4 ms·

I agree with the premise but the solution has UX issues of its own. Some users, like me, have learned to use the registration form as an account checker for th

I agree with the premise but the solution has UX issues of its own. Some users, like me, have learned to use the registration form as an account checker for their own email. I don't remember if I have an account on some websites, and if I do I don't remember with which email+password combo, and the password reset page doesn't tell whether the email is correct, and it often takes 10 minutes for them to send a reset email so I still don't know whether I'm registered with the email I entered and should just wait or not registered at all and no email was sent. So instead I just try to register and bam, instant answer. In addition to that, the context switch to emails increases friction significantly during registration. It's much easier for the user to be logged-in immediately and not have to check their email. That's not even taking into account the wasted time of having to re-enter all your info. Disclaimer: I know the first issue is solved with a password manager and a faster email service, that's not the point.

thomastjeffery 4y ago
You might not know if you have an account, and you might not remember your password. The solution to either problem is the same: send an email. So why not merge the two processes? Actually, any "forgot username/password" link effectively does this already. The only thing we need to do is make that more obvious. I think the easiest way would be to separate username creation from password creation. Just have a single sign-up prompt asking for an email address, and put the link to the password creation page into the sent email. Set the title/content of the email to clearly show whether an account exists already (with a password reset link) or doesn't (with a password/account creation link). If the user stops there (the account creation email answered their question: they don't have an account with this email), then you can simply expire the password-set link without ever creating the account.
- ad404b8a372f2b9 4y ago
  It's not a solution to the problem I described, if it were the forgot password page would already solve it.
  - thomastjeffery 4y ago
    > it often takes 10 minutes for them to send a reset email That's the only part of your description I can see that I didn't account for. For any of this to work, the email must be sent quickly.
    - ad404b8a372f2b9 4y ago
      Yes that's a crucial part of the issue, because many websites send their emails very slowly. So the lack of email can mean both: "No account for this email" "Yes, there is an account for this email but it'll become apparent much later" And your website might send emails fast, but that won't solve the issue because as a user I don't know if your website is fast or slow, so if I'm not registered with the email I entered, I'll see no email in my inbox and I'll have to assume it's one of the slow websites and wait 10 minutes refreshing to be sure. That's why as a user I use the sign-up form to check if I already have an account instantly, and I'd be dissatisfied by an email-based system. I guess it's for the website admins to weigh ease of use against security, but I feel often using email worsens the U.X in a way that's not justified by the security benefits.
      - thomastjeffery 4y ago
        There's only one UX path that doesn't involve email, apart from just logging in, and that's when you do know the password, but don't know the email. In that case, you probably only have few enough email addresses to try that that isn't an issue. In every other path, you will definitely be waiting (hopefully not long) for an email, so what does it matter?
        ad404b8a372f2b9 4y ago
        Imagine you're an average person and you have 3 emails and 3 passwords that you typically (and repeatedly) use, in any combination. (That's pretty much every non-software person I know, and me on every site before I started using a password manager) To login you have to try 9 combinations, but your account will be frozen after 3 wrong tries. The log-in screen does not tell you whether you have the wrong email or the wrong password. With the sign-up screen you can immediately know which email you used, then you only have to try the 3 passwords, and then you're in. If you don't remember the password you can go to the forgot password screen and be confident you'll get the reset email, since you know the right address to enter.

thomastjeffery 4y ago

You might not know if you have an account, and you might not remember your password. The solution to either problem is the same: send an email. So why not merge the two processes? Actually, any "forgot username/password" link effectively does this already. The only thing we need to do is make that more obvious. I think the easiest way would be to separate username creation from password creation. Just have a single sign-up prompt asking for an email address, and put the link to the password creation page into the sent email. Set the title/content of the email to clearly show whether an account exists already (with a password reset link) or doesn't (with a password/account creation link). If the user stops there (the account creation email answered their question: they don't have an account with this email), then you can simply expire the password-set link without ever creating the account.

ad404b8a372f2b9 4y ago
It's not a solution to the problem I described, if it were the forgot password page would already solve it.
- thomastjeffery 4y ago
  > it often takes 10 minutes for them to send a reset email That's the only part of your description I can see that I didn't account for. For any of this to work, the email must be sent quickly.
  - ad404b8a372f2b9 4y ago
    Yes that's a crucial part of the issue, because many websites send their emails very slowly. So the lack of email can mean both: "No account for this email" "Yes, there is an account for this email but it'll become apparent much later" And your website might send emails fast, but that won't solve the issue because as a user I don't know if your website is fast or slow, so if I'm not registered with the email I entered, I'll see no email in my inbox and I'll have to assume it's one of the slow websites and wait 10 minutes refreshing to be sure. That's why as a user I use the sign-up form to check if I already have an account instantly, and I'd be dissatisfied by an email-based system. I guess it's for the website admins to weigh ease of use against security, but I feel often using email worsens the U.X in a way that's not justified by the security benefits.
    - thomastjeffery 4y ago
      There's only one UX path that doesn't involve email, apart from just logging in, and that's when you do know the password, but don't know the email. In that case, you probably only have few enough email addresses to try that that isn't an issue. In every other path, you will definitely be waiting (hopefully not long) for an email, so what does it matter?
      - ad404b8a372f2b9 4y ago
        Imagine you're an average person and you have 3 emails and 3 passwords that you typically (and repeatedly) use, in any combination. (That's pretty much every non-software person I know, and me on every site before I started using a password manager) To login you have to try 9 combinations, but your account will be frozen after 3 wrong tries. The log-in screen does not tell you whether you have the wrong email or the wrong password. With the sign-up screen you can immediately know which email you used, then you only have to try the 3 passwords, and then you're in. If you don't remember the password you can go to the forgot password screen and be confident you'll get the reset email, since you know the right address to enter.