How many times have you seen a link to an online resource that seemed interesting, and clicked on the link only to be taken to a form saying "Please sign up or log in to your account to access this page"?

This happens frequently with me, always with the same result: bouncing.

What is going to take to get people to understand that this model is broken?

Please go read Sign Up Forms Must Die, by Luke Wroblewski, and learn how smart web services use the process of gradual engagement, letting users learn first what you have to offer, before asking them to provide an email address, select a password, tell you their name, their location, verify this strange word and agree to your terms of service.


One of Wroblewski's examples, Geni (a website that allow users to build a family tree), has produced five million profiles in five months with their gradual engagement approach. Do you really think your "register first" approach is better?


Update:

I started reading Reality Check: The Irreverent Guide to Outsmarting, Outmanaging, and Outmarketing Your Competition by Guy Kawasaki right after writing this post, and was happy to see the author offer a similar advice:

In: Chapter 32, "Stupid Ways to Hinder Market Adoption"

1. Enforced, immediate registration. Requiring a new user to register and provide a modicum of information is a reasonable request--just do it after you've sucked the person in. Most sites require registration as the first step, and this puts a barrier in front of adoption. At the very least, companies could ask for name and e-mail addres but not require it until a later time.

Kawasaki's book was included in Amazon's Top 10 Editors' Pick in Business & Investing for 2008, and there wouldn't be so many broken interactions in the Internet if more web designers and online content owners read it. Buy it following the link on this post and using Amazon's one-click checkout, and you will be also helping a charitable cause.