Learn how to troubleshoot and fix issues with a non-functioning reset button and accessibility problems in a web form.

Learn how to properly associate buttons and form elements, such as the reset button, with their respective forms for improved functionality and accessibility.

Improving Accessibility and Form Associations

[00:00] So let's open up the editor here, and we'll come over to our reset button. Now, I actually already kind of did this for you with the status button. Let's explain why the reset button isn't working. So we should be able to type in there, hit reset, and it should reset. The problem is, with the way that the design is formatted,

[00:19] especially useful for these things that scroll a lot, we have this as a detached section of our scrollable content. So it's outside of the form. You'll see we've got that div, and here's our form. These are siblings. And so when a button, or an input field, or any other form element,

[00:36] is outside of the form, you need to associate that element to the form that it's supposed to be associated to. So I did this for you because I wanted to make sure that in that first exercise, we had the submit button actually working, but I didn't do that for the reset button.

[00:54] So we are associating this status button. So when we hit submit, that status button, we're associating that to the form using this form prop and passing the form ID. That form ID is the ID of the form. There you go. It's magic. And it's just globally unique on the page.

[01:12] We never have a situation where we're rendering two of these, and so we're good with just hard coding that. So we have to do the same thing for our reset button to get the reset button to work. So it's actually pretty simple. We'll just copy that and paste that right there, and we're done.

[01:28] So now if I make some sort of change and we hit reset, that resets for us. So now we're associating these things. And a lot of form accessibility has to do with just associating things properly. So our labels are going to be the same sort of thing. Here, we're going to add an ID to the input.

[01:47] So we can say ID is our title input, and then we can have the HTML4 title input. And yeah, that's that. Here, we'll leave that right there. We'll talk about that as well in a second. So now I can test this by clicking on title, and it focuses on the input.

[02:07] So I know that that association has been made. And if I turn on voiceover again, and we navigate here, it says title first. So it's telling me the name of the input. So I, as an assistive technology user,

[02:25] will know exactly where I'm trying to go as I'm navigating around. So let's do the same thing for our content. We'll have an HTML4. This is our content input, and then we'll have our ID content input.

[02:42] So there we go. I click on this, and now I'm focusing on the content. So we know those are associated. That's good. You can also, I recommend, look at that input, and then there's this accessibility tab right here. It might be under these three dots. I dragged that over because I use this quite often.

[03:00] And here, you can look at the accessibility tree. It's awesome, and it will show you some computed properties. So from the label, we get the name of title for this input. This has implications for testing that we'll talk about at a future workshop. You can find all the other implied attributes.

[03:18] Here, we've got the role is implied as a text box, so on and so forth. So pretty useful information inside of that accessibility tab, just to kind of make sure that your accessibility tree is what you want it to be. All right, let's just do this last thing, and that's the extra credit. Using React's use ID hook.

[03:36] So you might think that we could just say title ID is math.random, right? That should work. It really doesn't matter what the value of the ID is, so long as it is unique. So let's go with that. Sure, why not? TypeScript doesn't like that because it needs to be a string,

[03:55] so we'll say toString. Great, so with that now, we take a look at this input, and let's give ourselves a little bit more room. We have our ID. There we go. That still works. Like, there's no problem with this. We turn on voiceover, and it's still going to be able to identify this as the title. So no problem there.

[04:14] But we do have another problem, and that is our hydration is going to be a problem. So here, HTML4 did not match. On the server, it was this. On the client, it was this, and of course, that makes sense because it's going to server render some random thing, and then it'll hydrate with some other random thing.

[04:31] And so that's why we use React's use ID hook, which will keep it consistent both on the server render as well as on the client render. So I can refresh, and I get the same thing, both server and client. The way that ends up looking is this really funky-looking ID. I don't really care. It doesn't actually matter.

[04:51] It just needs to be the same between the two. So if you want to, you can do that here. I'm not super concerned because we're not rendering two of these note edits on the same page at the same time, so we can have a unique input here. But if you were to maybe make an abstraction around making forms

[05:09] and generate IDs, that would probably be a good thing too, and we're going to do that in the future. So in review, all that we did here was first, we associated our reset button with the form by passing the form prop. You can do the same thing if you have an input that you want to have somewhere else.

