How do I enter my email?

How effective is having users enter their email address, confirm their email, and then enter a password in order to register for a service?

• As compared to just having users enter their email and password. I noticed Heroku does this. Does this method of registration increase sign ups?

• Answer:

  The point of e-mail verification is to simply verify that the user does indeed own the e-mail, prevent false accounts, spammers, etc. Other than the "security check," there isn't a benefit to the user in having to check his/her e-mail before becoming engaged in the service. Not having to verify one's e-mail will always be a better user experience (the lazy registration). It's a security versus user experience argument. Now, I doubt that - unless the registration form is completely unusable in itself - using either method would actually make a difference in the number of sign ups. It would make more sense saying that the conversion rate after sign ups is potentially affected by this choice instead. Now if a verification is the way it must be, the verification message must be clear and distinct in order to not be detrimental to the user experience. In short, you want to minimize the chances that a user completes a registration form, expects to be able to fully engage in the service immediately after, and get confused/frustrated when he realizes that he is still locked out. Don't make the message appear as if the registration has been complete because, in reality, it isn't actually completed until the e-mail is verified. Some good Web articles regarding this pattern: http://www.90percentofeverything.com/2009/04/16/five-ux-antipatterns-to-avoid-when-designing-log-in-registration-areas/ http://www.alistapart.com/articles/signupforms http://www.90percentofeverything.com/2009/04/16/five-ux-antipatterns-to-avoid-when-designing-log-in-registration-areas/#ev