Radio buttons

Last updated on
20 July 2019

Use when

  • You have a list of two or more options that are mutually exclusive, and the user must select exactly one option.

Example

Screenshot of radio buttons

Recommendations

  • Always offer a default selection.
  • If the options represent a range, such as None, Standard, High – always start with the lowest value (in this case None).
  • If dual radio buttons can be described in terms of true/false or enable/disable, use a stand-alone checkbox instead.
  • If there are more then 7 options, consider a select list instead.

Wording of labels and descriptions

  • The label for a radio button should be a statement or a descriptive phrase.
  • Avoid
    • beginning with "Enable …" or "Is…";
    • beginning with "Select to…" or "Choose to…" because these are usually redundant.
    • ending with a question mark or a period;
    • negative expressions such as "Don't show this on the page", as that means the user has to make sense of a double negative.

API

Drupal 8, Drupal 7, Drupal 6

The problem this solves

The user should select one option from a pre-defined set of options (the number of options being less than 7).

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