In this section, we will learn what the formmethod is and how to use it.
What is formmethod Attribute in HTML <input> Tag?
First of all, the formmethod attribute is used with <input> elements of type image and submit.
We use this attribute when we want to set the HTTP method that should be used to set the form data to a server.
Two main values that we set for this attribute are POST and GET. These are explained in the rest of this section.
HTML formmethod Attribute in <input> Tag Syntax:
<input type = “image | submit” formmethod = “POST | GET”>
<input> Tag formmethod Attribute Values
The two main values for the formmethod are:
- POST: use this value when you want to use HTTP POST method.
- GET: use this value when you want to use HTTP GET method.
If we use HTTP GET method:
- The form data will be appended into the URL as pairs of name-value. This means anyone can see what we’re sending to the target server. (Basically, the data is not encoded in this case).
- The length of a URL is limited (about 3000 characters). This means we can’t use this method for sending large form data.
- As mentioned before, this method is not secure! So it should not be used for sending sensitive data (like username and password) to servers.
If we use HTTP POST method:
- The data will be inside the body of the HTTP request and this means people can’t see it in the URL anymore.
- There’s no size limitation. So we can send large form data to a server.
Using POST method, however, will stop users from bookmarking the form data. But if you think about it, for security reasons, this is a good thing.
Example: using formmethod attribute in HTML <input> tag
See the Pen using formmethod attribute in HTML <input> tag by Omid Dehghan (@odehghan) on CodePen.
