Evaluating the Usability of Search Forms Using Eyetracking: A Practical Approach

The usability of forms is often massively important to the overall usability of a Web site. That's why we decided to subject some of these forms to a quick round of eyetracking tests and have analyzed the resulting data to better understand what makes Web forms usable--or unusable.

Penzo, Matteo. UXmatters (2006). Design>Web Design>Usability>Eye Tracking

Introduction to Eyetracking: Seeing Through Your Users' Eyes

Over the coming months, I'll use eyetracking to evaluate a lot of world-renowned user interfaces--including Web sites like Amazon.com, Google News, and eBay; Rich Internet Applications (RIAs); and desktop applications--and analyze quantitative eyetracking data to provide best practices for designing user interface elements like navigation systems, menus, and forms, and for effective ad placement.

Penzo, Matteo. UXmatters (2005). Design>Usability>Testing>Eye Tracking

Label Placement in Forms

Placing a label above an input field works better in most cases, because users aren't forced to look separately at the label and the input field. Be careful to visually separate the label for the next input field from the previous input field.

Penzo, Matteo. UXmatters (2006). Design>Web Design>Forms>Usability