We are all sick of signing up for new services on the web, and a lot of times we don’t even end up using the services we sign-up for. For designers the sign-up process is something that needs to be constantly run through the gauntlet. Old patterns and practices need to be re-thought or tossed out. Pitching the service on the homepage in hopes that someone decides to sign up is outdated. When possible, registration needs to be one side effect of a positive experience with the service, not a pre-requisite for use. Picnik is an example of a service that gets everything right with it’s sign up experience.

1. Barely a few clicks in Picnik exposes the user to the main verbs. You can upload, edit, share and save photos without even creating an account. The main push of the site when you first visit it is to get you playing with its features.
   
2. Picnik allows the user to play with their content before committing to creating an account. Watching demo videos or using stock content before signing up is like buying a car without driving it… you better be sure you want it. Allowing a user to bring their content to the table makes the experience more personal and meaningful.
   
3. When its time to register Picnik only asks for 3 things, an email, a user name and a password. The registration form overlayed in a small window and barely interrupts the process of using the app, totally fluid.
   

Registration should be the side effect of a positive user experience with a service.

The sum of these three points is proof of personal value. We have to prove to potential users that our service is going to work for them and with them… they don’t want a layer of bullshit to sift through before they get to the core of the decision. Good services shouldn’t need demonstration videos, or marketing pitches. Get the user in and playing with the product with as few barriers to entry as possible. Forcing users to sign up for your service will get your registered users up but you might find your user base with more dead accounts than you care for down the road. While you are playing with Picnik at any point you can elect to register and effectively save what you have created in front of you. The proof of personal value should be right in front of the users face, and they should have had a part in proving it.

If customer service is the new marketing, then using the service for the first time is the new sign-up process.

So the recipe is provide the user with the means to prove personal value by first exposing the key verbs, secondly allowing the them play with their own data/content, and third, enabling registration at any point in their experience with minimal interruption.