diff --git a/tinyweb_forum/handlers.py b/tinyweb_forum/handlers.py
index 8d125b0..3ec6bb9 100644
--- a/tinyweb_forum/handlers.py
+++ b/tinyweb_forum/handlers.py
@@ -16,6 +16,17 @@ def esc(s):
     return html.escape(str(s))
 
 
+FORUM_CSS = """
+<style>
+.forum-form { max-width: 500px; }
+.forum-form input, .forum-form textarea { width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; padding: 6px; margin-bottom: 8px; }
+.forum-form button { padding: 6px 16px; }
+.forum-form label { display: block; margin-bottom: 8px; }
+.forum-form small { display: block; margin-bottom: 8px; }
+</style>
+"""
+
+
 class ForumHandlers:
     def __init__(self, fdb, sync, identity, reticulum, site_name="me"):
         self.fdb = fdb
@@ -53,7 +64,7 @@ class ForumHandlers:
         return {
             "status": status,
             "content_type": "text/html; charset=utf-8",
-            "body": body_html,
+            "body": FORUM_CSS + body_html,
             "headers": {},
         }
 
@@ -223,14 +234,14 @@ class ForumHandlers:
     def handle_new_form(self, msg=""):
         return self._respond(
             f"<h1>new thread</h1>"
-            f'<form method="post" action="/forum/new">'
+            f'<form class="forum-form" method="post" action="/forum/new">'
             f'{self._csrf_field()}'
-            f'<input name="title" placeholder="title" size="50" required><br>'
-            f"<small>max {MAX_TITLE_LENGTH} characters</small><br><br>"
-            f'<input name="url" placeholder="URL you want to share (optional)" size="50"><br><br>'
-            f'<textarea name="body" rows="6" cols="50" placeholder="details or context (optional)"></textarea><br>'
-            f"<small>max {MAX_BODY_LENGTH} characters</small><br><br>"
-            f'<input name="tags" placeholder="tags, comma-separated (optional)" size="50"><br><br>'
+            f'<input name="title" placeholder="title" required>'
+            f"<small>max {MAX_TITLE_LENGTH} characters</small>"
+            f'<input name="url" placeholder="URL you want to share (optional)">'
+            f'<textarea name="body" rows="6" placeholder="details or context (optional)"></textarea>'
+            f"<small>max {MAX_BODY_LENGTH} characters</small>"
+            f'<input name="tags" placeholder="tags, comma-separated (optional)">'
             f'<button type="submit">post</button>'
             f"</form>"
             f"<p>{msg}</p>"
@@ -315,10 +326,10 @@ class ForumHandlers:
             )
 
