XForms provide a superior way to build web-based forms that are richer, more versatile, and device independent. All new versions of browsers being introduced are going to support XForms.How are XForms different from regular HTML forms? Well, XForms use XML for data definition, and use HTML or XHTML for data display. XML is a markup language like HTML. However, XML enables to you define and create your own tags. So, using XML for data definition gives programmers more flexibility for data definition. Data entered into an XForm is stored in an XML document and then transported over the internet using XML.

XForms are going to become immensely more important as time goes on, because so many different kinds of electronic gadgets that run on different platforms are equipped with internet access, and since XForms use XML, XForms are compatible with most or all of these various devices. It is possible to add XForm elements directly into other applications that run on XML, such as SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics), VoiceXML (speaking web data), and WML (Wireless Markup Language).This compatibility of an XForm with so many different platforms is what makes it so significant. Web browsers that run on a cell phone, for example, may not be able to display certain HTML forms because HTML defines precisely how a form is to be displayed. If that cell phone has a browser that is not capable of displaying that HTML form exactly as the HTML code specifies, then the person trying to access that form on their cell phone may not be able to input data into the form, or the browser may not be able to display the form at all.