-contrast focus colors to highlight active fields and maintain strong color contrast between button text and button backgrounds. These adjustments improve visibility, enhance user interaction, and create a more accessible experience for all users.

Webflow has a built-in color contrast checker—use it extensively.

9. Check font legibility

Responsible: UI Designer / Web Developer

Choosing a clear, easy-to-read font is essential for accessibility. Avoid decorative or script fonts, as they can be difficult for users with visual impairments or cognitive disabilities to read. Opt for a font size that ensures readability—at least 16px for regular text and 14px for bold text.

Additionally, use italics and bold text sparingly to maintain readability and prevent visual strain.

10. Introduce sections or steps for long forms

Responsible: UX Designer / Web Developer

For long forms, improve usability by breaking them into sections with clear headers and grouping related fields together. This structured approach enhances navigation and accessibility. If the form is particularly lengthy, consider using a multistep format to guide users through each section progressively, reducing cognitive load and improving the overall experience.

Challenges & Best Practices when making multistep forms:

⚠️ Navigation Flexibility – Ensure users can move forward and backward easily without losing previously entered data.

⚠️ Screen Reader Compatibility – Each step should have clear headings and ARIA landmarks to ensure assistive technologies recognize transitions.

⚠️ Error Handling – Validate input at each step and provide clear, accessible error messages before allowing users to proceed.

⚠️ Time Constraints – Avoid auto-advancing steps or adding time limits, which can create barriers for users needing more time.

By designing multistep forms with these considerations in mind, you can make them more accessible to users with disabilities, ensuring a smoother and more inclusive experience.

11. Forms in multiple languages

Responsible: Web Developer

If your form is available in multiple languages, make sure that error messages and choice names in selection-based fields are also translated. Untranslated text can confuse users, leading to misinterpretation of errors or incorrect selections.

12. Dropdown in the forms

Responsible: Web Developer

We recommend using default dropdown options instead of custom-built solutions. Native dropdowns support keyboard navigation with arrow keys, making them more accessible for users who rely on assistive technologies like screen readers. While custom styles may enhance aesthetics, accessibility should take priority in this case to ensure a seamless user experience.

13. Prefill fields when possible

Responsible: Web Developer

Avoid asking for the same information more than once in a form. Repeating questions can frustrate users, particularly those with cognitive disabilities.  Instead, consider pre-filling known details (such as in redirected forms) or using conditional logic to display only relevant fields when needed.

In Webflow, pre-filling and conditional logic require custom code. In some cases, animations can be used to reveal specific fields based on user actions. However, be cautious—if not implemented carefully, animations can create accessibility issues.

14. Let users know what will happen next

Responsible: UX Designer / Copywriter

It’s important to give users a clear idea of what to expect after they submit a form. This helps set expectations and reduce confusion.

For example:

"Thank you for your submission! You will receive a confirmation email shortly with the next steps." - The success message includes information about the next steps.

"Once your form is submitted, our team will review your request and contact you within 48 hours." - The form submission includes information about the next steps.

These explanations offer clarity and reassure users about the process following form submission.

15. Form submission confirmation

Responsible: UX Designer / Copywriter / Web Developer

To clearly identify that a form has been successfully submitted, you should display a confirmation message or visual indicator immediately after submission. This assures users that their submission was successful and prevents confusion.

For example:

Confirmation Message: "Your form has been successfully submitted! Thank you for your input. We will get back to you shortly."

Visual Indicator: A checkmark icon or a green success banner at the top of the page can reinforce that the submission was successful. Don't forget to add an alt text for such visual asset.

These elements should be displayed immediately after submission and remain visible long enough for users to notice before they proceed.

Confirmation can be simple or more detailed, like on Rapid Fire's Service pages.