8 tips for a smooth and delightful sign-up flow
Garages, we would love them to be tidy and well-organised, but over time they always turn into chaos. How often aren’t we planning on restoring order and cleaning up? But motivation already evaporates when we stand in front of the big mess. We just don’t know where to start! Sign-up forms are not any different. If we see a list of input fields stretching beyond the borders of our screen we’d rather run to the nearest exit. Let’s do this later.
But what if we got a little help? Someone who would guide us to break down the big job into smaller ones. Let’s first order our garden equipment or ask for one piece of information instead of all. Let’s turn that form into a flow.
“Too many choices or irrelevant options can cause hesitation, confusion, or worse abandonment.”
― Nir Eyal
Not that long ago, our sign-up was one of those horror forms. Customers had to provide us with all the information we needed and in the worst case, we wouldn’t even be able to provide them our services. Most of the customers did get the job done, but it wasn’t a delightful experience. This blog will touch upon 8 key learnings which helped us in creating a stepped sign-up flow and a delightful first experience.
1: Ask only what’s necessary
Which information do you really need from someone for them to start using your service? Information like the customer’s birthday is most likely not mandatory for them to sign-up. Each step you add creates an extra hurdle to jump over. The more hurdles, the more likely your new customer will drop out. During our sign-up process, we only ask what’s essential. First and foremost, we need to know if we can deliver at the customer’s address. Additionally, the E-mail address and password we use to get in contact and give the customer the ability to log in. And lastly, we ask for the customer’s phone number so they can use SMS verification to securely log in to the app. If you don’t have such security features, you can leave out the phone number. It is one of the higher hurdles since customers might get the feeling that they will receive unwanted marketing calls. If you don’t need it to get started, skip it.
2: Timing is everything
Consider when it makes the most sense to ask for which information, maybe the sign-up isn’t the place for it. For example, at Picnic we only ask for the customer’s first and last name when they place their first order. Simply because the Runners needs to know which doorbell to ring. Asking for this information during check-out makes more sense. At check-out, we can explain that we need this information to make the delivery successful. The customer is more likely to provide this information at this point. During sign-up asking for this information doesn’t make much sense, since the customer doesn’t see the value of it.
3: Take the customer by the hand
So now we know what the questions will be in our sign-up form. Luckily we are not tied to a physical piece of paper, which means we can split these questions over multiple screens. By creating these splits, we create more focus for the customer. Also, similar to planning framework SCRUM, we split the big task of filling the complete form into smaller individual tasks. Completing a small task is easier and gives a feeling of completion. Robert Cialdini’s principle of commitment and consistency states that if a customer makes a small step or completes the first action towards a goal they are more likely to complete the task. It’s recommended to start with questions that can be answered from the top of mind and aren’t privacy sensitive. Once the customer has taken a first small step, they are more likely to complete the entire flow. Humans don’t like to quit, so when a couple of harder questions come later, they are less likely to drop out. Completing things gives us a nice feeling.
4: Tell me why
Even though we carefully weigh what we need to ask during the sign-up, it is still important to tell what we will do with this data and why we need it right now. For example, if we do need the phone number, which is quite a sensitive topic as mentioned earlier, it’s really important that we emphasise that we will use this for security reasons such as 2FA.
5: Make it conversational
One big downfall of our previous sign-up form was that we asked to fill in the complete form, even if later on it turned out we didn’t deliver at their address. Quite a bad experience, putting in all the effort to complete the form and not getting the reward. By creating a stepped flow, we can take side paths. As in conversation, we can give tailored questions based on the answers we got. For example, when we do not deliver at the customer’s address, we can ask if they want to be updated when we do.
6: Get the details right
The small interactions will turn this flow into a smooth ride. For example, always start with the keyboard open and the field in focus. The customer can start typing right away, saving an extra click or two in each step. When there are multiple fields, make sure the keyboard has the next key enabled, so that the customer does not have to scroll or search for the next field. Even better, if your field has a fixed input, like for example a postal code. Make this transition to the next field go automatically when the requirements for the field have been met.
7: Clear copy
When a customer is on the quest to complete a task as quickly as possible, you want to coach them with clear instructions to their goal. Our new sign-up has a fixed format on every screen, so the customer learns quickly where to look for the instructions they need. We always state the question first, directly asking for the input we’re looking for. The customer can choose to enter the input straightaway. In case the customer has questions, we give a little explanation of what we will do with this data. But keep it short, there’s a big chance that a customer won’t read a long piece of copy.
8: Small delights
You never get a second chance to make a first impression. This is probably the first time the customer interacts with your product, let’s make it a memorable experience. In our sign-up, each step is enriched with a Lottie animation. For example, celebrating that we deliver at the address with some balloons popping up. Or, my personal favorite, Peter Picnic closing his eyes when the customer is typing their password. By adding these small delights the customer is not only satisfyingly completing tasks but also has a smile on their face doing so.
Final word
During testing the sign-up with customers we already noticed how easily they flow through it. The interaction was very natural to complete. Since we have rolled-out this new flow we have seen an increase in the rate of successful completion: more new customers successfully sign-up. 🎉
For many of us, filling out long-winded forms sometimes feels as the bane of our existence. However, with a few smart tweaks you don’t have to put your customers through the same thing. We’ve learned that sign-up flows don’t just have to work, but can actually be that delightful first experience your customer remember.
