Lets say we are designing a new website's registration form.Would I need to provide a space for a username, or should I simply require an email address?Are there any serious issues with either of these methods?
User Registration forms Do we need a user name?
website design;users;registration;forms
Depending on your target audience ('normal', very tech savvy, or originating from social networks) either:email address & password (the email address is the username)orOpenID, Facebook Connect, or similar federated login.Both have their issues.In some audiences email addresses change a lot. You need a good account recovery mechanism, preferably with an option to add multiple email addresses to each account. But still, email addresses as usernames are superior to self-chosen usernames because people can remember them, and using just email + password simplifies the signup process.OpenID, Facebook Connect etc are great. But the indirection of I'm on Site B, and I can't log in. I need to go to Site A to check my credentials is not understood by the mass market yet. OpenID works great with very tech-savvy audiences though, as illustrated by the Stack Exchange sites...Conclusion: You need to carefully consider your target audience, and if possible, run a hallway usability test of different authentication mechanisms.