(Attrib: Flickr/Rob Enslin)
When it comes to website design, speed and simplicity are key. It doesn’t take much for users to become confused or frustrated and abandon their intended action.
This applies particularly where user registration is concerned. Asking users to enter large amounts of data, or even minimal data in a confusing interface, can lead to users bouncing. For websites, that means lost conversions.
Social logins offer a method of drastically simplifying this process.
Social logins use existing social media network log-in data for a single sign-on process. The user simply chooses which network they would like to be associated with their new account, approves the login with their choice of social network, and that’s it (unless there is specific data that needs collecting). Social logins can drastically reduce the friction of the registration process.
The Pros
Data
Linking with a social network can give sites access to rich data on their users, much of which a site would have considerable difficulty collecting without the social media login.
Identity
While social media is not a guaranteed method for validating a user’s registration data, they are less likely to have created a fake social media account than they are to fill in other sites with fake data.
Using social media logins also means that sites can skip the step of confirming email addresses, because social media networks will have already done so.
Security
Writing your own log-in process and personal information data storage functionality can be resource intensive. Without expertise, it’s easy to get it wrong and, as a consequence, suffer an embarrassing data loss. In theory at least, the larger social networks will have expended a lot of effort to properly secure their data.
Reduction Of Failed Logins
Users often forget their passwords, their usernames, which emails they used, and which combinations of usernames and passwords they used on a particular site. That leads to many users making repeated failed log-in attempts.
This is what drove MailChimp (whom we’ll discuss more below) to start using social login buttons on their site. They experienced over 340,000 failed login attempts in just one month.
Mobile
While entering log-in data on desktops and laptops is a pain, it’s much worse on mobile devices. Many potential users are averse to filling in forms using the keyboards on their phones and tablets.
The Cons
There’s Some Evidence People Don’t Use Them
As we mentioned, MailChimp tried using social media login buttons on their site in an attempt to reduce failed logins. They found that only 3.4 percent of visitors actually used them. They cluttered up the log-in page without adding much extra value.
Of course, MailChimp’s experience represents one data point, and there is plenty of evidence to the contrary. What’s particularly interesting about the case of MailChimp is that they achieved a huge reduction in failed logins by other means (better error reporting and on-page copy).
Added Confusion
Not everyone has a Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, or Google Account. Many potential users will have one or the other, so the choice is between losing out on users who don’t have the login button you choose, or including all of them and a traditional login form for the ones who prefer not to use the social media.
So, while in theory complexity is reduced, in practice it may not be, and users are still left with the problem of remembering which social network they used for their login.
Security Again
While there are definite advantages to ‘outsourcing’ your log-in security, the obvious disadvantage is depending on a third party to do it properly. Sites need to carefully balance the advantages and disadvantages.
What have your experiences with social login buttons been? Let us know in the comments below.
