Signing Up: Creating an Account 

Creating an account on a digital product or service offers users a better experience in the long run. Signing up can be a time consuming task, however, the effort put into doing so will improve the user's experience tremendously. Here are a few steps that can be taken to assist in the user's signing up process:

​

• Offer helpful user interface. Making it easier to sign up is the most straightforward way to ensure the process is not a hurdle to usability. Providing helpful error messages, a streamlined form, and a pleasant design can go a long way in ensuring a successful signup.

​

• Offer alternatives to signing up. Despite the above-mentioned efforts to reduce the amount of effort it takes for users to sign up, there can be pitfalls such as having to fill lengthy forms. To combat that, offer alternative options like Facebook or Google sign in, which leverages already-verifiable user information from those platforms to significantly decrease the form-filling.

​

• Validate information. Validation of both form entries and data that is to be uploaded can help maintain a smooth user flow. It can also prevent any malicious or incorrect information from restoring in the process.

​

• Make security a priority. Security should never be taken lightly in the sign up process, as it will be responsible for protecting user information. Offer secure authentication methods and require password complexity, as well as 2-factor authentication.

​

Login

The login portion of the user experience should also be taken into consideration. It is often in this step of the flow that the user will decide whether or not the effort it takes to log in is worth their time. If a user is not convinced the experience won't be worth their effort, they may not even complete the sign up process. 

​

• Intuitive flow. The login flow should be fluid and intuitive. There should be reminders to guide the user through the process if necessary, but also offer quick, easy login options such as “Sign in with Google” or “Remember me”, for those that are already signed up.

​

• Remember me. As mentioned, for returning users you should offer the “Remember me” option. This is a great idea to allow those who log in frequently to do so with ease.

​

• Secure authentication. You should also always require secure authentication. This may mean allowing users to log in with biometrics, or enabling them to reset their passwords, or even implementing 2-factor authentication, if possible.

​

Having a great view of the user’s signing up and logging in processes can be key in ensuring a successful user experience. Offer helpful suggestions to make the process as painless as possible, and be sure to take into account the hoops that users may have to jump through to successfully sign up and log in. Taking the time to refine this part of the user experience can be of great benefit to any digital product or service."""