Vincent Gable’s Blog

Submit is always the wrong title for a button. Yet it’s still commonly used, even by people who should know better. I had “Submit Comment” buttons on my blog when I first published this.

Buttons should say what happens when they are pushed, in the vocabulary of the person pressing them. Technically a button might submit a form to a server, but what matters is the consequence of submitting the form.

For example,

this button should be called “Search” or “Find” or “See Matches” — something that describes what happens when it is pressed, or what the operator will see after pressing it.

That’s a Bad Word

“Submit” has negative connotations, and should be avoided. The first three example usages (in Mac OS X’s Dictionary.app) are all negative,

submit

verb
1 [ intrans. ] accept or yield to a superior force or to the authority or will of another person : the original settlers were forced to submit to Bulgarian rule.

• ( submit oneself) consent to undergo a certain treatment : he submitted himself to a body search.

• [ trans. ] subject to a particular process, treatment, or condition : samples submitted to low pressure.

Say an apartment takes applications on their website. It would be pedantically correct to say “Submit Application”. But it is more respectful to say “Send Application”, or “Apply”. Pressing a “Submit” button implicitly says “I submit”. And that’s the wrong relationship for a user to have to an interface.

Blame The Programmers (Not Really)

One reason so many buttons are labeled “Submit” is that the HTML code for making a button has the word “submit” in it. The code for is <input type="submit" value="This Button">.

If the keyword send was used to build buttons, I would argue that the web would be a slightly less intimidating place today. A button that demands you “send” something is better then a button that forces you to “submit”.

Choose Your Words Carefully…

So perhaps, when choosing programming terms, we should pick the ones with the fewest negative connotations, since inevitably some of those words will bleed over into user-land. Even if programmer words stay in programmer-land, word-choice influences the way we think about things. Best not to encourage berating your users and customers.

Of course, you shouldn’t go overboard avoiding “ungood” words! There is no question that the most clear term should be used (even if it’s offensive). A better programming-vocabulary means better, less buggy, programs. And that’s better for users (no matter what they are called behind their back). But if possible, avoid disparaging words.

And never submit to the temptation of calling a button “Submit”. There’s always a more accurate, respectful name.