$(\'a#next\').click(function() { var tags = $(\'input[name=tags]\'); if(tags.val()==\'\'){ tags.addClass(\'hightlight\'); return false; }else{
input#tags is redundant and wasteful.
input#tags
$('#tags').keypress(function() { $('#formcont').fadeIn('slow'); $('#next').hide('slow'); $(this).focus(); });