Re: [IxDA Discuss] Forms: One vs Two Email fields
Beekee said:
my theory is that if someone wants to ensure they receive important
information they'd be darn sure to enter the important information
correctly.
Well, for this specific case -- input your email -- I guess there is
only so many ways that an user could do it! But for form-fillin in
general, you could be surprised about how can user NOT be sure of
what information to input in the first place!
...
{ Itamar Medeiros } Information Design
http://designative.info/
http://www.autodesk.com/
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Re: [IxDA Discuss] Forms: One vs Two Email fields
I'm sorry that I don't have any research for you, but if I have time tomorrow, I will briefly poke about to see if I can find something concrete. I agree that there are multiple ways to validate and they all have their positives and negatives. Only a handful of times have I come across the dual e-mail-field strategy, but that doesn't mean any thought went into making that decision%u2026 Personally, I prefer a confirmation page where I can recheck all my information. Depending on the input%u2014whether it's trivial or critical i.e. a user's interests versus billing address and credit card number, etc.%u2014you should be using a confirmation page anyway. It doesn't *hurt* to throw in an extra validation check in the form, too, so long as the form isn't frustratingly long in the first place, if there serious concern. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=29881 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Forms: One vs Two Email fields
I%u2019ve no scientific research either, but when I observed users filling in a form with two email fields, I saw several times that people filled out the first field correctly, got annoyed with the fact that they had to retype their address and made a typo in the second field as a result of that. Asking a user to retype the email address tells implicitly that you find your users not smart enough to fill out your form. In my designs I always choose for just one email field. When a correct email address is really important for the following procedure, I add a line of text below the field asking: %u2018Please verify if your email address is entered correctly%u2019. I use JavaScript to check if the entered email address has a valid format. Additionally you could verify the email address in a smtp session, but you will never get a 100% validation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=29881 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Forms: One vs Two Email fields
A question to ask is how often do people actually complete the form with an incorrect email address? If it's quite rare, and as you indicate the email address is not an essential part of the task, then it seems like an unnecessary burden to place on all users to accommodate an edge case. By the way, is your newsletter subscription opt-in or opt-out? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=29881 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Forms: One vs Two Email fields
I do believe they are some statistics on this. I came across a site telling me the percentage of people making typos (in the form: you wouldn't believe it, but up to ...% of people get this wrong) - sorry I don't recall the percentage nor the site; I believe it to be a social site (like that's the thing we're registering for at the moment). An other suggestion: I've always wondered why a confirmation email wasn't send during the first stage of the login process including some code to enter before even hitten the done button. If you also include the possibility to upload a profile picture in the process, you've plenty of time for the e-mail to arrive in due time. You could even actualize the form with the field for asking this code after the email as been send... or just with a comment about the exact time the confirmation mail was sent... On Thu, Jun 5, 2008 at 10:21 PM, Wendy Goodfriend [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I have been trying to track down research discussing the use of two vs one field for entering an email address on an online form. I plan to use inline validation for the field and am trying to keep the number of fields to a minimum. The purpose of the form is to donate money to a public broadcast station. The email address is used to send an email confirmation of the transaction (the user gets an immediate confirmation with a printer-friendly version once they complete the process) and is also used to send the new member a monthly newsletter. The transaction is dependent on having a valid credit card and/or an accurate postal mailing address for gifts and billing - in other words, the email address is not an essential component for the transaction to go through but it is clearly important for the user to receive an email confirmation and member newsletter. Can anyone direct me to research discussing the advantages and disadvantages of using one vs two email fields? I am also looking for inline validation code that addresses the one vs two field issue as well. Surfing around I have seen the field represented both ways on forms. The representation is not as consistent as the password field which seems to typically include two fields since the user does not have visual cues. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Forms: One vs Two Email fields
Here is some research http://www.getelastic.com/registration-usability-tips-ecommerce/ I am trying to find the article which stated that two email fields for verification should die. Will post here when I find it. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Forms: One vs Two Email fields
