# Why should sign-up screens be boring?

Author: Ali Abouelatta
Source date: 2024-08-02
Tags: signup, onboarding, conversion, functional design
HTML: https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/boring-sign-up-screens
Markdown: https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/boring-sign-up-screens.md

Short answer: Ali's review of Ring, AllTrails, Nextdoor, and Spotify signup redesigns found the functional, plain version won in each case. The pattern is that signup is a job-to-be-done moment: decorative videos, illustrations, and animation can distract from the CTA and can add download or bandwidth cost.

> Ali's review of Ring, AllTrails, Nextdoor, and Spotify signup redesigns found the functional, plain version won in each case.

## Visuals

### Primary visual: Functional versus delightful signup screen spectrum from First 1000.

Image URL: https://design.lazyweb.com/research-assets/boring-sign-up-screens/01-functional-vs-delightful.jpg
Original image URL: https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/83d3cc50-6726-4ddf-98fe-adbac2083e19_3488x15134.png
Image description: A tall comparison chart ranks signup patterns from simple functional designs through illustrations, carousels, slideshows, background videos, and animations.

### Visual: Ring signup screen experiment comparing a background video control against a plain experiment.

Image URL: https://design.lazyweb.com/research-assets/boring-sign-up-screens/02-ring-signup-experiment.jpg
Original image URL: https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/11a10304-17d3-49f3-933c-bc6de4a39baa_6903x3996.png
Image description: Ring tested a neighborhood background-video signup screen against a dark, plain signup screen; the visual calls out that the simple version won.

### Visual: AllTrails signup screen experiment comparing a hiking video control against a plain experiment.

Image URL: https://design.lazyweb.com/research-assets/boring-sign-up-screens/03-alltrails-signup-experiment.jpg
Original image URL: https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/757e03c0-6551-4d54-8c44-0cfec605f13c_6903x3996.png
Image description: AllTrails tested a hiking-trail background-video signup screen against a simpler dark signup screen with stacked auth options; the visual says the simple version won.

### Visual: Nextdoor signup screen experiment comparing a neighborhood video control against a plain experiment.

Image URL: https://design.lazyweb.com/research-assets/boring-sign-up-screens/04-nextdoor-signup-experiment.jpg
Original image URL: https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/e4fb3d2d-71bd-46d9-b7a4-a6df2ad48f46_6903x3996.png
Image description: Nextdoor tested a lively neighborhood background-video signup screen against a white, plain signup screen; the visual says the simple version won.

### Visual: Spotify signup screen experiment comparing a plain control against an illustrated experiment.

Image URL: https://design.lazyweb.com/research-assets/boring-sign-up-screens/05-spotify-signup-experiment.jpg
Original image URL: https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/b4ead1ec-7cb6-45b4-a91c-089935738ff9_6903x3996.png
Image description: Spotify tested a plain black signup screen against a similar screen with added background illustration; the visual says the illustration lost.

## Evidence

The source frames signup design as a functionality-versus-delight tradeoff, then shows four experiments where simpler UI beat more emotionally expressive signup screens.

## What changed

- Ring, AllTrails, and Nextdoor tested plain signup screens against background-video experiences.
- Spotify tested a simple signup screen against a version with added illustration.
- The functional versions focused attention on account creation and login actions.

## Why it matters

- Signup is a conversion step, so visual delight can become attention competition.
- Heavy media can increase app size and bandwidth requirements, which matters for users on slower networks.

## Sources

- [1] Lazyweb Research: boring signup screens. Ali reviews four recent signup-screen redesigns across Ring, AllTrails, Nextdoor, and Spotify and says functional, boring designs won in each experiment. [Source](https://read.first1000.co/p/use-boring-sign-up-screens)

## Methodology

Product-experiment write-up by Ali Abouelatta, dated on August 2, 2024. Source links are listed below.

- [First 1000 issue](https://read.first1000.co/p/use-boring-sign-up-screens)

## Related research

- [What did Ring learn from testing a boring sign-up screen?](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/ring-boring-sign-up-screen)
- [What did AllTrails learn from testing a boring sign-up screen?](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/alltrails-boring-sign-up-screen)
- [What did Nextdoor learn from testing a boring sign-up screen?](https://design.lazyweb.com/blog/nextdoor-boring-sign-up-screen)