Multiple Add-to-Cart Buttons vs. Radio Buttons

I have a potential client that wants me to build a checkout process for upcoming events (e.g. Arts & Crafts Show).

My initial design is to have something like this…


Location:
------------------
Pierre, SD			*Add-to-Cart*
Sat, Sept 24 (details)
*Only 2 seats left!!

Minneapolis, MN			*Add-to-Cart*
Sat, Oct 1 (details)

Madison, WI			*Add-to-Cart*
Sat, Oct 8 (details)

But I am wondering if it is a better design to use Radio Buttons and then just have one “Add-to-Cart” button?!


Location:
------------------
Pierre, SD			___
Sat, Sept 24 (details)
*Only 2 seats left!!

Minneapolis, MN			___
Sat, Oct 1 (details)

Madison, WI			___
Sat, Oct 8 (details)

				*Add-to-Cart*

1.) Which is a better design? And why?

And if I use Radio Buttons…

2.) How compatible is that?

3.) How accessible is it?

4.) Can I just get by with HTML, CSS, and PHP?

Debbie

P.S. I guess one important concept is that presumably a person wouldn’t want to register for multiple events?! So this isn’t like Amazon.com where you might be adding several things into your Shopping Cart. The example above is just a way for the Customer to tell us which Event they want to attend.

The proper form elements to use would be multiple check boxes and a single submit input.

I would go for the minimum Add to Cart buttons, so in this case one Add to Cart with radio buttons for the options.

Radio buttons are standard form elements, so are fine from an accessibility PoV. Personally, I think it’s less accessible/usable to have three Add to Cart buttons (which means three forms) as the options are less clear from an accessibility PoV. (A screen reader user is presented with an Add to Cart button for the first item before knowing what the other choices are.)

Except that multiple check boxes are NOT mutually-exclusive. (That’s why I mentioned Radio-Buttons.)

Debbie

Dumb question, but do I have to use a Form?

I am just gathering which Date/Location they want to attend and then either storing that in a Cookie, Session or Database so I’m not sure that I even need to use a Form…

Debbie

Someone else will need to answer that, as it’s not really my area. I would think you’d need a form, but there may be alternatives I’m not aware of.

If you are designing a form for your users to interact with you should use a FORM. You can only make a ‘best guess’ at the users desire; as the purchaser might not be the ‘customer’, so may require multiple options of location for staff, etc. The Radio obviously only gives one option and doesn’t allow no option so is limiting.

You lost me.

This website would be for people to register for an upcoming Event (e.g. Boat Show, Outdoorsman Show, Arts & Craft Show, etc.)

People aren’t going to want to register multiple times for multiple locations. (If they are a junky, I guess they’d come back and buy a new set of tickets, sorta like someone who follows their favorite rock group across the U.S.?!)

If you don’t select a Date/Location then you can’t come to an Event.

So it is a one choice deal.

They only question is whether Radio Buttons are more intuitive/easier to use/easier to see than having multiple “Add-to-Cart” buttons. (And by the way, if I went with multiple “Add-to-Cart” buttons, you’d still only be able to choose one Date/Location since the minute you clicked on one, you’d be taken to the next step in registerion.

Debbie

"What would I do if I wanted to register 5 employees of my company.

My company has two locations, New York and San Diego."

This is I think what Robert was asking.

If this sort of thing isn’t really possible with what your client wants, you can ignore it. If it is possible, it won’t affect this page but you’d probably have to change the following page the user gets after they clicked Add To Cart, where I assume they fill in more info.

I am just gathering which Date/Location they want to attend and then either storing that in a Cookie, Session or Database so I’m not sure that I even need to use a Form…

The only way you can guarantee all browsers will actually SEND that info to your servers is in a form. You could avoid it I suppose with some sort of Ajax stuff. Users hear scary stories about cookies all the time, and cookies are very limited. Databases are something on your end (even today with it starting to show up in HTML5 browsers) and so again, you’ll need a sure-fire way of getting the user’s info to your end. Means you’ll need a submit event. Means a form is the simplest way to do it.

I agree with oddz and ralph that a single button at the bottom is good. You might want to reconsider Add To Cart. Why can I only choose one event? If they are at different dates, can’t I go to several?

If that page registers people for these events, the button should reinforce that. “Sign me up!” or “Register me for these Events” or whatever. Yeah, they are (after registering) going to purchase these, but to me that’s kind of a bizarre concept (putting sign-ups to conferences in a shopping basket… very metaphorical).

