Radio buttons

Use radio buttons when the user can choose only one option out of a list. Use these for a small number of discrete elements—avoid long lists of radio buttons (usually no more than 6-8 options). When there are more than two options, stack radio buttons vertically.

Standard radio buttons






HTML code snippet

<div class="m-form-field m-form-field__radio">
    <input class="a-radio" type="radio" id="test_radio_basic_default">
    <label class="a-label" for="test_radio_basic_default">Default</label>
</div>

<br>
<!--Hover-->
<div class="m-form-field m-form-field__radio">
    <input class="a-radio hover" type="radio" id="test_radio_basic_hover">
    <label class="a-label" for="test_radio_basic_hover">Hover</label>
</div>
<br>

<!--Focus-->
<div class="m-form-field m-form-field__radio">
    <input class="a-radio focus" type="radio" id="test_radio_basic_focus">
    <label class="a-label" for="test_radio_basic_focus">Focus</label>
</div>
<br>

<!--Selected-->
<div class="m-form-field m-form-field__radio">
    <input class="a-radio" type="radio" id="test_radio_basic_checked" checked>
    <label class="a-label" for="test_radio_basic_checked">Label</label>
</div>
<br>

<!--Disabled-->
<div class="m-form-field m-form-field__radio">
    <input class="a-radio" type="radio" id="test_radio_basic_disabled" disabled>
    <label class="a-label" for="test_radio_basic_disabled">Disabled</label>
</div>
<br>

<!--Disabled/selected-->
<div class="m-form-field m-form-field__radio">
    <input class="a-radio"
           type="radio"
           id="test_radio_basic_disabled_selected"
           disabled
           checked>
    <label class="a-label" for="test_radio_basic_disabled_selected">Label</label>
</div>

Specs

Default

  • Height: 20 px
  • Width: 20 px
  • Border: 1 px, Gray 60 (#919395)
  • Background: White (#ffffff)
  • Margin right: 10 px
  • Avenir Next Regular, 16 px, Black (#101820)

Hover

  • Border: 2 px, Pacific (#0072ce)

Focus

  • Border: 2 px, Pacific (#0072ce)
  • Outline: Dotted 1px, Pacific (#0072ce)
  • Outline offset: 1px

Selected

  • Border: 1 px, Gray 60 (#919395)
  • Background: 14 px x 14 px, Pacific (#0072ce)

Disabled

  • Border: 1 px, Gray 60 (#919395)
  • Background: Gray 10 (#e7e8e9)
  • Avenir Next Regular, 16 px, Gray (#5a5d61)

Radio button with helper text

Checkboxes and radio button inputs can have labels that span multiple lines and have helper text that appears below the main label text.

HTML code snippet

<div class="m-form-field m-form-field__radio">
    <input class="a-radio" type="radio" id="test_radio_basic_helper">
    <label class="a-label" for="test_radio_basic_helper">
        This is a very long label that wraps to a second line.
        Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
        <small class="a-label_helper">
            (This is helper text)
        </small>
    </label>
</div>

Specs

Default

Target area
  • Minimum height: 50px
  • Background: Gray 10 (#e7e8e9)
  • Padding: 15 px
Radio button (or checkbox) and text
  • Border: 1 px, Gray 60 (#919395)
  • Background: 20 px x 20 px, White (#ffffff)
  • Avenir Next Regular, 16 px, Black (#101820)

Hover

Target area
  • Border: 2 px, Pacific (#0072ce)
  • Background: Gray 10 (#e7e8e9)
Radio button (or checkbox)
  • Border: 2 px, Pacific (#0072ce)

Focus

Target area
  • Border: 2 px, Pacific (#0072ce)
  • Background: Gray 10 (#e7e8e9)
  • Outline: Dotted 1px, Pacific (#0072ce)
Radio button (or checkbox)
  • Border: 2 px, Pacific (#0072ce)

Selected

Target area
  • Border: 1 px, Pacific (#0072ce)
  • Background: Pacific 20 (#d6e8fa)
Radio button (or checkbox)
  • Border: 1 px, Gray 60 (#919395)
  • Background: 14 x 14 px, Pacific (#0072ce)

Disabled

Radio button (or checkbox)
  • Border: 1 px, Gray 60 (#919395)
  • Background: Gray 20 (#d2d3d5)
  • Avenir Next Regular, 16 px, Gray (#5a5d61)

Sizes

Large target area radio buttons

For better usability, consider using radio buttons with large target areas. These are easier to interact with (especially on smaller screens) and harder to miss. They are especially desirable when the form will have heavy mobile usage. Given the amount of real estate they occupy, they’re probably not suited for all use cases.






HTML code snippet

<div class="m-form-field m-form-field__radio m-form-field__lg-target">
    <input class="a-radio" type="radio" id="test_radio_lg_default">
    <label class="a-label" for="test_radio_lg_default">Default</label>
</div>
<br>

<!--Hover-->
<div class="m-form-field m-form-field__radio m-form-field__lg-target">
    <input class="a-radio hover" type="radio" id="test_radio_lg_hover">
    <label class="a-label" for="test_radio_lg_hover">Hover</label>
</div>
<br>

<!--Focus-->
<div class="m-form-field m-form-field__radio m-form-field__lg-target">
    <input class="a-radio focus" type="radio" id="test_radio_lg_focus">
    <label class="a-label" for="test_radio_lg_focus">Focus</label>
</div>
<br>

<!--Selected-->

<div class="m-form-field m-form-field__radio m-form-field__lg-target">
    <input class="a-radio" type="radio" id="test_radio_lg_checked" checked>
    <label class="a-label" for="test_radio_lg_checked">Selected</label>
</div>
<br>

<!--Disabled-->
<div class="m-form-field m-form-field__radio m-form-field__lg-target">
    <input class="a-radio" type="radio" id="test_radio_lg_disabled" disabled>
    <label class="a-label" for="test_radio_lg_disabled">Disabled</label>
</div>
<br>

<!--Disabled/selected-->
<div class="m-form-field m-form-field__radio m-form-field__lg-target">
    <input class="a-radio"
           type="radio"
           id="test_radio_lg_disabled_selected"
           disabled
           checked>
    <label class="a-label" for="test_radio_lg_disabled_selected">Disabled/selected</label>
</div>

Specs

Large target radio button with helper text

HTML code snippet

<div class="m-form-field m-form-field__radio m-form-field__lg-target">
    <input class="a-radio" type="radio" id="test_radio_lg_helper">
    <label class="a-label" for="test_radio_lg_helper">
        This is a very long label that wraps to a second line.
        Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
        <small class="a-label_helper">
            (This is helper text)
        </small>
      </label>
</div>

Use cases

Leave radio buttons unselected as the default. It’s easy for users to miss that a radio button has been preselected and to submit a form with an erroneous answer.

Never use radio buttons for optional questions. Once a radio button is selected from a list, it or another choice must remain selected and there is no undoing the selection unless you reload the form.

Consider using radio buttons with large target areas. If these won’t fit into your design and you need to use the default style shown below, make sure the target area is at least 45 x 45 px and includes the option text.

Accessibility

There are some issues with Voiceover reading radio buttons. To get around this, consider using the aria-describedby attribute.

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