Using Simple Input Detailed Ouput Principles With Web Forms
If you have a web site then the chances are that there will be a form of some kind on there somewhere. This might be a search box, or a contact form or even a tool. There is one thing that should be followed no matter what sort of form you create and this is the rule of Simple Input Detailed Output, or SIDO for short.
The idea behind SIDO is that you get the user to enter the absolute minimum amount of information when filling out a form, but once complete give them as much information as you can in return. The perfect form should have a single input box, and return at least a page of information from this single starting point.
This is one of the most important things to remember when designing your website, so here are some basic ideas that you should keep in mind when creating a web form using SIDO.