[05:24] You can say form is form ID, and now this input will be associated to that form. And when that form is submitted, that input value will get submitted as well. So the form prop, pretty useful. That's all like regular HTML stuff. Nothing about Remix or React or anything in there.

[05:42] And then we did something similar for our labels. We said the input now has an ID, and then we associated the label using HTML4 to that input by its ID. And that takes care of some accessibility problems for us, and so our users will be a lot happier.

[06:01] Not even necessarily just those who are using assistive technologies, but also just all the users in general have a nicer user experience when we care about this sort of thing.

Fixing Form Reset Button and Accessibility Issues

[00:00] When we first made this form, we had this reset button that worked great, but that reset button is not working anymore. So, we've got some form association that has been broken there that you need to fix. We also have a bit of an accessibility problem here.

[00:15] If I click on the title or click on the content, those are labels, and when you have a label that's properly associated, then clicking on that label will focus the input that it's associated to, but that's not happening.

[00:29] That's just evidence of another problem that we have, and that is if I turn on my screen reader, then you'll notice as I navigate around, this is going to read to me what relevant things there are to have said to me as I'm navigating around.

[00:47] You'll notice when I hover or focus in the title, it's not telling me what field I'm focused on, and that, again, is because we are not focusing on the field or associating the field with its label.

[01:02] That is a problem. We need to fix these accessibility bugs, and that is your job. So, get that done, and we'll see you when you're done.

Forms are the primary mechanism for interactivity on the web.

But for all of their importance, forms can be incredibly frustrating for developers and users alike.

There are a lot of moving parts to consider: 

You need to validate user input and handle complex data structures, while being secure from bots and data-stealing attacks. The UI should inform users of any issues as quickly as possible, and be accessible for all.

The Professional Web Forms Workshop will equip you with the tools to handle all of these challenges and more.

## Form Validation

HTML has several attributes built-in that help with form element validation. Unfortunately, they're not enough on their own. On the client-side, bad actors can bypass checks by manually adding the `novalidate` attribute or making requests directly. On the server side, there's no standard way to respond to validation errors other than a generic 400 status code.

In this section, you'll implement a base level of form validation:

- Essential HTML attributes for validation
- Server-side validation with JSON responses
- Displaying errors with the `useActionData` hook
- Disabling default browser validation messages with `useHydrated`

## Accessibility

Accessibility is often an afterthought, but should be a priority. While forms are just one part of the accessibility equation, they're a big one. In this section, you'll learn how to make sure your forms accessible and usable by all of your application's users:

- Properly associating labels with input fields
- Adding appropriate ARIA attributes when necessary
- Manage keyboard focus in response to errors and user interactions
- Creating and using a `useFocus` hook to direct the user’s focus
- Considerations for accessibility testing

## Schema-Based Validation

Manually writing conditional checks for every field in every form is tedious and error-prone: *Is there content in the field? Is it the right type? Is it within the acceptable range? There must be a better way!*

Fortunately, the combination of the Zod and Conform libraries makes it easy to define reusable declarative schemas to validate form data on the client and server:

- Safely replace HTML validation attributes with schemas
- Zod error handling & message customization
- Progressively enhanced validation with Conform
- Share type-safe validation logic between client and server

## File Uploads

Forms need to support more than just text. Images, videos, audio files, and other documents need a different type of input. Depending on the size of the file, you'll have considerations for how and where it is uploaded. In this section, you'll learn how to handle file uploads in a secure and efficient way:

- Uploading images from an `ImageChooser` component
- Handling file uploads on the server
- Schema validation for file uploads with Zod

## Complex Data Structures

The `FormData` API does not support representing objects or arrays– only key/value pairs. It also won't allow you to nest forms within each other. This makes representing complex data structures difficult without jumping through some hoops. Luckily for us, Conform has a great solution when your forms get complex. Here you'll practice:

- Infer field types with Zod
- Nesting objects as a form
- Represent arrays of fields with the `useFieldList` utility
- Add and remove items with Conform's `intent` buttons

