Skip to main content

Form elements - Text input

Use text input to let users enter a single line of text.

Open this input example in new window
Copy 
<div class="nhsuk-form-group">
  <label class="nhsuk-label" for="example">
    What is your name?
  </label>
  <input class="nhsuk-input" id="example" name="example" type="text">
</div>
Copy 
{% from 'input/macro.njk' import input %}

{{ input({
  "label": {
    "text": "What is your name?"
  },
  "id": "example",
  "name": "example"
}) }}

When to use text input

Use text input when you need users to enter text that’s no longer than a single line, such as their name or phone number.

When not to use text input

Do not use text input if you need users to enter longer answers that might span several lines. In this case, use textarea.

How to use text input

Label text inputs

Give text input a visible label.

Do not use placeholder text for a label as it vanishes when users click on the text input.

Align labels above the text inputs they refer to. Labels should be short, direct and written in sentence case. Do not use colons at the end of labels.

If you are asking just 1 question per page as we recommend, you can set the contents of the <label> as the page heading. This is good practice as it means that screen reader users will only hear the contents once.

Open this input heading example in new window
Copy 
<div class="nhsuk-form-group">
  <h1 class="nhsuk-label-wrapper">
    <label class="nhsuk-label nhsuk-label--l" for="example-heading">
      What is your name?
    </label>
  </h1>
  <input class="nhsuk-input" id="example-heading" name="example-heading" type="text">
</div>
Copy 
{% from 'input/macro.njk' import input %}

{{ input({
  "label": {
    "text": "What is your name?",
    "classes": "nhsuk-label--l",
    "isPageHeading": true
  },
  "id": "example-heading",
  "name": "example-heading"
}) }}

Make text inputs the right size

Help users understand what they should enter by making text inputs the right size for the information you want them to give you.

By default, the width of text inputs is fluid and will fit the full width of the container they are placed into.

If you want to make the input smaller, you can either use a fixed width input, or use the width override classes to create a smaller, fluid width input.

Fixed width inputs

Use fixed width inputs for content that has a specific, known length. For example, postcode inputs should be postcode-sized and telephone number inputs should be telephone number-sized.

On fixed width inputs, the width will remain fixed on all screens unless it is wider than the viewport, in which case it will shrink to fit.

Open this input fixed width example in new window
Copy 
<div class="nhsuk-form-group">
  <label class="nhsuk-label" for="input-width-20">
    20 character width
  </label>
  <input class="nhsuk-input nhsuk-input--width-20" id="input-width-20" name="test-width-20" type="text">
</div>

<div class="nhsuk-form-group">
  <label class="nhsuk-label" for="input-width-10">
    10 character width
  </label>
  <input class="nhsuk-input nhsuk-input--width-10" id="input-width-10" name="test-width-10" type="text">
</div>

<div class="nhsuk-form-group">
  <label class="nhsuk-label" for="input-width-5">
    5 character width
  </label>
  <input class="nhsuk-input nhsuk-input--width-5" id="input-width-5" name="test-width-5" type="text">
</div>

<div class="nhsuk-form-group">
  <label class="nhsuk-label" for="input-width-4">
    4 character width
  </label>
  <input class="nhsuk-input nhsuk-input--width-4" id="input-width-4" name="test-width-4" type="text">
</div>

<div class="nhsuk-form-group">
  <label class="nhsuk-label" for="input-width-3">
    3 character width
  </label>
  <input class="nhsuk-input nhsuk-input--width-3" id="input-width-3" name="test-width-3" type="text">
</div>

<div class="nhsuk-form-group">
  <label class="nhsuk-label" for="input-width-2">
    2 character width
  </label>
  <input class="nhsuk-input nhsuk-input--width-2" id="input-width-2" name="test-width-2" type="text">
</div>
Copy 
{% from 'input/macro.njk' import input %}

{{ input({
  "label": {
  "text": "20 character width"
  },
  "id": "input-width-20",
  "name": "test-width-20",
  "classes": "nhsuk-input--width-20"
}) }}
{{ input({
  "label": {
  "text": "10 character width"
  },
  "id": "input-width-10",
  "name": "test-width-10",
  "classes": "nhsuk-input--width-10"
}) }}
{{ input({
  "label": {
  "text": "5 character width"
  },
  "id": "input-width-5",
  "name": "test-width-5",
  "classes": "nhsuk-input--width-5"
}) }}
{{ input({
  "label": {
  "text": "4 character width"
  },
  "id": "input-width-4",
  "name": "test-width-4",
  "classes": "nhsuk-input--width-4"
}) }}
{{ input({
  "label": {
  "text": "3 character width"
  },
  "id": "input-width-3",
  "name": "test-width-3",
  "classes": "nhsuk-input--width-3"
}) }}
{{ input({
  "label": {
  "text": "2 character width"
  },
  "id": "input-width-2",
  "name": "test-width-2",
  "classes": "nhsuk-input--width-2"
}) }}

Fluid width inputs

Use the width override classes to reduce the width of an input in relation to its parent container, for example, to two-thirds.

