baseball - most futures traders do not trade via an online form, like stocks. Since these markets can move very quickly, most traders use a stand alone program that runs on your computer. The biggest issue with using a purely online order entry is that by the time your order gets through to where it needs to go, it may be way too late for that order to execute timely.
Most software platforms offer a trial so you can see it for yourself.
I would recommend a platform called T4 (
http://www.ctsfutures.com/content/t4/) I use T4 through Mirus Futures. They call it Dorman Direct b/c T4 allows each broker to put their own company name on the platform. And Mirus is an IB for Dorman Trading. I know, very confusing in the beginning.