Easy To Cancel makes it Easier to Sign Up • Hacker News Board

Re: Easy To Cancel makes it Easier to Sign Up

#11

Post by dhx » Thu, Oct 27, 2011, 10:00 AM UTC

Splitting long forms across multiple pages can be detrimental to usability.

As a user, I want to know what information is going to be requested of me prior to commencing completion of the forms. I don't want to reach the payment page after filling in countless other fields to discover that my preferred payment method won't be accepted or the shipping rates are unacceptable. Placing form fields on a single page means that the user doesn't have to hand over information at the risk of not receiving something in return.

Requesting an email address or password multiple times is frustrating too. Hacker News gets this right. To sign up, all a user has to do is type text into two fields, click a button and it's done - ready to use.

Re: Easy To Cancel makes it Easier to Sign Up

#12

Post by freejack » Thu, Oct 27, 2011, 10:38 AM UTC

sirclueless wrote: post #5

younata wrote: post #3

Isn't it also easier to implement if you don't force the customer to go through a rather long and annoying cancel form? Win-win for the developer and the user, then.

Perhaps win-win for the customers and developers, but not so win-win for the investors. Personal gyms practically make their living out of impossible-to-cancel memberships. Some economist should do an analysis of how much money is spent on unwanted/unused subscription fees. I bet the answer would be interesting.

Some economist should do an analysis of the long term prospects of a company that builds "screwing the customer" into their business model.

I'm consistently surprised at how many people think its okay to push the bounds of what's acceptable in this area. I've taken the view in my business that "no games" is the only way to build long term value and I receive feedback daily from my customers how refreshing our approach is.

It is definitely a win-win for everyone, including investors, when a business can build long-time value. I'd argue its the best type of win.

Re: Easy To Cancel makes it Easier to Sign Up

#13

Post by natrius » Thu, Oct 27, 2011, 11:42 AM UTC

dhx wrote: post #11

Splitting long forms across multiple pages can be detrimental to usability. As a user, I want to know what information is going to be requested of me prior to commencing completion of the forms. I don't want to reach the payment page after filling in countless other fields to discover that my preferred payment method won't be accepted or the shipping rates are unacceptable. Placing form fields on a single page means…

"As a user, I want to know what information is going to be requested of me prior to commencing completion of the forms."

What you want doesn't necessarily correlate with what will make a business the most money. I'd bet that significantly more people complete the forms when they're split, and people don't have a significant negative reaction to being "tricked" into a multi-step sign up process.

Re: Easy To Cancel makes it Easier to Sign Up

#14

Post by brohee » Thu, Oct 27, 2011, 2:35 PM UTC

badclient wrote: post #9

I'll wait for more evidence that making it super duper clear that you can cancel significantly improves conversion. Now this doesn't mean that cancellation may be a non-significant factor. I just think that it is more of a macro factor than a micro one that can be done right on just your own site and be expected to have an impact. If the last three sites the user signed up on had shitty cancellation, your text promis…

Maybe it doesn't help first time convertion, but I can easily see how it can make it easier for a lost customer to return. A hard to cancel service means burning all bridges with leaving customers.