## Spam Prevention with Honeypots

Spam bots are constantly crawling the web, looking for forms to submit junk data to boost their client’s search engine rankings and find holes in your security. This can strain server resources, contaminate databases, and cause other unforeseen consequences. One way to combat this is by using a "honeypot", which will prevent a form from being submitted by a bot. This section will teach you how to:

- Create a simple hidden-field validation
- Add a configurable honeypot instance to an action
- Prevent form submissions that are too fast
- Use environment variables for encryption seeds

## CSRF Protection

Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) attacks are a type of malicious exploit where a user is tricked into performing an action they did not intend to. This is usually done by embedding a link or form in a page that the user is already authenticated to. Think of a user logged into their bank account clicking a link that transfers money from their bank account to the attacker's. To prevent this type of attack, you'll want to:

- Create a signed cookie in the user's browser
- Include unique user tokens in forms
- Validate tokens on the server via request headers

## Rate Limiting

You definitely want to prevent bad actors from making tons of requests to try to brute-force their way into your app or cause general chaos. However, malicious intent and spam aren't the only reasons you need to protect your site. Even too many legitimate requests can cause problems. Rate limiting is a way to prevent users from overloading your server with requests. Here you'll learn:

- Considerations for different limits for `GET` vs. `POST` requests
- Implementing basic rate limiting with Express middleware
- Tiered rate limiting depending on which form is being submitted

The Professional Web Forms Workshop will equip you for building complex, fully accessible forms that handle validation and file uploads while preventing spam.

Professional Web Forms

Kent C. Dodds

Full Stack Vol 1

Intro to Professional Web Forms Workshop

Introduction to Workshop

Intro to Form Validation 

Discover the importance of validation in web apps. Learn to implement required field validation for data integrity and UX enhancement.

Leverage HTML attributes for form validation, enhancing UX and accessibility. Explore browser validation and screen reader integration for user guidance.

Form Validation for Accessibility

Required Field Validation for User Input

Implement server-side validation to enhance security and user assistance, preventing client-side bypass. Customize error messages for a seamless design.

Master server-side form validation for data integrity and user-friendly error messages. Enhance UX by securely validating input before server processing.

Server-Side Form Validation and Error Handling

Server-side Validation and Custom Error Messages

Prevent incorrect form submissions pre-JavaScript with novalidate attribute using useHydrated hook. Elevate UX, maintain data integrity.

Optimize form validation with 'useHydrated' hook for client-side hydration. Enhance UX with browser-built and server-side validation synergy.

Form Validation with Client-Side Hydration

Dynamic Error Validation with Hooks

Dad Joke Break From Validation

Form Validation

Intro to Accessibility

Associate error messages with input fields via ARIA attributes for precise screen reader notifications. Learn about semantic HTML and ARIA for accessibility.

Use ARIA attributes like ARIA invalid & describedby. Link error messages to inputs for improved screen reader support, aiding assistive tech users.

Accessible Forms with ARIA Attributes

Error Messages and Accessibility with ARIA Attributes

Enhance app accessibility & UX with focus management: auto-focus error fields, programmable forms, & better editing. Create an inclusive, user-friendly app.

Enhance React app accessibility and UX: auto-focus form inputs and navigate to error messages for improved handling of form errors.

Managing Focus for Form Errors

Focus Management for Better User Experience

Dad Break Joke Accessibility

Accessibility

Intro to Schema Validation

Optimize development with Zod schema validation. Boost efficiency and code robustness, replacing custom logic for an enhanced developer experience. 

Learn how to implement schema validation using Zod in a note editor application. Discover how to define and enforce data

Schema Validation with Zod 

Schema Validation 

Data parsing with Conform's Conform utility. Apply server-side logic and streamline development with additional UI utilities for efficient form handling.

Improve UX & enable progressive enhancement: Replace form validation & error handling with powerful Zod utility in your app

 Form Submission and Error Handling with Conform & Zod

Form Data Parsing with Conform

Enhance UI with Conform's React utilities for end-to-end type safety. Leverage progressive enhancement for a fabulous development experience.

