Form skeleton
Build a form skeleton with <form> and the action/method attributes.
What is a form?
A form is the HTML container that sends the user's entered data to the server. Sign-in, sign-up, search and newsletter subscriptions all rest on a form.
A form opens with <form> and closes with </form>. It has two core attributes: action says where the data goes (a URL), method says how it is sent. The most common values are get and post.
action and method together
action and method work together. Example: <form action="/login" method="post">. Here action gives the address the data goes to, method gives how it is sent.
get appends data to the URL as ?key=value; it suits search forms. post carries data in the body; it is preferred for passwords or long content. You pick the right one for the content.
Exercise Write a form skeleton
Add a <form> to body. Give action the value /submit and method the value post. Leave a short comment inside the form; we will add fields in later lessons.
Show example solution
<body>
<form action="/submit" method="post">
<!-- fields go here -->
</form>
</body>Test yourself
-
Which method is preferred for sending secret data like a password?
- get
- head
- post
- options
Show answer
post — Correct. post carries data in the request body, not the URL; that suits passwords.
-
Send the form with post
<form action="/signup" ____> <!-- fields go here --> </form>Show answer
<form action="/signup" method="post"> <!-- fields go here --> </form> -
Match each tag to its role
- <form>
- Form container
- action
- Where data is sent
- method
- How data is sent
- get
- Appends data to URL