w3c validation ERROR

Bad value es_test for attribute autocomplete on element input: The string es_test is not a valid autofill field name.

`<input type=”text” name=”es_required_field” class=”es_required_field” tabindex=”-1″ autocomplete=”es_test”/>

Hello,

introduces a W3C validation error, due to the fact that the plugin employs a non-compliant way of disabling a browser’s autocomplete functionality.

First, it is important to realize that outside of triggering a W3C validation error, this new feature does not negatively impact a site in anyway, and instead is designed to increase functionality of the site by improving the functionality of this plugin.

The issue is how browsers handle the HTML5 autocomplete attribute. Debatably, the way it should work is that autocomplete for a form field should be able to be set to “on” or “off”, and browsers should respect that setting. However, not all browsers do, and thus some browsers may try to autocomplete a honeypot field (which needs to stay empty, remember), causing legitimate users’ form submissions to fail occasionally.

The solution to this is to give the browser an autocomplete value it doesn’t know — i.e. not “on” or “off” — which stops the browser from autocompleting the field. This works well, but breaks W3C compliance, because the value is, by design, not valid.

There are plenty of reasons to break from W3C validation compliance, and we feel this update is one of them. In fact, Mozilla Developer Network, a well-respected resource and community for web developers, agrees on this specific issue (a recommended read for anyone wishing to understand our choice in this matter).

• This reply was modified 6 years, 1 month ago by Malay Ladu.