I’m just adding opinion because I can. The part in bold is my answer to your question : )

Yes, Poes is correct; I was loosely saying the Purchaser might not be the Consumer (end-user) - a less ambiguous word than customer.

For example a completely Blind Person might buy a car (purchaser) but obviously is unlikely to be the legal driver (consumer) however they might own the car or several.

In other words the Purchaser, is only the customer of a supplier that places the order and authorises payment of the invoice. The purchaser may not be the end-user and so acts on his/her behalf as discussed above regarding a company with multiple staff or locations.

Well, these Events are targeted towards consumers, I believe. Like I said, thinks like Flower Shows, Craft Shows, Fishing Shows, maybe music concerts.

As such, I don’t envision Citibank wanting to register 500 employees at multiple sites?! :smiley:

These Events are really the same thing from date-to-date, so it’s unlikely a person would want to go to the same Flower Show more than once. (At least more than once per year.)

And the locations will be regional and not “glamorous” places like Miami, San Diego, San Francisco, New York City.

More like Fargo, Bismarck, Laramie, Cheyenne…

So, anyways, I was trying to communicate…

“Do you wanna go to the Annual Flower Show this Saturday or next Saturday, and would you rather see it in Cedar Rapids, Iowa or Des Moines, Iowa?”

(I would likely use a drop-down list where people can select 1 to 10, and then have a side link “Click here for Group Pricing & Registration.”)

If this sort of thing isn’t really possible with what your client wants, you can ignore it. If it is possible, it won’t affect this page but you’d probably have to change the following page the user gets after they clicked Add To Cart, where I assume they fill in more info.

The only way you can guarantee all browsers will actually SEND that info to your servers is in a form. You could avoid it I suppose with some sort of Ajax stuff. Users hear scary stories about cookies all the time, and cookies are very limited. Databases are something on your end (even today with it starting to show up in HTML5 browsers) and so again, you’ll need a sure-fire way of getting the user’s info to your end. Means you’ll need a submit event. Means a form is the simplest way to do it.

I guess so.

I agree with oddz and ralph that a single button at the bottom is good. You might want to reconsider Add To Cart.

Why can I only choose one event? If they are at different dates, can’t I go to several?

You could, but see above.

Why, do you think my potential client will have a pack of lunatic grandmas riding Harley’s from Event Location to Event Location drinking, partying, and creating general mayhem wherever the “Flower Show” goes?! :eek::D:lol::wink:

If that page registers people for these events, the button should reinforce that. “Sign me up!” or “Register me for these Events” or whatever. Yeah, they are (after registering) going to purchase these, but to me that’s kind of a bizarre concept (putting sign-ups to conferences in a shopping basket… very metaphorical).

You don’t think I should have a Shopping Cart? :-/

The flow I was thinking about tonight over supper was this…

(Page 1)[COLOR=“#800080”]
Home Page

(In right column)
Current Events:

Flower Show
Mankato, MN
Sept 24, 2011

Flower Show
Willmar, MN
Oct 1, 2011

Banjo Jamboree
Brainerd, MN
Oct 8, 2011

<<Learn More>>
=========================

(Page 2)
=========================
Event Details

Speakers List
*
*
*

Workshops
*
*
*

Vendors
*
*
*

<<Register for Event>>
=========================

(Page 3)
[b]=========================
Register in 3 Easy Steps…

Step #1: Select a Date and Attendees[/b]

Event Cost Attendees Total
Flower Show $20 ___ ____ <<Select>>
Mankato, MN
Sept 24, 2011

Flower Show $20 ___ ____ <<Select>>
Willmar, MN
Oct 1, 2011

Banjo Jamboree $50 ___ ____ <<Select>>
Brainerd, MN
Oct 8, 2011

=========================

(Page 4)
=========================
Step #2: Log-In or Create an Account

<<Form goes here>>

=========================

(Page 5)(Debating this one…)
=========================
Show filled “Shopping Cart” here

<<Check Out Now>>
=========================

(Page 6)
=========================
Step #3: Enter Payment Details

<<Payment Form Here>>


<<Pay for Event Now>>
=========================

[/COLOR]

I’m just adding opinion because I can. The part in bold is my answer to your question : )

I appreciate any and all comments as long as they are constructive! :slight_smile:

Thanks,

Debbie

I understood you, but see my response.

Debbie

In this case, I can definitely see people wanting to book more than one location. e.g. I’d like to see it in Cedar Rapids, and treat my mother in Des Moines to a ticket for her local venue at the same time.

