SCRIBD ACCOUNT CREATION

Simplifying the sign up flow to help reduce user drop-off

 

Overview

ROLE

Senior Product Designer (lead designer)

TEAM

Product manager, user researcher, two frontend engineers, QA

PRODUCT GOAL

Increase sign ups and trial subscriptions

TIMELINE

3 months

 

Challenge

74% mobile web + 
66% desktop web 
users drop off 
at Account Creation.

A user searching the internet for a toaster manual or an SAT study guide may have no idea what Scribd is or what reading services we offer, they just want the document they came for.

How might we simplify the sign up flow to reduce friction?

TOO MANY HYPOTHESES

After auditing the site and reviewing the brief the product manager put together, it was clear that we had no clear concept of why users were dropping off. There were too many possibilities, but no obvious answer.

 
project_scribd_account_creation_hypotheses.png

User Research

I worked closely with a user researcher to run a survey to help identify the most critical user problems within Sign Up. From that survey, we were able to identify 3 primary design goals:

  1. Provide helpful copy that explains why users need to sign up

  2. Explain what Scribd is and provide a value proposition that resonates with doc users

  3. Streamline the UI to focus users’ attention on the options

 
project_scribd_account_creation_graph.png
 

Process

After learning more about the users we were solving for, I was able to create several design directions that addressed our goals, which we continued to test with users to make sure we were getting it right.

 
 
 

Solution

TYING USER BEHAVIOR TO SIGN UP

By adding a tag at the top of the screen that reflected the original entry point, the user was given context for why they were being asked to create an account. The question of “why would I sign up right now” was answered before the user needed to ask.

ESTABLISHING BRAND AWARENESS

We tested different headlines to see what resonated with users — things like, “Knowledge, on-demand” and “Go paperless with Scribd.” Overall, we found “the world’s largest digital library” to be the most descriptive and fitting for Scribd.

REDUCING THE COGNITIVE LOAD

We separated the sign up process into two steps — choosing a sign up method + providing an email and password. Dividing the flow this way reduced the cognitive load on the user as well as the friction they felt during sign up.

project_scribd_account_creation_devices.png

Results

+11.5%
account creations

+6.2%
trial subscribers

The results we saw were largely due to the multiple rounds of user research and testing we performed throughout the design process. In ensuring my solutions solved problems our users were actually facing, I was able to confidently make decisions that produced a substantial increase in user acquisition within a tricky flow.

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?

The learnings from this project influenced many projects thereafter, allowing us the opportunity to introduce valuable context and reduce the cognitive load for users at various touch points across the site.

CREATED USING

Sketch

InVision

Zeplin

Survey Monkey
usertesting.com
Scribd users