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When to use it
When a form of three or more fields shows errors only after submit, and submit clicks run well above recorded form submissions.
How to run it
Validate each field when the user leaves it, not on every keystroke: a checkmark on success, a specific message beside a failing field.
Why it works
Make the offer instantly understood
Flagging an error at the field beats sending people back up the form after submit. Luke Wroblewski and Etre's study, published in A List Apart, found inline validation drove a 22% increase in successful submissions, 22% fewer errors, and 42% faster completion vs after-submit errors.
Source: Luke Wroblewski / A List Apart
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