While building a website, what you must prioritize is the user experience. Input element attributes If you are into web development, you must be familiar with the term input element attributes.

In this blog, we are going to discuss just that. I will explain to you the input tag and 5 must-know input attributes that are used for web development. 

Input Tag

The input HTML element is a handy tag for creating interactive web-based forms to get data from the user. Depending on the device and user agent, a wide variety of input data control widgets are available. 

The input tag is very powerful and complex to a large number of combinations of input types and attributes. 

Let’s take an example of an input tag. Here, we took an input tag to enter the name in which the user can fill in a minimum 4 characters of his/her name and a maximum of 8 characters. 

The image shown below shows how the HTML code will be displayed in an editor. 

image 123

The image below shows how the output above will be displayed in a browser.

image 124

So, this is the way you can accept the data from the user. There are many types of input tags. A few of them are text, button, checkbox, radio, datetime-local, range, and search. You should note that the default value of the type attribute is “text.”

It is important to note that the behaviour of a <input> changes significantly depending on the value of its type attribute; as a result, the various kinds are described in their own individual reference pages. If this property is not supplied, the text type will be used as the default value.

Input Attributes

The <Input> element is very powerful because of its attributes. The type attribute is very important in this. Since every <input> element, regardless of type, is based on the HTMLInputElement interface, This is because they both almost share the exact same set of attributes.

However, in reality, it has an effect on a specific type of subset of input type. In addition, some attributes impact an input type but can differ with the different attributes. 

Here, we have listed some essential Input-type attributes that a developer should know very well:

1. Minilength

This attribute only works with the text, search, tel, URL, email, or password type in the input element. The minlength attribute specifies the minimum character that is to be entered in the input box, like UTF-16 code units. 

This must be a non-negative integer value smaller than or equal to the value specified in maxlength. If there is not a value given to the minlength or an invalid value is specified, then input has no minimum length.

The form submission will fail if there is less number of characters entered in the input box than the minlength.

The image below shows how the HTML code will be displayed in an editor.

Minilength HTML code

The image below shows how the output above will be displayed in a browser.

image 125 1

2. Maxlength

This attribute also only works with the text, search, tel, URL, email, or password type in the input element like minilength. The maxlength attribute specifies the maximum character to be entered in the input box, like UTF-16 code units. 

This must be a non-negative integer value greater than or equal to the value specified in minlength. If a value is not given to the maxlength or an invalid value is specified, then the input has no maximum length. 

By default, browsers will prevent the user from entering the number of characters in the input box if it is more than the specified maxlength. 

The image below shows how the HTML code will be displayed in an editor.

image 126

The image below shows how the output above will be displayed in a browser.

image 127

3. Disabled

This is a boolean attribute. This attribute indicates that the user should not interact with the input. 

Disabled inputs specifically show in a dimmer colour using some other form of indication that it is not available for use. The disabled attribute does not receive the click event, and the value of the disabled form will not submit with the submission of the form.

The image below shows how the HTML code will be displayed in an editor.

image 128

The image below shows how the output above will be displayed in a browser.

Disabled output

4. Autofocus

This is also a boolean attribute like the disabled attribute. This indicates that the input box gets into focus when the page completes the loading process. Or when the input element containing the autofocus attribute is displayed.

Not more than one element has gained the autofocus attribute. If put with more than one element, the first one with the attribute will get focused since hidden inputs can not be focused. So, the autofocus attribute can be used with the hidden input types.

The image below shows how the HTML code will be displayed in an editor.

image 129

The image below shows how the output above will be displayed in a browser.

image 130

5. Placeholder

The placeholder is a string attribute. It is an attribute that provides an idea of the data that should be entered in the input field. 

It should be a word or a short phrase that hints about the kind of data to be entered into the input field rather than an explanation. So, for example, if a field is expected to capture a user's first name, and its label is “First Name,” a suitable placeholder might be “e.g., Bruce.”

The image below shows how the HTML code will be displayed in an editor.

image 131

The image below shows how the output above will be displayed in a browser.

image 132

Wrapping up

In this blog, I have introduced you to a few input element attributes that you should know, especially if you are a web developer. Using these attributes, you can control the input element in different ways in an HTML form or a webpage.

Although there are a lot of new attributes that are getting added day by day, including in the HTML, these are a few of the must-know attributes.

I hope this blog was helpful to you! Need a hand in web development or web design services? Feel free to contact us!

Editor: Amrutha

Frequently Asked Questions

Attributes of an HTML <input> element include:

  • Type: Specifies the input's type (e.g., text, checkbox, radio).
  • Name: Defines the input's name for form submission.
  • Value: Sets the initial value of the input.
  • Placeholder: Provides a hint or example text.
  • Required: Makes the input mandatory.
  • Disabled: Disables user interaction.
  • Read-only: Allows viewing but not editing.
  • Max length: Specifies the maximum input length.
  • Min and max: Define minimum and maximum values (for number inputs).
  • Pattern: Requires input to match a regular expression.
  • Autofocus: Automatically focuses on the input when the page loads.
  • Autocomplete: Enables or disables browser autocomplete.
  • Multiple: Allows selecting multiple files (for file inputs).
  • Accept: Specifies file types allowed (for file inputs).
  • Checked: Pre-selects a checkbox or radio button.
  • Id and class: For CSS and JavaScript targeting.
  • Aria-*: Attributes for accessibility.

Three common attributes of the <input> tag are:

  • Type: Specifies the input type (e.g., text, email, checkbox).
  • Name: Assigns a name to the input for form submission.
  • Value: Sets an initial value for the input.

The value attribute in an HTML element sets the initial value or content of the input field.

In web development:

  • Tags are elements used to structure and format content in HTML (e.g., <p> for paragraphs, <a> for links).
  • Attributes give additional information about HTML elements and define their properties (e.g., “href” in <a href=”URL”>).