Registration Revamp
By Janice Crotty Fraser
In 1996, anyone who wanted to download Netscape or use its services had to persevere through 20 steps, fill out 26 fields of information, read more than 500 words of instruction, and click over to a partner site to download an authentication certificate, which he or she then "presented" at the Netscape site.
My task was to redesign this scandalous registration system; the goal was a short, consistent, usable interface within three weeks. But because the changes that I had specified had a huge impact on the system engineering and our marketing partners, it took more than six months of battles to get the new system slated for implementation. By the time it launched, I had long since left the company. (Go to ureg.netscape.com:80/iiop/UReg2/reg/register.)
This experience taught me that registration systems are big chunks of code. So if you want to redesign one, you either need lots of authority, very persuasive arguments, or design strategies that minimally affect the code and account for business practicalities.
The process turned me into a crusader for good registration experience design—and specifically for pragmatic redesigns that work well for users, are easy to implement, and avoid the minefields.
Usability Versus Business
When visitors are using a Web site, they have goals—to upload pictures, get a free email account, maybe bid on a complete set of Planet of the Apes videos.
