Joshua Porter (bokaro.com) gave a great presentation this morning at the Web 2.0 Expo in New York today.
Getting people to sign up on a site or app is difficult – there’s a natural ‘friction’ that keeps people from signing up.
Real sign-up numbers from real companies:
- 8.0%
- 6.76%
- 4.7%
- 16.0%
- 0.003%
Usability is of course one of the main factors affecting the sign-up rate. Â Gmail for instance has correct tab order, they end with “@gmail.com” so it’s clear to the user what they’re creating with a login name. Â Checking availability is also possible without a full submit. Â The password box tells the restrictions (6 characters) and check immediately. Â Security questions can be a real burden for people who are new to sign ups. Â Other questions like location also deter. Â ”Letters are case sensitive” means very little to the common user. Â In other words, Gmail does a great job but not a perfect job.
Boston.com forces one to fill out virtually all fields. Â They do tell you what to do right on the page but the number of unnecessary data points becomes a burden – people don’t want to put in what their job is just to get the paper. Â Instead of saying to the user, “We are using this info to customize the paper/ads for you”, they say nothing. Â Even after all that, they want the user to sign up for newsletters and then for information from advertisers.
Improving the use of forms involves
- Â Reduce number of fields
- Pre-submit username check
- Password security right on the password input box
- Following conventions like having ‘sign-in’ on top right of screen
- Have a clear privacy policy
But … These issues are not ‘sign-up’. Â Sign up is in the mind. Â Apathy is what drives people to not sign up. Â Are they motivated enough by what you’re offering to care about filling out the form? Â ”If ease of use were the only requirement, we would all be riding tricycles” (couldn’t read the author).
“Eager Sellers, Stony Buyers” is a great article on buying. Â If you are a current user of software, you typically overvalue it by a factor of 3. Â If you are software maker trying to sell software by a factor of 3. Â They actually think it’s 3 times better than it actually is. Â This is called the 9x effect whereby somebody who is already bought-in will experience a 9x overvaluation of the product when the seller is presenting it to them.
What we’re asking of the user with sign-up isn’t just to fill out a form, it’s also asking somebody to change their behavior, give up accepted practices, jump into the unknown, trade known quantity for an unknown, and a “shift from potential to kinetic energy”. Â
Motivation trumps the ease of use of the form.Â
We need to analyze what happens before the form.
- Product research
- Considering the alternative
- Learning about the product
- Comparison with existing products
- The user’s current situation
When you are the product creator or represent that company, you know much more about the product than the user who you’re attempting to convince. Â We need to design for 3 visitor types.
- I know I want to sign up (get out of the way).
- I want to make sure this is for me (Reiterate basic value proposition).
- I’m skeptical (convince with more thorough information).
Geni.com  has a great signup by having the user put the father’s name and mother’s name right into the signup form (they’re a geneaology site).  Immediately, this explains the purpose of the information and gets buy-in.
Netvibes.com is another site. Â If you haven’t been there before (no cookie), you’ll get an intro right off the bat. Â If you’ve been cookied (but not a member), you’ll get more of the end information without the intro information. Â Another concept is that once you’ve created a page, there is a sign that says, “Don’t lose your page, become a member now.” Â That is superior to just ‘Sign Up’.
Instant engagement is the first and most important thing. Â Show them what they’re getting, don’t describe or tell them.
Netflix is another great example. Â The main page tells you everything right there. Â ”Sign up today and try Netflix for FREE!” with a whole bunch of other follow-up content and the form is right there. Â In addtion, at the bottom, they give 4 tiles with the entire process of dealing with the company: Pick movies, get movies in mail, no late fees, drop movie in the mailbox. Â This simple explanation is critical. Â The copy uses words like “your” to show that this is how you deal with the system and “we” so it’s clear who is responsible for what. Â If none of that works, in the lower right there’s a phone number and chat link for people that want more information.
Tripit also has a 3 pane design showing how it works. Â They don’t even ask for people to sign up off the bat. Â Just have people forward the emails from Orbitz and that’s how they start the sign-in process. Â Movies and screencasts are also available – another great design element for this issue.
I won’t go into the details about these sites that are poorly done: BillMyClients.com. Â In a redesign, it’s even worse. Â The login is right on the home page but people who don’t know how to get a login or what the site does don’t know what to do. Â The login is best put in the top right. Â Also, the copy is really miserable – “Get a free email …” Â The visual hierarchy is completely wrong. Â Blinksale.com, which does essentially the same thing has a much better sign up page (I think I’ll have to check them out for invoicing). Â
Social Influence is the final piece of the sign up process. Â Basecamp does a great job with tons of testimonials from large brand publications and tastemakers and ‘normal’ people. Â Jaiku and Twitter make it real obvious that the whole world is on this, now, using it. Â Get press coverage on the web site. Â
In fine, motivation is everything.
Tags: sign-up
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