Just add a form to my website...

So many times we are told to just put a sign-up form on a website. No discussion about goals, required fields, actions, validations or anything whatsoever. Just "Put a newsletter sign up form on my website", is many times all we are told. Asking any questions from our team usually results in a futile lecture about web principles and usability that the client will never understand or retain. It's nice to know that there are some people out there who "get it". I came across this article several months ago. Although it is a year old (which is ages in Internet time) the principles are still true today and I can see them holding ground for the foreseeable future. Check out the Web Form Design Patterns Part 1 & Part 2 for a great read on all of the thought that goes into creating those "simple" sign-up forms.