Mobile App 101

A registration form provides a portal for you to get to know your user. But if used in the wrong way, registration forms can range from being a mild inconvenience to straight up turn off. Which is why every mobile app developer should ask themselves if they really need their users to register. It might even be better to avoid registration completely if it is not crucial. If you decide that registration is needed, then you have to evaluate which type of registration is most appropriate for your mobile app.

In this two part blog post, we explore different forms of registration and how best to utilize them.

Email Registration

Email Registration is the most common type of registration form for any internet users. The only drawback is that it is massively different on mobile. Keying in a long string of characters on a small keyboard drives people away. Being forced to switch over to a web browser to verify a registration is yet another inconvenience. People usually don’t trust a newly downloaded App enough to give out their personal E-mail Address. There is also no way to prevent people from creating spoof accounts to cheat the system. E-mail registration will also only give a minimal amount of information for you. Making it useful only for business based Apps where members use business addresses and expects you to clutter their inbox with informational E-mail blasts. When used appropriately, however, this method will become another marketing channel for you.

Mobile Number Registration

The most logical method for registering App users at first sight, but delve deeper and an obvious problem crops up. People are less likely to entrust their personal phone number and there isn’t a quick way to create a spoof mobile number to game the system. Most people also find telemarketers to be immensely annoying and will do anything to avoid being on their call list. You may not be one of the unethical businessmen selling your phone number database to call centers, but there isn’t an easy way to convince your users about it.

However, it is a much safer and swifter registration process using your phone number as it requires less typing and there isn’t an easy way to spoof a mobile number. Yet it also proves to be one of the more expensive ways of registration for mobile app developers to consider as the cost of sending registration and confirmation SMSes quickly adds up.

Social Network Registration

With Social Network being the trendiest and most common mobile app registration, it is no wonder that almost every App on the market incorporate and supports at least one form of Social Network registration. It is simple, quick and require minimal investment from a user. They simply have to connect their existing profile. Going this route opens up a potentially viral channel of marketing.

Consider the demographic you are targeting and determine the most popular platform of Social Media they use. Keeping in mind that different location and age group also affects the type of Social Media platform used.

In the second part of this blog series, we will look at Optional Registration and Combination types of registration. We will also explore how App developers have to deal with Design and Implementation. Stay plugged in and check our industry leading Mobility Platform that gives you more freedom with registration forms ever!