You've probably seen this pattern going around. It's an input that appears as if it has placeholder text in it, but when you click/tap into that input, that text moves out of the way and allows you to type there. It's rather clever, I think. Brad Frost has a really good post on it, detailing the pros and cons and such.

Many of the demos I've seen involve JavaScript. The other day I was checking out at Nest.com, saw their technique for it, and I thought of a way I could pull that off without JavaScript. So here we are.

While there are many changes for the better in the HTML5 specification, there is no better bang for the buck for the data driven website than the transformation of forms. These simple changes will transform how you enter, validate, process, and even display inputs. You will be able to create more usable web applications with less code and less confusion.