Upgrade StorageConfusing register user experience
I have some suggestions concerning the signup process on zotero.org. I had noticed the problems (imho) described below before, but was reminded of them again just now, as I sat next to a colleague trying to get her to try out the new sync features of Zotero 2.0. I think improvements in the signup experience may lower the attrition rate a lot. In order of importance:
1. There is no confirmation that the signup process went without errors! This is extremely confusing, as there is no feedback at all to reassure the user everything is ok, nor instructions of what to do next. I would suggest a message system (with a javascript "dismiss" button, maybe). That would also be very useful in other parts of the site.
2. It is my impression that lately the re-captcha plugin gives impossible to decipher second words. I understand that only the first word is necessary to pass the bot-test, but for new users a completely impossible to decipher second word is very discouraging. I suggest another captcha system (or may re-captcha can be configured to be "easier"?)
3. During the signup process an invalid username give a red URL (with Ajax, very nice). But the red color is not enough to signal that the username is not valid, especially if the new user has not yet seen the green color. I suggest less subtlety here: "this username is already taken, please choose another", something like that.
1. There is no confirmation that the signup process went without errors! This is extremely confusing, as there is no feedback at all to reassure the user everything is ok, nor instructions of what to do next. I would suggest a message system (with a javascript "dismiss" button, maybe). That would also be very useful in other parts of the site.
2. It is my impression that lately the re-captcha plugin gives impossible to decipher second words. I understand that only the first word is necessary to pass the bot-test, but for new users a completely impossible to decipher second word is very discouraging. I suggest another captcha system (or may re-captcha can be configured to be "easier"?)
3. During the signup process an invalid username give a red URL (with Ajax, very nice). But the red color is not enough to signal that the username is not valid, especially if the new user has not yet seen the green color. I suggest less subtlety here: "this username is already taken, please choose another", something like that.
1. You should be automatically logged in after a successful registration. This is flaky at the moment so we'll look into what's going on.
2. I agree recaptcha can be frustrating, but I think its still one of the best captchas available.
3. Good point. This can definitely be made clearer.