Radio
A radio input allows users to select only one option from a number of choices.
When to use
- One choice from two to about five options, where seeing all of them matters.
- Options the reader needs to weigh against each other.
- A choice with a sensible default, which should start selected.
When not to use
- More than about five options. That is a select.
- Several answers. That is checkboxes.
- One yes or no, which is a single checkbox or a toggle.
- A choice that takes effect at once, which behaves more like a setting.
Guidance
Do
Keep the options parallel, cover the whole range including the negative case, and start one selected.
Don't
Do not mix a word with a sentence, and do not leave the whole set unselected. The options cannot be compared and there is no default.
Content
What to write, and what to leave out.
- Keep the options the same shape and length, so they read as one set.
- Cover the full range, including doing nothing, so the reader is not forced into a choice they do not want.
- Start one selected. A set with nothing chosen makes the reader guess what happens if they skip it.