Why, do you think my potential client will have a pack of lunatic grandmas riding Harley’s from Event Location to Event Location drinking, partying, and creating general mayhem wherever the “Flower Show” goes?!

Hehe, you never know. Phish fans? Dead-heads? (maybe you are too young to know this reference? :slight_smile:

On page three, can people fill in number of attendees?

You don’t think I should have a Shopping Cart?

Well, now that I’ve seen your proposed setup, it’s probably okay. I thought it would be kinda weird to have text on page 3 with “add to cart” since while that’s a very popular, valid and well-understood setup for shopping carts/e-commerce, it’s still a bit unusual for sites where you can sign up for events.

On the other hand, actual user testing could show you if anyone actually gets confused, and personally I don’t think “add to cart” would actually confuse anyone.
When I see progressions like yours myself, when I’m grazing through web sites, even though I should know that if I register for something, I likely would have to go fill stuff out, I’ve hit enough sites where that wasn’t the case that, today, I’d like the Page 3’s out there to have a line of text warning me that I’ll be making an account (before I get to that page).

I’ve seen that on one or two pages, not very often, but I always appreciated it when I saw it. Yeah, even though I shoulda known, and page 4 shouldn’t be a surprise… it let me feel more confident clicking the button which would be on Page 3.

Too old for Phish, and not too old for Dead-heads… :blush::blush:

On page three, can people fill in number of attendees?

I was going to use a drop-down list with 1 to 10 available and a side note: “Click here for group rates & registrations”

Well, now that I’ve seen your proposed setup, it’s probably okay.

Not too many pages?

Do you think it flows okay and is simple enough (while still giving me space to spell things out, e.g. a dedicated Events Details page)?

I thought it would be kinda weird to have text on page 3 with “add to cart” since while that’s a very popular, valid and well-understood setup for shopping carts/e-commerce, it’s still a bit unusual for sites where you can sign up for events.

I could also just use “Select”…

When I see progressions like yours myself, when I’m grazing through web sites, even though I should know that if I register for something, I likely would have to go fill stuff out, I’ve hit enough sites where that wasn’t the case that, today, I’d like the Page 3’s out there to have a line of text warning me that I’ll be making an account (before I get to that page).

Really??? :eek:

(I thought the goal was to get your Customer far enough along in the process BEFORE you start hitting them up with all kinds of “conditionals”?! Isn’t that why you can always add items to e-commerce Shopping Carts BEFORE you have to Log-In or Register?? I thought that was a golden rule of e-commerce/checkouts?!)

So, would you just like a warning (e.g. On Page 3, "Registration requires you to either Log-In or create a Customer Account.)

or

Would you like Page 4 to come before Page 3?? :-/

I’ve seen that on one or two pages, not very often, but I always appreciated it when I saw it. Yeah, even though I shoulda known, and page 4 shouldn’t be a surprise… it let me feel more confident clicking the button which would be on Page 3.

Very interesting!!!

Debbie

I thought the goal was to get your Customer far enough along in the process BEFORE you start hitting them up with all kinds of “conditionals”?!

Yes, BUT if people are getting strung along and then
Suddenly A Form! (it’s like, Look A Bear!)
it’s jarring. I think mostly because there are a lot of sites who do it wrong: they do tempt you into clicking something about “More Information” and then they give you this long form to get through before you even get the information/free trial/whatever. People often leave at that point unless they really want the Thingie. (which is exactly what you said you’re avoiding, so you’ve got it right)

So if I’m starting to click through pages, learning more, getting interested, if the next click is going to take me to a form, just tell me. Bestly, tell me on the button, or right around the button. <<log in or make an account>> ->takes you to step 4, the form.

I’m thinking of stuff written by Luke Wasomelongpolishname… Luke Wroblewski. You are doing it right by only requiring the form when you really need that information! All I’m suggesting is, it’s nice to say on the step/page before that the Next Step is… a form.

I mean, at step 3 I’m starting to click things, stating my possible commitment to attending something. So I’m going to start having a sneaking suspicion that eventually there’ll have to come a form. Notice how many e-commerce sites who show all the steps you take, have names on those steps. Your step/page 4 is “register or log in” really. On Step 3, I think I should be aware of that. Then, absolutely no surprises, and I don’t turn into a spooked sheep.

So, would you just like a warning (e.g. On Page 3, "Registration requires you to either Log-In or create a Customer Account.)

Yeah. Or friendlier: “‘Registration’ means either logging in or making an account”.

or

Would you like Page 4 to come before Page 3??

