Sign Up Forms Must Die
alistapart.com
Sign Up Forms Must Die
1–10 of 37 posts
Re: Sign Up Forms Must Die
#2The irony is you have to sign up to leave a comment on that article.
Re: Sign Up Forms Must Die
#3The irony is you have to sign up to leave a comment on that article.
lol.. that's classic
Re: Sign Up Forms Must Die
#4Use OpenID, perhaps? Add a ClickPass widget?
Re: Sign Up Forms Must Die
#5If the gradual engagement includes a reasonably complex operation, like writing an article and then creating an account to post it, does this obviate the need for a CAPTCHA?
I'm curious, because I hate CAPTCHAs, but only slightly less than I hate being used as a splog.
I think it might, so I'm feeling happy.
Re: Sign Up Forms Must Die
#6[deleted]
Re: Sign Up Forms Must Die
#7The irony is you have to sign up to leave a comment on that article.
Except commenting isn't the primary purpose of the article. It would be ironic if you had to fill out a sign up form just to read it.
But I'm sure you were just poking fun, so poke away, haha.
Re: Sign Up Forms Must Die
#8How would you make this site have a gentler slope? Let the user post a comment and then say "Thanks for the comment, now you just need an account to publish this. Enter your username/password."?
Some of the sites that do "gradual engagement" piss me off when they let me believe I'm about to do something and then surprise me with a sign up form. It strikes me as tricky and I very frequently walk away.
I certainly believe it's smart to let users do as much as possible without requiring them to sign up. I think the idea of signing up is pretty ingrained in people though. If you make it dead simple (like this site or reddit) it's not much of a barrier and it keeps things straightforward.
Re: Sign Up Forms Must Die
#9Use OpenID, perhaps? Add a ClickPass widget?
OpenID currently only speeds up the registration process, not replace it
Re: Sign Up Forms Must Die
#10"Upon arriving at [Google Video], they found a link to share their video and what happened next? They got the form in Figure 13.1."
"It’s only when you want to publish or share your movie that Jumpcut asks for your name and email so you and others can access the movie you just made."
I -hate- the web experience this article describes. If you're going to make me sign up to use your service, tell me. Don't string me along and waste my time.
The point the author seems to be making: let people know what they're getting before you make them sign up. Well, I think Google Video does a pretty good job at that. And I can -view- any video I want to without signing up. Is that "gradual engagement"? If so, why is it being criticized? If not, how is it different?
In fact, the more I think about this, the more the practice counters the principle. The principle seems to be (and ought to be), "Let your potential customers know what they're getting right away." Google Video does that. And if I ever want to go 'deeper' (from watching videos to posting them, or collecting them), I know right away that I need to sign up.
On the other hand, to _view_ the video I've spent the last however long _making_ on JumpCut, I get SURPRISED by a registration form. Plus, why would I need to register to -see- a video. I can understand needing to register to post or save a video, but to see it? I'd argue, then, that Google Video actually does a -better- job delaying the registration component than any of these examples.
And they're up-front about it from the start.