         reply_form = (
-            f'<form method="post" action="/forum/t/{thread["id"]}/reply">'
+            f'<form class="forum-form" method="post" action="/forum/t/{thread["id"]}/reply">'
             f'{self._csrf_field()}'
-            f'<textarea name="body" rows="4" cols="50" placeholder="share a URL or reply..." required></textarea><br>'
-            f"<small>max {MAX_BODY_LENGTH} characters</small><br><br>"
+            f'<textarea name="body" rows="4" placeholder="share a URL or reply..." required></textarea>'
+            f"<small>max {MAX_BODY_LENGTH} characters</small>"
             f'<button type="submit">reply</button>'
             f"</form>"
         )
@@ -374,14 +385,14 @@ class ForumHandlers:
             return self._error(403)
         return self._respond(
             f"<h1>edit thread</h1>"
-            f'<form method="post" action="/forum/t/{thread_id}/edit">'
+            f'<form class="forum-form" method="post" action="/forum/t/{thread_id}/edit">'
             f'{self._csrf_field()}'
-            f'<input name="title" value="{esc(thread["title"])}" size="50" required><br>'
-            f"<small>max {MAX_TITLE_LENGTH} characters</small><br><br>"
-            f'<input name="url" value="{esc(thread["url"] or "")}" placeholder="URL" size="50"><br><br>'
-            f'<textarea name="body" rows="6" cols="50" placeholder="details or context">{esc(thread["body"] or "")}</textarea><br>'
-            f"<small>max {MAX_BODY_LENGTH} characters</small><br><br>"
-            f'<input name="tags" value="{esc(thread["tags"] or "")}" placeholder="tags, comma-separated" size="50"><br><br>'
+            f'<input name="title" value="{esc(thread["title"])}" required>'
+            f"<small>max {MAX_TITLE_LENGTH} characters</small>"
+            f'<input name="url" value="{esc(thread["url"] or "")}" placeholder="URL">'
+            f'<textarea name="body" rows="6" placeholder="details or context">{esc(thread["body"] or "")}</textarea>'
+            f"<small>max {MAX_BODY_LENGTH} characters</small>"
+            f'<input name="tags" value="{esc(thread["tags"] or "")}" placeholder="tags, comma-separated">'
             f'<button type="submit">save</button>'
             f"</form>"
             f"<p>{msg}</p>"
@@ -513,50 +524,50 @@ class ForumHandlers:
             f"<p>{msg}</p>"
             f'<p><a class="forum-action" href="/forum/sync/now">sync now</a></p>'
             f"<h2>auto-discovery</h2>"
-            f'<form method="post" action="/forum/auto_discover">'
+            f'<form class="forum-form" method="post" action="/forum/auto_discover">'
             f'{self._csrf_field()}'
             f'<label><input type="checkbox" name="enabled" value="1"{auto_discover_checked}>'
-            f" automatically discover other forum instances on the mesh</label><br><br>"
+            f" automatically discover other forum instances on the mesh</label>"
             f'<button>save</button>'
             f"</form>"
             f"<h2>auto-sync</h2>"
-            f'<form method="post" action="/forum/auto_sync">'
+            f'<form class="forum-form" method="post" action="/forum/auto_sync">'
             f'{self._csrf_field()}'
             f'<label><input type="checkbox" name="enabled" value="1"{auto_sync_checked}>'
-            f" automatically sync content every 5 minutes</label><br><br>"
+            f" automatically sync content every 5 minutes</label>"
             f'<button>save</button>'
             f"</form>"
             f"<h2>storage</h2>"
-            f'<form method="post" action="/forum/storage">'
+            f'<form class="forum-form" method="post" action="/forum/storage">'
             f'{self._csrf_field()}'
             f'<label>Keep threads for '
             f'<input name="retention_days" value="{esc(retention_days)}" size="4"> days</label>'
-            f"<br><small>Older threads are pruned automatically (default: 30). Set to 0 to keep everything.</small><br><br>"
+            f"<small>Older threads are pruned automatically (default: 30). Set to 0 to keep everything.</small>"
             f'<button>save</button>'
             f"</form>"
             f"<h2>blocked instances</h2>"
             f"{blocked_items}"
-            f'<form method="post" action="/forum/block">'
+            f'<form class="forum-form" method="post" action="/forum/block">'
             f'{self._csrf_field()}'
-            f'<input name="instance" placeholder="instance hash (32 hex chars)" size="40"><br><br>'
+            f'<input name="instance" placeholder="instance hash (32 hex chars)">'
             f'<button>block</button>'
             f"</form>"
             f"<h2>peer reports</h2>"
             f"{self._peer_reports_html()}"
             f"<h2>keyword filters</h2>"
-            f'<form method="post" action="/forum/filters">'
+            f'<form class="forum-form" method="post" action="/forum/filters">'
             f'{self._csrf_field()}'
-            f'<input name="keywords" value="{esc(filters_str)}" placeholder="comma-separated keywords" size="50"><br><br>'
+            f'<input name="keywords" value="{esc(filters_str)}" placeholder="comma-separated keywords">'
             f'<button>save</button>'
             f"</form>"
             f"<h2>synced instances</h2>"
             f"{synced_items}"
             f"<p><small>Instances are discovered automatically via mesh announces. "
             f"You can also manually add a friend's instance hash to bootstrap.</small></p>"
-            f'<form method="post" action="/forum/sync/add">'
+            f'<form class="forum-form" method="post" action="/forum/sync/add">'
             f'{self._csrf_field()}'
-            f'<input name="instance" placeholder="instance hash" size="40"><br><br>'
-            f'<input name="name" placeholder="label (optional)" size="20"><br><br>'
+            f'<input name="instance" placeholder="instance hash">'
+            f'<input name="name" placeholder="label (optional)">'
             f'<button>add</button>'
             f"</form>"
             f'<hr>'