Examples
Radio button list
A ChoiceList
component can be used to render a radio button group or checkbox group. Use the type
prop to specify the type of field to display.
Radio button children
Radio buttons can have optional checked or unchecked children that are conditionally shown based on the state of the checkbox.
Code
React
See Storybook "Choice" page and Storybook "Choice List" page for React documentation.
Style customization
The following CSS variables can be overridden to customize choice fields:
Form components
This component also makes use of form field styles, which can be customized by the following variables:
Guidance
When to use
Radio buttons
- When users need to select only one option out of a set of mutually exclusive choices.
When to consider alternatives
- If there are too many options to display on a mobile screen. Consider a
dropdown
menu if you donโt have enough space to list out all available options, and if the user can only select one of the options. - Never use radio buttons for optional questions, since once a radio button is selected from a list, it or another choice will remain selected.
Usage
- Don't rely on the visual difference between radio buttons and checkboxes. Make it clear with words when users can select one or multiple options.
- Users should be able to tap on or click on either the text label or the checkbox to select or deselect an option.
- In general, list choices vertically; horizontal listings can make it difficult to tell which label pertains to which choice. An exception is where you have binary choices with short labels, like 'Yes / No'. The convention here is for horizontal alignment.
- Avoid using negative language in labels as they can be counterintuitive. For example, โI want to receive a promotional emailโ instead of โI donโt want to receive promotional email.โ
- Use caution if you decide to set a default value. Setting a default value can discourage users from making conscious decisions, seem pushy, or alienate users who donโt fit into your assumptions. In addition, you'll never know if the user explicitly chose that option or just didn't notice the question. If you're unsure, leave nothing selected by default.
View the "Forms" guidelines for additional guidance and best practices.
Checked children and the expose within pattern
- The
<Choice>
component includes acheckedChildren
prop that can expose hidden text information or form elements. This expose within pattern is especially useful if you need to collect data from follow up questions or give just-in-time feedback. - Checked children can be exposed by checking the parent checkbox or radio button
- The
checkedChildren
prop should return one or more items wrapped in adiv
with the following className:.ds-c-choice__checkedChild
. This class sets the spacing and border color for the exposed elements. - Add the className
.ds-c-choice__checkedChild--inverse
to thediv
to show the inverse white border - You may need to add the className
.ds-u-margin--0
to your child element(s) to avoid extra top margin - If you opt for smaller radio buttons or checkboxes, add className
.ds-c-choice__checkedChild--small
to your checked child container
Accessibility
- Surround a related set of choices with a
<fieldset>
. The<legend>
provides context for the grouping. Do not usefieldset
andlegend
for a single checkbox. - Some screen readers read the
legend
text for eachfieldset
, so it should be brief and descriptive. - Each input should have a semantic
id
attribute, and its correspondinglabel
should have the same value in itsfor
attribute. - The custom checkboxes and radio buttons here are accessible to screen readers because the default fields are moved off-screen.
checkedChildren
will be announced to screen readers when they are exposed. They have been tested with the following devices:- Windows 10 + Internet Explorer 11 + JAWS screen reader
- Windows 10 + Chrome + JAWS
- Windows10 - Firefox + NVDA
- NVDA reads out the
<select>
label and every<option>
value
- NVDA reads out the
- MacOS Mojave + Safari + VoiceOver
Related patterns
Learn more
- Form Guidelines
- GOV.UK Checkbox/Radio buttons discussion
- "We've updated the radios and checkboxes on GOV.UK"
- Four steps for choosing form elements on the Web (PDF)
Component maturity
For more information about how we tested and validated our work for each checklist item, read our component maturity documentation.