Chris Hill-Scott 9aa4a7267a Use <button> not <input>s for form submission ...

Both `<button type='submit'>Submit<button>` and
`<input type='submit' value='Submit'>` can be used to submit a form.

We have historically[1] used `<input>` because it’s better-supported by
IE6 in that:
- the `submit` attribute is mandatory on `<button>`, not on `<input>`
- the `innerHTML` of a button will be submitted to the server, not the
  value (as in other browsers)

Reasons to now use `<button>` instead:
- IE6/7 support is no longer a concern (especially with deprecation of
  TLS 1.0 on the way)
- Because an `<input>` element can’t have children, the pseudo-element
  hack[2] used to ensure the top edge of the button is clickable doesn’t
  work. We’re seeing this bug[3] affect real users in research.

1. We inhereted our buttons from Digital Marketplace, here is me making
   that change in their code:  https://github.com/alphagov/digitalmarketplace-frontend-toolkit/commit/8df7e2e79e53f85e26ca69d0439a5c7879323cd0#diff-b1420f7b7a25657d849edf90a70ef541
2. https://github.com/alphagov/govuk_frontend_toolkit/commit/24e1906c0d908f0e15609ad2376feb7dd56f5731#diff-ef0e4eb6f1e90b44b0c3fe39dce274a4R79

3. https://github.com/alphagov/govuk_elements/issues/545

2018-02-01 13:53:45 +00:00

2.6 KiB

Raw Blame History

View Raw