I’m almost at the end of working on this sign up process, so here are a few basics.

• Ensure that having to sign up is actually necessary
• Inform the user what the benefits are if you sign up
• Only request the minimum amount of information required
• Show links for ‘Sign in’ and ‘Forgotten your password?’
• The form labels should be simple and obvious
• When showing form errors, make it explicit where the error actually is (i.e. explain if it’s either the email or the password that is wrong)

Well, there is still lots more to learn, and if you are interested, here is a little bit more reading :

• Smashing Magazine, Web Form Design Patterns: Sign-Up Forms
• User Interface Engineering, Account Sign in: 8 Design Mistakes to Avoid
• A List Apart, Sign Up Forms Must Die ( excerpt from the Web Forms Book mentioned before)

Tags: design, process, sign up, user experience