Show the Value Proposition, Don’t Just State It
The summation of this post is this: Put as few obstacles between your users and your site’s functionality as possible. It sounds simple, but a lot of sites do not follow this basic rule. Largely this applies to site registration and when to require a user to register. Often sites will only offer screen shots or demos of their functionality and require users to register to get into the real experience. Let people use your site before you require them to register, let them use the tools, create some content, do whatever it is your site offers, all without the hassle of account creation. But do so in a way that lets people know that everything they create will disappear if they do not register. When a user clicks “Save”, then prompt them to register. That way users get to know first hand what the value proposition of your site is as opposed through marketing pages, demos or screen shots. They have also invested some time and energy working with your site; they will be more likely to register to save that.
Another point about registration that was raised in several panels was do not require users to provide a lot of data during registration. Many sites ask for way too much info during the account creation process. Even if only a few of the fields are required, they are a perceived barrier to the user. Ideally a registration form should consist fields for email address and password and not much more. There are ways of encouraging users to provide more data after registration. More on that when I discuss video game metaphors in web site UI design.