What are the alternatives for radio buttons?

Question

I haven't seen any radio buttons for a long time. Are they really used anymore, and if so where are they used and who used them?

What are the best alternatives for radio button? What can you use instead of radio buttons?

Solution 1

I only had to look as far as the "Settings" page on my GMail account before I found a radio button on the web.

The only other widget that provides a simple "Pick one choice from many" option in an HTML document is a <select> element.

You can also use multiple submit buttons for the same effect — but you submit the form at the same time, so it isn't always appropriate (although good for "Preview" or "Save" decisions).

Solution 2

Radio buttons are still commonly used on websites.

There simply is no alternative to them, that have the same functionality with the same ease of use.

Solution 3

The alternatives to radio buttons are checkboxes and drop down boxes. Use them over the alternatives when:

• One answer must be selected
• There are three or fewer (4 at a stretch) possible answers

Or to give a clearer distinction for yes/no fields than a single checkbox