Getting Off to the Right Start with a Friendly Sign-up
If you haven’t already checked out 37signals’ Ta Da List, you should. Most of the buzz I’ve heard is about the simple, no-nonsense interface of the list itself. Maybe so—I haven’t played with it much yet. But what impressed me was how easy and truly friendly the sign-up UI was.
The form is conversational without being silly, and doesn’t worry about breaking grammar conventions to do so. For example, we have some incomplete sentences (“And enter that password again”). Some of the field labels are questions (“What’s your full name?”), while others are commands (“Choose a username”). The use of contractions also helps convey a less formal tone.
In a short time, you’re ready to hit the Create Account button, after having had a friendly little conversation with a helpful form. In that short time, you’ve already started to get a feeling you’re going to like this app…
First impressions like that are priceless.