"Website" fields requires http:// - Why??

The Special 'website' field requires the user to enter http://. This makes no sense. Can't the system just add it on for them if it's required on the backend for some reason?

This form field has a lot of issues:

1) If you put in http:// as the default text and they have no web site, they get an error unless they manually remove it.
2) If they have a web site, even though the form shows a faint http:// in the field, it gets erased as soon as the user starts typing. One would think since it's required it would remain there and the user's text would proceed it.
3) There is no way to turn of validation for this field to eliminate these issues or allow the user to enter 'None'.
4) The Validation Message override does not work. It just says "Enter a URL" as the error even if a custom message is included...you know, to tell them they have to enter http:// or remove the one thats there. (Avoiding adding as a descr to keep things clean)
5) Yes, using a regular text field is an alternative, but I'd love for the Gravity Folks to get the website field fixed up.

Thanks guys.

This thread includes an option for automatically adding a protocol (e.g., http:// ) if the user omits it. One disadvantage of the approach is that it instructs the browser to not validate any of the fields for the form, leaving all validation up to the Gravity Forms. An advantage, however, is that the approach leaves HTML5 on, which may conveniently bring up custom keyboards on mobile devices.