Input Types

What Is It?

The type attribute changes what kind of answer an input accepts.

What the Tags Mean

• text: short text.
• email: email format.
• number: a quantity.
• date: a date.
• password: hides typed characters.
• file: a file picker.
• checkbox and radio: choices.

Example 1

Save each example as index.html and open it in your browser. Each code block is a complete page.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>Input Types</title>
 
</head>
<body>
<label for="email">Email</label>
<input id="email" type="email">
<label for="age">Age</label>
<input id="age" type="number" min="1">
</body>
</html>

What you see: You see an email field and a number field. Browser controls can look different on different devices.

Example 2: Another Use

Use date when someone needs to choose a day.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>Input Types</title>
 
</head>
<body>
<label for="visit">Visit date</label>
<input id="visit" type="date">
</body>
</html>

Simple Tip

A phone number is text, not a quantity. Use type="tel" rather than type="number" for phone numbers.

Try It Yourself

Add a password field with a visible label.