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I'm building a store-like site and users can publish their own ads and I was wondering if not showing the submit button until the form has been completeley validated is a good idea, for example if the client didn't input his name or his address the submit button won't be visible.
What do you think?
Usually the primary active element (in this case a 'Submit' verb button) affords the user a clue about what to do.
A disabled button is encoded with two dimensions: what do do and that you cannot do it yet. While this might also be confusing it does not leave as much to mystery. It also might not appear as a mistake.
The big question to ask is: Why? I do not think you gain much from hiding the element. It doesn't tell anything (affording) the user useful information.
The best way to go is label the required elements (or form if all are required clearly) to avoid a mistake, then handle the error properly when/if it occurs. Avoid uncommon design patterns that yield little benefit.
Check out Design Heuristics for additional info and guidance.
