I’m working on a form for creating new users in a webapp.
There’s a form with username, password, and email fields to create a new user.
Some websites include a “confirm password” field or a “confirm email” field in addition to the regular fields. Some don’t include either one.
The thought is that with a “confirm password” field, you can catch a user’s typos before submission. Same idea with a “confirm email” field (but especially if it’s used for a password reset).
Any thoughts on confirmation fields, which one would be preferred, or if they’re needed at all?
Definitely a password confirmation field, since it isn’t possible for the user to check it for typos.
I myself find it irritating having to type my email address twice.
For password YES, if you can’t see the password field, it makes verifying before you post impossible (I’m with Jakob Nielsen who says masking passwords is BAD… even if it does stop “over the shoulder snatching”). For the email address, while it can have benefits for typo’s, you would be better off verifying the email address by making them check their email and submit a code (like many sites use) - this stops email usage fraud and ensures typos are avoided before verification.
