Question: I was intrigued by this statement by [@DanWilson](http://twitter.com/DanWIlson) on Twitter:

> 
> All Web Developers: Never Ever Ever
>  put anything after the password box
>  and before submit button on a form.
>  Tab MUST go directly to submit.
> 
> 
> 

When I asked for clarification, he added:

> 
> because the UI pattern is Username TAB Password TAB Enter Key.
> 
> 
> 

Can anyone point me to evidence that corroborates or contradicts that claim, even if it's anecdotal?

Answer: 
The best tab situation and common situations is:

* input: **email**
* input: **password**
* checkbox: keep me **logged** in *(sometimes this is omitted)*
* button: **submit** (note how you can use the spacebar, faster than enter in some situations)

Proofs:

* Google (unified login)
* Yahoo (unified login, includes Flickr, Delicious)
* Twitter (note also how the visual flow differs from the tab flow to be consistent!)
* Facebook (ibidem)
* Baidu
* Wikipedia
* LinkedIn
* Craiglist
* MySpace
* IMDB

Notable breakers:

* MSN
* eBay

So, with those sites we are including probably most of the world's web users and they are all aligned in the behaviour I've described.
For login forms if the design requires something between password and submit, you can still change the tab order so that it skips the bad experience elements when tabbing. See <https://www.bankofamerica.com/> which is somewhat similar. Tabbing goes user/area/submit, continue tabbing to get the link for the checkbox and link.

I think the broader issue (for me) is placing an anti-action element where the action should be. cancel/reset buttons where submit buttons normally are, etc. We are rather automated creatures and rarely read/pay attention to slight changes.