Wasn't the original purpose of the confirm email field to thwart automated scripts? It's getting the human touch, confirmation that the form is being filled out by a person, that's the goal. As an Alan Cooper fan, I venture there are probably better and more elegant ways to achieve this confirmation. Confirming those randomly-generated visual distorted letters/numbers is an example. Rather than focus on the high amount of errors that no doubt occur, why not focus on a way to challenge the de facto standard? Isn't this standard a leftover of a technical landscape that has since evolved? This landscape won't evolve clean up unless we push it to do so. If challenging this method is not an option, then in the interests of letting people complete their tasks as quickly as possible (and getting out of the way), people should be allowed to copy paste. -G Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Forms: One vs Two Email fields
Actually there is a way to stop pasting in the 2nd field: all you need to do is write something like: input type=text name=email_2 onpaste=return false But it's hardly ever used because I guess it would frustrate lots of people. I think I found out about this option from a blog article that was complaining about a website following this practice ;-) Cheers, Alex On Fri, Jun 6, 2008 at 1:16 AM, bekee [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: we have shied away from using both since power users probably copy and paste from the first field (i know i do). my theory is that if someone wants to ensure they receive important information they'd be darn sure to enter the important information correctly. that said, i've used [EMAIL PROTECTED] plenty of times... :) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=29881 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Forms: One vs Two Email fields
On Fri, Jun 6, 2008 at 5:00 PM, Gail Swanson [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I have a theory that the appearance of a dup email field is a misunderstanding of the dup password field. Password fields are often duplicated because they are masked and therefore the user has no way to validate their entry. I guess for some cases another possible explanation is that, as opposed to some other details you might fill in, they're really going to use your e-mail, so they want to make sure you double-check. I'm not saying it's a good reason, just brainstorming explanations. Sebi -- Sergiu Sebastian Tauciuc http://www.sergiutauciuc.ro/en/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Forms: One vs Two Email fields
On Jun 5, 2008, at 4:21 PM, Wendy Goodfriend wrote: Can anyone direct me to research discussing the advantages and disadvantages of using one vs two email fields? I am also looking for inline validation code that addresses the one vs two field issue as well. I haven't seen anything formally published. However, here's what we've found in our research at UIE: The problem you're trying to solve is mistyping email addresses. Depending on the audience, context, and design, you can see typos in anywhere from 0.75% to 5% of email addresses entered. (Even here at UIE, we have, on average, 2 out of every 100 email addresses are entered incorrectly. These are designers and developers with a lot of internet experience, so it's not just a matter of sophistication.) Several sites try solve the problem by asking for the email twice. The thinking is that, if the user enters it the same twice, then it must be correct. As people have discussed, that doesn't always happen because more sophisticated users will use cut paste, which will only propagate a typo in the second field, making a false positive. In my opinion, one of the best examples of the 2-field verification is at Fire Eagle. (It's currently invite only and, for reasons I can't explain, I received an invite, so I put a copy of the page here: http://tinyurl.com/5cjaqs ) In this case, it's the reason in the copy that helps people understand why they are being asked twice. One problem with the 2-field verification is that the typo isn't always restricted to the first entry. If the user types it correctly in the first field, but incorrectly in the second field, the validation fails. However, the user *had* typed it accurately the first time and will often feel frustrated that it was the verification that failed. This doesn't improve the user's experience. So, the alternative is a one-field entry. Here, we've found the best way to reduce problems is to make sure the input field and verification display is large. Both the length of the field and the size of the font should be large enough so people can discern characters. For example, does an rn combination look similar to an m character? Does a 1 look distinct from an l? With the right font, size, and field length, the user should spot typos easier. How much does [EMAIL PROTECTED] look like [EMAIL PROTECTED]? Most typos are doubled characters or neighbor keys (a j when the user meant a k, for example). Again, a large, clear verification display will help a lot. Designers, when showing users what they've typed, often don't ask themselves, Is this display going to help a user spot a subtle typo they could otherwise miss? Looking at the verification display for that quality can help reduce errors tremendously. For algorithms, there's limitations to what you can do. You can check for spaces -- they're illegal. You can look at the domain portion and have an validation check that it contains an MX record. You can ensure there's only one @. Beyond that, there's not much else. Hope that helps, Jared Jared M. Spool User Interface Engineering 510 Turnpike St., Suite 102, North Andover, MA 01845 e: [EMAIL PROTECTED] p: +1 978 327 5561 http://uie.com Blog: http://uie.com/brainsparks Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Forms: One vs Two Email fields
