Good content design should solve problems for your business without creating problems for your customers.
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Passwordless 2.0:
Login and Registration
Content Design Lead & UX Design Co-Lead — Netflix
Context
Netflix originally launched passwordless login as a sign-in-only option for current members. The new passwordless flows (sign in codes, sign in links, and QR codes) improved login success rate and account security, but corresponded with a drop in some acquisition metrics.
User data and research suggested that - regardless of platform - some users were navigating to sign in rather than entering the correct acquisition path, and the resulting confusion was leaving money on the table.
The Problem
Passwordless 2.0:
Netflix members often pause and restart accounts, or borrow accounts from friends and family before starting their own membership. As such, users often struggle to self-sort into the correct sign in or sign up path because very few users ever truly feel new enough to “get started” or “create a new account.”
Attempts to steer users into the correct funnel, or offer appropriate escape paths throughout the respective sign in or registration journeys, introduced unnecessary friction and impacted revenue. We quickly realized that we needed to make this sorting invisible and frictionless.
The Solution
Passwordless 2.0:
We replaced the existing sign in screen with a new “front door” screen – a single field credential capture screen that would work for any member state. A user could enter just their email or phone number, and the system would automatically determine their member state and then route them down the correct path.
We staged comprehensive user research and modified the experience to optimize by cohort and platform. We also tested various levels of “pushiness” for passwordless adoption to try to find the correct balance between high-speed, low friction efficiency and maximum user context and control. After several rounds of testing, we productized one of the speedier, low-friction “front door” on web and mobile.
For TV, we prioritized QR code adoption to move users off TV and onto mobile because scanning a QR code consistently proved easier than typing with a TV remote.