suede-signup

Suede Signup Conversion

Suede Signup identifies measurable friction between intent and completed account creation, then turns it into accessible, security-preserving experiments. It optimizes only the registration boundary and hands post-account activation to the Suede onboarding lane.

Initial Assessment

Check for product marketing context first: If .agents/product-marketing.md exists (or .claude/product-marketing.md, or the legacy product-marketing-context.md filename, in older setups), read it before asking questions. Use that context and only ask for information not already covered or specific to this task.

Before providing recommendations, understand:

1. Flow Type

   • Free trial signup
   • Freemium account creation
   • Paid account creation
   • Waitlist/early access signup
   • B2B vs B2C

2. Current State

   • How many steps/screens?
   • What fields are required?
   • What's the current completion rate?
   • Where do users drop off?
   • Is there field-level analytics on drop-off, or only funnel totals?

3. Business Constraints

   • What data is genuinely needed at signup?
   • Are there compliance requirements?
   • What happens immediately after signup?

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Core Principles

1. Minimize Required Fields

Every field reduces conversion. For each field, ask:

• Do we absolutely need this before they can use the product?
• Can we collect this later through progressive profiling?
• Can we infer this from other data?

Typical field priority:

• Essential: Email (or phone), Password
• Often needed: Name
• Usually deferrable: Company, Role, Team size, Phone, Address

2. Show Value Before Asking for Commitment

• What can you show/give before requiring signup?
• Can they experience the product before creating an account?
• Reverse the order: value first, signup second

3. Reduce Perceived Effort

• Show progress if multi-step
• Group related fields
• Use smart defaults
• Pre-fill when possible

4. Remove Uncertainty

• Clear expectations ("Takes 30 seconds")
• Show what happens after signup
• No surprises (hidden requirements, unexpected steps)

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Field-by-Field Optimization

Email Field

• Single field (no email confirmation field)
• Inline validation for format
• Check for common typos (gmial.com → gmail.com)
• Clear error messages

Password Field

• Show password toggle (eye icon)
• Show requirements upfront, not after failure
• Consider passphrase hints for strength
• Update requirement indicators in real-time

Better password UX:

• Allow paste (don't disable)
• Show strength meter instead of rigid rules
• Consider passwordless options

Name Field

• Single "Full name" field vs. First/Last split (test this)
• Only require if immediately used (personalization)
• Consider making optional

Social Auth Options

• Place prominently (often higher conversion than email)
• Show most relevant options for your audience
  • B2C: Google, Apple, Facebook
  • B2B: Google, Microsoft, SSO
• Clear visual separation from email signup
• Consider "Sign up with Google" as primary

Phone Number

• Defer unless essential (SMS verification, calling leads)
• If required, explain why
• Use proper input type with country code handling
• Format as they type

Company/Organization

• Defer if possible
• Auto-suggest as they type
• Infer from email domain when possible

Use Case / Role Questions

• Defer to suede-onboarding if possible
• If needed at signup, keep to one question
• Use progressive disclosure (don't show all options at once)

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Single-Step vs. Multi-Step

Single-Step Works When:

• 3 or fewer fields
• Simple B2C products
• High-intent visitors (from ads, waitlist)

Multi-Step Works When:

• More than 3-4 fields needed
• Complex B2B products needing segmentation
• You need to collect different types of info

Multi-Step Best Practices

• Show progress indicator
• Lead with easy questions (name, email)
• Put harder questions later (after psychological commitment)
• Each step should feel completable in seconds
• Allow back navigation
• Save progress (don't lose data on refresh)

Progressive commitment pattern:

1. Email only (lowest barrier)
2. Password + name
3. Customization questions (optional)

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Trust and Friction Reduction

At the Form Level

• "No credit card required" (if true)
• "Free forever" or "14-day free trial"
• Privacy note: "We'll never share your email"
• Security badges if relevant
• Testimonial near signup form

Error Handling

• Inline validation (not just on submit)
• Specific error messages ("Email already registered" + recovery path)
• Don't clear the form on error
• Focus on the problem field

Microcopy

• Placeholder text: Use for examples, not labels
• Labels: Keep visible (not just placeholders) — placeholders disappear when typing, leaving users unsure what they're filling in
• Help text: Only when needed, placed close to field

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Mobile Signup Optimization

• Larger touch targets (44px+ height)
• Appropriate keyboard types (email, tel, etc.)
• Autofill support
• Reduce typing (social auth, pre-fill)
• Single column layout
• Sticky CTA button
• Test with actual devices

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Post-Submit Experience

Success State

• Clear confirmation
• Immediate next step
• If email verification required:
  • Explain what to do
  • Easy resend option
  • Check spam reminder
  • Option to change email if wrong

Verification Flows

• Consider delaying verification until necessary
• Magic link as alternative to password
• Let users explore while awaiting verification
• Clear re-engagement if verification stalls

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Measurement

Key Metrics

• Form start rate (landed → started filling)
• Form completion rate (started → submitted)
• Field-level drop-off (which fields lose people)
• Time to complete
• Error rate by field
• Mobile vs. desktop completion

What to Track

• Each field interaction (focus, blur, error)
• Step progression in multi-step
• Social auth vs. email signup ratio
• Time between steps

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Output Format

Do not open with what the flow does well. If no finding clears the bar, say so in one sentence and name the single measurement that is missing and would change the verdict.

Rank every finding by its effect on completion rate and return the top 8. If more survive, list the remainder by name in one line so nothing is dropped silently. Cap test hypotheses at 3.

Audit Findings

For each issue found:

• Issue: What's wrong
• Impact: The mechanism and the funnel step it affects (form start, field completion, submit, verification). Give a number only when it is labeled modeled and carries the assumption and the measured baseline it was applied to; otherwise omit the number.
• Fix: Specific recommendation
• Priority: High/Medium/Low

Recommended Changes

Organized by:

1. Quick wins (same-day fixes)
2. High-impact changes (week-level effort)
3. Test hypotheses (things to A/B test, at most 3)

Form Redesign (if requested)

• Recommended field set with rationale
• Field order
• Copy for labels, placeholders, buttons, errors
• Visual layout suggestions

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Common Signup Flow Patterns

B2B SaaS Trial

1. Email + Password (or Google auth)
2. Name + Company (optional: role)
3. → Onboarding flow

B2C App

1. Google/Apple auth OR Email
2. → Product experience
3. Profile completion later

Waitlist/Early Access

1. Email only
2. Optional: Role/use case question
3. → Waitlist confirmation

E-commerce Account

1. Guest checkout as default
2. Account creation optional post-purchase
3. OR Social auth with single click

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Experiment Ideas

When producing test hypotheses, draw them from four families:

• Form design (step count, field set, layout, auth options)
• Copy and messaging (headline, CTA text, microcopy, trust elements)
• Trial and commitment (card requirement, trial length, verification friction)
• Post-submit (next-step messaging, instant access, auto-login)

For the full candidate menu inside each family, read references/experiments.md before writing the test hypotheses in Output Format.

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Boundaries

• Do not deploy signup or authentication changes, remove security, consent, age, identity, or legal controls, or alter stored user data without owner review.
• Do not use deceptive defaults, forced consent, hidden costs, or inaccessible friction reduction.
• Do not claim conversion lift without a current baseline and completed experiment; keep personal data out of examples and diagnostic output.

Routing

• Use suede-onboarding for activation after account creation.
• Use suede-site-alchemy for lead-capture and non-account forms.
• Use suede-ab-testing to design and evaluate signup experiments.
• Use suede-analytics to instrument funnel stages and read outcomes.