User registration and user onboarding are the first contacts between users and your platform or business. Building a great experience in both determines the success of your product’s usage. Plus, registration and onboardings comprise many crucial factors that need to be taken into account — identity verification, user experience, security, and authentication, among others.

Based on these pillar concepts, different use cases can be defined. Today, we define the most popular use cases in user registration and onboarding.

User registration and user onboarding: What are they and how to approach them

In previous articles, we have examined the concepts of user registration and user onboarding in depth.  

User registration processes normally refer to a cycle that includes the first contact between the user and a certain platform and ends when the same user successfully creates an account to access this platform. 

Onboarding processes can include the registration process as well, and they usually refer to the cycle when registered users start getting acquainted with a certain platform, and until they find its value. 

Yet, depending on the type of platform, product, or user, these concepts can blend. Today, we will define different use cases for user registration and user onboarding, considering these as a cycle from the user’s first arrival till their first contact with the platform as registered users.

5 user signup or onboarding use cases 

Depending on the business’ needs, different onboarding use cases can be defined. These are the main signup use cases we can draw based on the needs of main sectors. 

1. Fast B2C ecommerces

Business to consumer ecommerces need a particular type of signup, since the final action of this funnel is a purchase. To be more specific, sectors with fast purchases such as fashion, beauty, wellness goods, or fooding (among others) have specific needs and can omit other best practices used in other sectors. In these cases, a quick signup that doesn’t interfere with the user’s buying experience is crucial. On the other hand, user onboardings and activation or gathering user’s data are secondary. 

The use case: Social media signup

Signing in with social media is a must-have element in most ecommerces. This registration system allows one-click signup, a priority element to ensure a quick bridge to the purchase. Displaying a social login option in a fast ecommerce dramatically increases conversion rates, according to our own statistics.

A real-life example: ASOS

ASOS displays four different social signup options: Google, Apple, Facebook and Twitter. Apart from this, users can sign up using their email address. This system allows users to enroll simply with one click. Plus, social login options can offer interesting demographic data about the user, if it is stored in the selected social media.

2. Slow B2C ecommerces

Ecommerces represent a vast sector, with different pain points depending on different subtypes. When talking about good user registration processes, there is a great difference between fast and slow ecommerces.

We understand by slower B2C ecommerces those online shops with less hot purchases, where the first interaction made by the user and the final purchase takes a long meditation process. This can be due to the fact that the good is less frequently needed to buy, or because the good is pricey. Examples may include furniture shops, household appliance stores, or online car dealers.

It is normal that these online shops are oriented to maintaining a good relationship with the user in the long term, rather than driving them to an unlikely hot sale. Building trust and getting to know the customer needs is a priority in this particular sector.

The solution: Data-oriented signups

Building a realistic user profile in this sector is determining to obtain great sales rates. In order to do so, we recommend you build a signup form that is oriented to key information about the user’s needs. 

As you already know, longer forms tend to have worse conversion rates, but this can pay off in the long term. Plus, there are other profiling strategies you can apply. Progressive profiling consists of getting information out of the user in different moments, so users aren’t overwhelmed by form’s inquiries. Other profiling strategies include data enrichment tools that extract useful information by scanning the user’s online presence. 

When obtaining this information, you will be able to propose personalized suggestions to the user. In a broader vision, you can also use this data to profile your user personas, and orient your strategies towards them.

A real-life example: Ikea

Ikea is a good example of a slow B2C, where customers may take a long meditation process before executing a purchase. To ease this process, a progressive profiling strategy is applied. In it, users are asked different questions about the home and their needs. These questions allow posing personalized suggestions, and facilitating the decision-making process for the user.

3. Software-as-a-service (SaaS) products

Most SaaS products can present different pricing and features for private users or for corporate users, therefore have B2C or B2B business models. If this is your case, you need a signup form that takes these differences into account. 

The use case: Dynamic forms with conditional logic

With a dynamic flow, you can create two or more different itineraries, and display them to B2C or B2B cases, separately. Simply by taking into account the user’s email domain, you can trigger the correspondent form path. 

Forms with dynamic behavior can also adapt to the user’s profile or the user’s responses in the form. Form input is used to trigger different itineraries, which results in a completely personalized user experience. With a personalized form, you can orient the form questions to reach your objectives, or propose different options to different user personas. 

A real-life example: Canva

Canva bases its signup on the user’s email domain. Two different paths are displayed, depending on whether the email is a corporate email or a private one. In the first case, users are suggested to try Canva PRO, while the second one omits this step and asks profile questions.

4. Audiovisual content platforms

Content platforms (such as music streaming platforms or series platforms) tend to work with subscription plans, hence the importance of adding an extra layer of security, in case the user’s email account gets hacked. Apart from ensuring user authentication, other types of verification need to be applied, for instance when executing a payment. 

The use case: Multi-factor authentication and verification

Many of these businesses include different types of verification. The most common method to ensure the security of users’ accounts is email or SMS verification. By sending a one-time code or a magic link to the user’s email address or phone number, the user’s device can be verified 

Aside from a must-have email or SMS verification, other systems can be applied too. For instance, IP addresses can be scanned to check they match the user’s country, and the proper subscription fee is charged.

A real-life example: Twitch

The Twitch signup only requires some personal information (username and date of birth) and setting a password to create an account.

Still, to start broadcasting with your Twitch account it is necessary to add multi-factor authentication. This adds an extra layer of security, to avoid other people broadcasting from your personal account without your permission. 

In this case, the second factor of authentication is the verification of the phone number. Users need to enter their phone number, and receive a one-time code that verifies their identity. 

5. Finance and banking

Not every onboarding has the same needs and pains, and this is clear when we explore the finance and banking sector. In this case, proving the identity of the user behind the form is crucial to ensure top security, and avoid fraudulent actions. 

The use case: Know-your-client (KYC) signups

User registration in finance and banking usually require know-your-client actions, which imply verifying the user’s identity with offline identity proofs. KYC methods can also be implemented to gain insights about the user and ensure a good usage of the business products. Some of the KYC methods that can be added to these signup forms are facial recognition, upload of government-issued documents, or verification with fingerprints, just to name a few.

A real-life example: Coinmama

Coinmama (a cryptocurrency platform) displays a multi-step form where different data is asked. All the input entered by the user is verified when the user uploads their national ID. To avoid friction or abandonment, this information is handed to the user at the beginning of the signup form.

In a wrap

Every online business needs a user registration and user onboarding process, but each sector has its own pains and needs. Fortunately, there is a specific use case that can be applied to each sector, with its own features that tackle specific needs. Analyzing your signup deficiencies will help you find yours. 

Whatever your ideal use case is, you can build it with Arengu. Arengu allows you to build any user registration and onboarding you can imagine— thanks to its low-code editor, you can create server-side logic, add third-party integrations or connect to your own services. 

Try if for free to tailor a customized onboarding for your business or schedule a demo with our experts to know everything you can do with Arengu.