Signup Flow CRO v2

Signup Form Optimization

Field Reduction

Every additional field reduces conversion 5-10%. Minimum viable signup:

• Best: Email only (or social login)
• Good: Email + password
• Acceptable: Email + password + name
• Risky: Email + password + name + company + phone

Ask everything else AFTER signup (progressive profiling).

Social Login

Offer in order of conversion impact:

1. Google (highest adoption)
2. GitHub (dev tools)
3. Apple (mobile apps)
4. Microsoft (enterprise)
5. SSO/SAML (enterprise, behind "Enterprise login" link)

Place social login ABOVE email form (most users prefer it).

Password UX

• Show password strength indicator (real-time)
• Allow show/hide password toggle
• Minimum 8 chars, no arbitrary rules (no "must include uppercase + number + symbol")
• Support password managers (proper autocomplete attributes)

Email Verification

• Don't block access before verification (let them in, remind later)
• Verification email within 10 seconds
• Clear subject: "Verify your {Product} email"
• One-click verification button (no codes to type)
• Resend option visible after 30 seconds
• Fallback: magic link or code entry

Multi-Step Forms

When you MUST collect more info:

1. Step 1: Email + password (create account)
2. Step 2: Role + company size (personalize experience)
3. Step 3: Use case or goals (tailor onboarding)

Rules:

• Show progress indicator
• Allow skipping non-essential steps
• Save progress (don't lose data on back button)
• Each step has value for the user (personalization, not just your data collection)

Post-Signup Handoff

Within 5 seconds of signup:

• Redirect to first-value action (not empty dashboard)
• Welcome modal with 1-2 question setup wizard
• Start onboarding checklist

References

• references/signup-patterns.md — Signup form patterns and examples
• references/friction-checklist.md — 25-point friction audit