On Fri, Jun 6, 2008 at 5:28 PM, Jared Spool [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I haven't seen anything formally published. However, here's what we've found in our research at UIE: The problem you're trying to solve is mistyping email addresses. Depending on the audience, context, and design, you can see typos in anywhere from 0.75% to 5% of email addresses entered. (Even here at UIE, we have, on average, 2 out of every 100 email addresses are entered incorrectly. These are designers and developers with a lot of internet experience, so it's not just a matter of sophistication.) Are these results for forms with 1 e-mail field or 2? Several sites try solve the problem by asking for the email twice. The thinking is that, if the user enters it the same twice, then it must be correct. As people have discussed, that doesn't always happen because more sophisticated users will use cut paste, which will only propagate a typo in the second field, making a false positive. I guess it could help to just test the two kinds of approaches head to head, in order to see if the numbers you show above for typing errors are improved at all by using the verification field? Sebi -- Sergiu Sebastian Tauciuc http://www.sergiutauciuc.ro/en/ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
[IxDA Discuss] Forms: One vs Two Email fields
I have been trying to track down research discussing the use of two vs one field for entering an email address on an online form. I plan to use inline validation for the field and am trying to keep the number of fields to a minimum. The purpose of the form is to donate money to a public broadcast station. The email address is used to send an email confirmation of the transaction (the user gets an immediate confirmation with a printer-friendly version once they complete the process) and is also used to send the new member a monthly newsletter. The transaction is dependent on having a valid credit card and/or an accurate postal mailing address for gifts and billing - in other words, the email address is not an essential component for the transaction to go through but it is clearly important for the user to receive an email confirmation and member newsletter. Can anyone direct me to research discussing the advantages and disadvantages of using one vs two email fields? I am also looking for inline validation code that addresses the one vs two field issue as well. Surfing around I have seen the field represented both ways on forms. The representation is not as consistent as the password field which seems to typically include two fields since the user does not have visual cues. Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Forms: One vs Two Email fields
I have been trying to track down research discussing the use of two vs one field for entering an email address on an online form. I could be wrong about this, but I think the duplicate email field method is something developers started using to cut down on invalid registrations as a result of typos. It seems the theory is that by using two fields, the user has to enter it twice and validation code can be used to make sure they match, thereby decreasing the chances the entered address is incorrect. I'm not sure this would stop spam-bots, so I'm not sure that's a reason behind it, but again, I could be wrong. An alternate solution is to send the new user a confirmation email and have him/her click the link in the email to confirm it was received and the address is valid. But this is far from perfect. You'd probably have just as much success by asking new registrants to confirm the sign up information while offering the ability to edit it before saving it to the database. I've never tried this personally, but it's an idea. Any method will have its flaws. I'm so reassuring! -r- Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Forms: One vs Two Email fields
It seems the theory is that by using two fields, the user has to enter it twice and validation code can be used to make sure they match, thereby decreasing the chances the entered address is incorrect. Any self-respecting individual would copy and paste what's in one field into the other to avoid re-typing, thereby rendering such validation useless. As you may have noticed, OS-generated password fields do not allow copypaste in a desktop environment, forcing the user to actually type again, thus validating the previous entry. Not all web browser work that way, unfortunately, but that may be an observation requiring another century to reach some of the developers out there. -- Kontra http://counternotions.com Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Forms: One vs Two Email fields
we have shied away from using both since power users probably copy and paste from the first field (i know i do). my theory is that if someone wants to ensure they receive important information they'd be darn sure to enter the important information correctly. that said, i've used [EMAIL PROTECTED] plenty of times... :) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=29881 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Forms: One vs Two Email fields
So, is there any research to prove this theory that using two fields actually reduces error? How many users copy and paste that first address into the second field? How does it compare to using one field that includes inline validation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=29881 Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
Re: [IxDA Discuss] Forms: One vs Two Email fields
On Jun 5, 2008, at 5:18 PM, Wendy Goodfriend wrote: How many users copy and paste that first address into the second field? Not to mention the autofill feature. I rarely have to type in my email address, regardless of the number of fields. Jack Jack L. Moffett Interaction Designer inmedius 412.459.0310 x219 http://www.inmedius.com Questions about whether design is necessary or affordable are quite beside the point: design is inevitable. The alternative to good design is bad design, not no design at all. - Douglas Martin Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .. http://www.ixda.org/help