Fluid width inputs will resize with the viewport.

Open this input fluid width example in new window
Copy 
<div class="nhsuk-form-group">
  <label class="nhsuk-label" for="full">
    Full width
  </label>
  <input class="nhsuk-input nhsuk-u-width-full" id="full" name="full" type="text">
</div>

<div class="nhsuk-form-group">
  <label class="nhsuk-label" for="three-quarters">
    Three-quarters width
  </label>
  <input class="nhsuk-input nhsuk-u-width-three-quarters" id="three-quarters" name="three-quarters" type="text">
</div>

<div class="nhsuk-form-group">
  <label class="nhsuk-label" for="two-thirds">
    Two-thirds width
  </label>
  <input class="nhsuk-input nhsuk-u-width-two-thirds" id="two-thirds" name="two-thirds" type="text">
</div>

<div class="nhsuk-form-group">
  <label class="nhsuk-label" for="one-half">
    One-half width
  </label>
  <input class="nhsuk-input nhsuk-u-width-one-half" id="one-half" name="one-half" type="text">
</div>

<div class="nhsuk-form-group">
  <label class="nhsuk-label" for="one-third">
    One-third width
  </label>
  <input class="nhsuk-input nhsuk-u-width-one-third" id="one-third" name="one-third" type="text">
</div>

<div class="nhsuk-form-group">
  <label class="nhsuk-label" for="one-quarter">
    One-quarter width
  </label>
  <input class="nhsuk-input nhsuk-u-width-one-quarter" id="one-quarter" name="one-quarter" type="text">
</div>
Copy 
{% from 'input/macro.njk' import input %}

{{ input({
  label: {
    text: "Full width"
  },
  classes: "nhsuk-u-width-full",
  id: "full",
  name: "full"
}) }}

{{ input({
  label: {
    text: "Three-quarters width"
  },
  classes: "nhsuk-u-width-three-quarters",
  id: "three-quarters",
  name: "three-quarters"
}) }}

{{ input({
  label: {
    text: "Two-thirds width"
  },
  classes: "nhsuk-u-width-two-thirds",
  id: "two-thirds",
  name: "two-thirds"
}) }}

{{ input({
  label: {
    text: "One-half width"
  },
  classes: "nhsuk-u-width-one-half",
  id: "one-half",
  name: "one-half"
}) }}

{{ input({
  label: {
    text: "One-third width"
  },
  classes: "nhsuk-u-width-one-third",
  id: "one-third",
  name: "one-third"
}) }}

{{ input({
  label: {
    text: "One-quarter width"
  },
  classes: "nhsuk-u-width-one-quarter",
  id: "one-quarter",
  name: "one-quarter"
}) }}

Using hint text

Use hint text to give users help in context, for example, tell users where to find information or how you will use their data.

Open this input hint text example in new window
Copy 
<div class="nhsuk-form-group">
  <label class="nhsuk-label" for="example-with-hint-text">
    What is your NHS number?
  </label>
  <span class="nhsuk-hint" id="example-with-hint-text-hint">
    Your NHS number is a 10 digit number that you find on any letter the NHS has sent you. For example, 485 777 3456.
  </span>
  <input class="nhsuk-input nhsuk-input--width-10" id="example-with-hint-text" name="example-with-hint-text" type="text" aria-describedby="example-with-hint-text-hint">
</div>
Copy 
{% from 'input/macro.njk' import input %}

{{ input({
  "label": {
    "text": "What is your NHS number?"
  },
    "hint": {
    "text": "Your NHS number is a 10 digit number that you find on any letter the NHS has sent you. For example, 485 777 3456."
  },
  "id": "example-with-hint-text",
  "name": "example-with-hint-text",
  "classes": "nhsuk-input--width-10"
}) }}

Error messages

Style error messages like this.

Open this input error example in new window
Copy 
<div class="nhsuk-form-group nhsuk-form-group--error">
  <label class="nhsuk-label" for="example">
    What is your name?
  </label>
  <span class="nhsuk-error-message" id="example-error">
    <span class="nhsuk-u-visually-hidden">Error:</span> Enter your name
  </span>
  <input class="nhsuk-input nhsuk-input--error" id="example" name="example" type="text" aria-describedby="example-error">
</div>
Copy 
{% from 'input/macro.njk' import input %}

{{ input({
  "label": {
    "text": "What is your name?"
  },
  "id": "example",
  "name": "example",
  "errorMessage": {
    "text": "Enter your name"
  }
}) }}

Follow:

Do not disable copy and paste

Users often need to copy and paste information into a text input, so do not stop them doing this.

Research

If you’ve used text input, please share your user research findings.

Help improve this page

The manual is a community effort. Anyone can help improve and grow it.

To help make sure the Text input guidance is useful, relevant and up to date, you can:

Need help?

If you’ve got a question about the NHS digital service manual or want to feedback, you can contact the team:

Help improve the service manual

We’d welcome your feedback. Can you answer some questions about your visit today?

Take survey

Updated: November 2019