Web Apps Don’t Motivate New Users Enough

August 6, 2009

Building a successful web application is not easy. And one of the areas I find particularly lacking in many new web apps is the experience immediately after signing up. Thankfully, signing up for web applications has gotten a lot simpler and faster with authentication through Twitter or Facebook, but it’s not even the standard sign-up process (where you fill in a form, wait for a confirmation email, click the link and then login) that’s really problematic.

It’s the experience immediately after.

Web applications are popping up daily. They’re a dime a dozen. And like any good “early adopter” I’m game to try new things. But I find my engagement with new web applications is dismal. A big part of that is because I’m not motivated or excited enough by the post-sign up experience.

How many times have you signed up for a web application only to be confronted with a “My Profile” type link that asks you to fill out more basic information? Upload a photo, perhaps? And again, Facebook Connect and Twitter oauth can eliminate some of this, but most web applications are all the same in that way. You sign-up and you’re … *yawn*

It’s hard enough to get people to convert through a sign-up process only to lose them ten seconds later because they’re left unmotivated and uninspired. When building a web app think about that very first experience that a user has after they sign-up. Can you give them something to do that’s entertaining / engaging? Can you hook them in a unique way? Can you make them say, “Hhhm…that’s cool. Let me dig into this more.”

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Comments
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  • wilkie2726
    great post....I worked in web analytics, and you wouldn't believe how much improvment page layout, usability and accessibility can offer to your registration conversion rates
  • mattss
    can’t help but conclude that it overlooks another valuable contribution the Internet has made to the economy: www.quartztube.net www.picturephotoframe.com behavioral data as a source of consumer insight that can radically improve how companies go to market.
  • mattss
    can’t help but conclude that it overlooks another valuable contribution the Internet has made to the economy: www.quartztube.net www.picturephotoframe.com behavioral data as a source of consumer insight that can radically improve how companies go to market.
  • mattss
    can’t help but conclude that it overlooks another valuable contribution the Internet has made to the economy: www.quartztube.net behavioral data as a source of consumer insight that can radically improve how companies go to market.
  • unique_gift_ideas
    I understand that obtaining our personal information is how most companies are able to survive, but they should make it easier for us to give it to them. Easier in the sense that we would be more willing if they made the experience more enjoyable.
  • tile_cleaning_kansas_city
    Agreed. We should have the option to develop our profile later. If you're signing up for a new app, chances are that you want to use it right now. You don't want to have to go through so many doors in order to use the app. Like you said, motivation and inspiration is lost almost instantly.
  • all web apps developer should concentrate on making something which interest people along with the sign up process.something which pull a visitor back to the application.
  • Lee
    You said, "Web applications are popping up daily, they're a dime a dozen." So true! And many of them don't work well or take too much time to figure out. I wouldn't sign up for a web app unless I saw it in action somewhere else because I've had such bad experiences with giving away my email address just to get junk. So, making a great product is still the best policy!
  • Good list. We've got to continue giving away info and experience, but need to create an engaging experience that will bring people back for more the next day. Mafia Wars on FB does a great job and has 5M+ daily players because of it
  • Sometimes I don't remember the sites I've signed up with until my birthday when they send me the automated "happy birthday" email. :-) Before people put resources into developing things, they should do a research of what's out there, what works, and what doesn't work first before they start a another run-of-the-mill web app.
  • This is a very accurate assessment, Ben. And I think your observation can be extended to other types of web development.

    For example, when a user signs up for newsletter updates, they all too often have to wait one week or more to receive the next published newsletter. By the time it arrives they have lost that initial interest and their emotional connection with the website.

    It would take the website administrator all of 30 seconds each week to paste the content from their current newsletter into the body of their "thank you for subscribing" autogenerated email. This simple change would provide new subscribers instant gratification and keep them pumped for the next information packed newsletter later that week.
  • I couldn't agree more.

    I'd advise that early stage product companies focus a full 50% of their effort on the "immediate gratification" of a dead-simple signup and then something that excites them.

    That ratio can decrease over time, but in the beginning, if you can't excite the newly-converted, what good is it to build "the rest" of your app?
  • Jay
    I completely agree. People are impatient no one wants to wait for gratification
  • Absolutely true Ben. It's actually one of the areas we focus on the most at Rypple — how to make sure that users who register and log in have an experience that makes them want to come back, and the experience that first time advisers have when they unexpectedly get a Rypple from a contact.

    We've recently started using http://usertesting.com and I can't say enough good stuff about them. It's a great way to get to watch people go through researching your site, signing up, and having a 'blank slate' experience. Check it out!
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