Eliminate custom code for better UX. Seamlessly manage form submission and client-side validation with Conform, ensuring robust server-side validation

Simplifying Form Handling with Conform and Schema Validation

Type Safety with Conform

Dad Joke Break Schema Validation

Schema Validation

Intro to File Upload

Add file upload to edit page for user-friendly image & file attachments. Handle uploads in Remix, enforcing size limits. 

Integrate image upload with form data and memory handling. Use image chooser, manage existing images, set encoding, size limit, and specify alt text. 

Image Upload with Form Data and Memory Upload Handling

File Upload Functionality 

Improve code quality and address TypeScript errors for a robust application, making Lily the life jacket (and yourself) happy.

Update schema for image ID, alt text, and file uploads. Master file validation with Zod for size restrictions and error handling on client & server sides. 

Validating File Uploads with Zod Schema in a Web Application

TypeScript Integration

Dad Joke Break File Upload

File Upload

Intro to Complex Structures 

Address challenges in grouping properties into sub-objects in forms, especially for multiple image uploads. Satisfy Zod's requirements for seamless integration.

Learn to add image field set schema to Zod schema, update HTML elements, and integrate with Conform for type safety and form functionality. 

Implementing Image Field Set with Conform and TypeScript

Grouping and Managing Related Fields in Form Objects

Update your app's schema for multiple images, adapt actions/components, and enable seamless addition/removal of multiple images for an enhanced user experience.

Master dynamic image lists with Qualifax: add and remove images effortlessly. Update schema, implement field sets, and iterate through image choosers with ease.

Dynamic Image Lists with Field Sets 

Multiple Image Uploading 

Dynamic image addition and deletion with alt text functionality, progressive enhancements, and input submission using Conform utilities in web development

Master dynamic button generation for form accessibility using Conform utilities. Modify field sets with list functions, explore progressive enhancement.

Dynamically Delete and Add Buttons

 Interactive Image Management

Dad Joke Break Complex Structures 

Complex Structures

Intro to Honeypot

Add a hidden input field honeypot to deter spam bots, enhance deliverability, and prevent spam issues. Explore additional tips for form security.

Boost sign-up form security with invisible honeypot fields to catch spam bots. Discover effective techniques for handling bot submissions in your app.

Honeypot Fields in Sign Up Forms

Adding a Honeypot to Protect Against Spam Bots

Protect your website from spam bots with automatic updates to Honeypot configurations.

Enhance security with Remix Utils Honeypot fields. Customize divs, ARIA, and server-side validation to deter spam. Best practices for errors and HTTP codes.

Honeypot Fields for Form Security

Honeypot Protection with `remix-utils`

Efficiently implement Honeypot security on forms: Transfer server data to client for reliable bot protection.

Implement honeypot protection: Create provider, configure props, render components, prevent quick form submission, thwart automated bots.

Honeypot Protection

Honeypots for Form Security 

Ensure consistent Honeypot encryption secret across servers and regions for form data integrity and conflict avoidance

Securely add honeypot secret to server validation, configure in local .env for data protection.

Setting Up Honeypot Security for Server Environment Variables

Consistent Encryption with Honeypot Server

Dad Joke Break Honeypot

Honeypot

Intro to CSRF

Implement CSRF protection: Generate tokens, set secure cookies, associate with clients, and use environment variables.

Implement Node.js CSRF utility: Generate tokens, secure cookies, prevent cross-site request forgery attacks.  

Creating and Managing CSRF Tokens With Node.js

CSRF Protection with Cookies 

Protect user data with authenticity tokens: Render, verify, and enhance user experience.

Secure forms with Authenticity Token input and CSRF validation for protection against tampering. Improve security and error responses.

Security with Authenticity Token and CSRF Validation

Authenticity With Token Protection 

Dad Joke Break CSRF

Cross-Site Request Forgery

Intro to Rate Limit 

Learn how to implement rate limiting middleware in Express for efficient resource management in your server.

Safeguarding Your Server: Adding Rate Limit Configuration

Optimizing Your Express Server with Rate Limiting Middleware

Implement tiered rate limiting: Strong for sign-up/login, moderate for posts, and general defense. Custom middleware assigns tiers.

Professional Web Forms

Professional Web Forms

Transcript

Fixing Form Reset Button and Accessibility Issues

Transcript