No matter what country you live in, there are units of measurement you’re more familiar with than others. For example, users from the United States are more familiar with entering their height and weight using feet, inches, and pounds. Other countries that use the metric system are more familiar with centimeters and kilograms.
Instead of forcing users to convert their height and weight to the required units, you could use a toggle segment that allows them to choose an “imperial” or “metric” system. Do you think this is the best way to enter units of measurement? Can you think of a better way?
I've seen some placing a select field on the side of the height field, where you can choose "cm" or "ft". Using radio buttons or a toggle "cm"-"ft" could work well too, as it would require even less clicks, and you don't rely on the user knowing what "imperial" and "metric" means
Issue with this approach is that the imperial units for height are Feet + Inches. A toggle on a single field would switch from cm to in and would exclude the ft field. I don't want users to have to calculate their full height in inches only.
I've seen some placing a select field on the side of the height field, where you can choose "cm" or "ft". Using radio buttons or a toggle "cm"-"ft" could work well too, as it would require even less clicks, and you don't rely on the user knowing what "imperial" and "metric" means
Issue with this approach is that the imperial units for height are Feet + Inches. A toggle on a single field would switch from cm to in and would exclude the ft field. I don't want users to have to calculate their full height in inches only.
But is it really necessary to express the height as feet + inches as separate fields?
Can't it be expressed simply in feet with a decimal separator?
Like if you would with expressing your height in metres, you'd say 1,85m.
It depends on the scenario and context, of course, but seems like a hassle to use two fields for one measurement.
That still requires calculation for the user. The goal is to minimize cognitive effort.
If it requires calculations from the user, I agree! I was hoping that wasn't necessary. As in 7,3 ft could mean 7feet and 3 inch.
Makes sense. But wow, this imperial system is confusing! :o
I suggest using a toggle button instead. It could be labeled as 'Use cm' with an ON/OFF option.