Make the Enter key do what patients expect

What to change

Ask the supplier to demonstrate the Enter key in each kind of form question, keeping text entry, moving on and sending the request clearly distinct.

A worked example

Illustrative example

In contact details, Enter advances through answer checking to review. In the enquiry message box, Enter creates a paragraph without sending anything.

Healthcare website design showing connected desktop and mobile service and enquiry layouts. — Make the service and next step clear on every screen.

Healthcare website accessibility illustrated by a focus outline, keyboard key, contrast samples and form. — Review keyboard access, contrast and understandable form fields.

Why this matters to your practice

Pressing Enter is a familiar way to continue, but a message box also needs it for new paragraphs. Your practice should not ask visitors to discover those differences through accidental submissions. Review each stage with your supplier using only a keyboard. The final sending action deserves particular care when a review step is promised. A control labelled Continue should behave consistently with that promise, and editing a message should remain an ordinary writing task.

How to check the result

Accept when keyboard submission follows the same deliberate journey as the visible primary controls and cannot bypass required review.

A mistake to avoid

A blanket rule that disables Enter everywhere may prevent accidental submission but also makes ordinary keyboard interaction unnecessarily difficult.

Turn reading into a next step

Your action checklist

Work through these checks with your team or supplier. Tick the ones you have resolved and leave unknowns open.

Checks to discussOn each step, press Enter from an ordinary text field. Check that the action matches the intended next step and applies the same answer checking.Press Enter inside a multiline message. It should add a new line where that is the expected editing behaviour, without prematurely sending the request.Ask the supplier to test screens containing Back, Change and Continue controls together. Confirm no secondary action becomes the unintended default.

Your answers and notes

Record what you know, what is still missing and the answer you need from your team or supplier.

What happens next, and who will do it?

Use project decisions only, without personal, patient or confidential details. Entries stay in this page and are not submitted to Kay & Co. Copy or download before leaving; this page does not save your notes.

Related guides

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