No no no, you’ve got it the right way right now. People first decide if they are interested in even going, and if they are, they then need to actually do something about it (register).

*edit ah, every place where I say “step” I mean your pages.

Stomme poes,

I get a kick out of your made-up-words. (“Stomme-ism”!!!) :lol:

Having a really really long label for a button like this is okay?

I see what you are saying but I think it is more complicated than that.

So I started another thread and have been debating how to let users select an Event…

I will have these columns:

  • Event
  • Cost
  • Quantity
  • Total (calculated)

Originally I was going to have Radio Buttons to the far left to let people select a particular Event from the listing. But then I was like, “I think having an ‘Add-to-Cart’ or ‘Select’ button next to each looks better and is more obvious.” So I switched my design to what I have mentioned in this thread which is to have a button next to each Event.

Also note that I was thinking of maybe having a button above “Total” called "Update so people can update the “Total” if they change the “Quantity”.

So, the point of all of this, is that adding another button to this already busy page - which could be a Form in HTML terms - might be too much?!

It would look like this…


[COLOR="#0000CD"]=========================
Register in 3 Easy Steps...

Step #1: Select a Date and Attendees

					<<Update>>
Event		Cost	Attendees	Total
Flower Show 	$20 	1		$20	<<Select>>
Mankato, MN
Sept 24, 2011

Flower Show	$20	2		$40	<<Select>>
Willmar, MN
Oct 1, 2011

Banjo Jamboree	$50	1		$50	<<Select>>
Brainerd, MN
Oct 8, 2011

			<<Log-In or Create an Account>>

=========================
[/COLOR]

Kinda busy, don’t you think?

I’m thinking of stuff written by Luke Wasomelongpolishname… Luke Wroblewski. You are doing it right by only requiring the form when you really need that information! All I’m suggesting is, it’s nice to say on the step/page before that the Next Step is… a form.

On Page 2, would changing mu button to <<Register in 3 Easy Steps…>> be better?

And on Page 3, change my button to <<Step #2: Log-In or Create an Account>> be better?

And on Page 4, change my button to <<Step #3: Enter Payment Details>> be better?

I dunno… that seems a little much?! :-/

I mean, at step 3 I’m starting to click things, stating my possible commitment to attending something. So I’m going to start having a sneaking suspicion that eventually there’ll have to come a form.

Following that logic, I would either get stuck having to change each <<Add-to-Cart>> buttons to <<Some Long Name Button Telling You The Next Step>>

or

I would have to switch back to Radio Buttons and then have <<Some Long Name Button Telling You The Next Step>>

Notice how many e-commerce sites who show all the steps you take, have names on those steps. Your step/page 4 is “register or log in” really. On Step 3, I think I should be aware of that. Then, absolutely no surprises, and I don’t turn into a spooked sheep.

But that is exactly what I did on Pages 4-6. I have Step #1, Step #2, and Step #3?!)

No no no, you’ve got it the right way right now. People first decide if they are interested in even going, and if they are, they then need to actually do something about it (register).

I figured so.

Thanks for the help so far!

Debbie

Following that logic, I would either get stuck having to change each <<Add-to-Cart>> buttons to <<Some Long Name Button Telling You The Next Step>>

You can have both: longer labelly text next to a large, shiny button with simple text. The Skimmers will only read the button, the hesitant people will read the labelly text too : )

On Page 2, would changing mu button to <<Register in 3 Easy Steps…>> be better?

I don’t think so… my impression of your Page 2 is that I am looking at the specs for just one particular event. “register event” like you have is pretty clear… it means, “go commit to this event” and then I start expecing somewhere along the way a form to come along.

And on Page 3, change my button to <<Step #2: Log-In or Create an Account>> be better?

Possibly. If you are able to offer two different forms depending on what the user chooses (instead of a single page with both a login form and a sign-up form, which seems to differ from place to place which setup is better), it’s quite common to see a sentence “log in or create an account” with “log in” being one (obvious) link and “create an account” being another. One sentence with two links, which isn’t as shiny and obvious as a single large button, but the two-choice sentence has been popular.

And on Page 4, change my button to <<Step #3: Enter Payment Details>> be better?

I like it. If you’re afraid of “long” buttons (and yeah, short action words are more awesome especially to get someone started in a process), check out some of the places like amazon.com and other e-commerce and charity websites… longer “button” are common enough. Go ahead and make the text larger and simpler and still somewhat button-like or pill-shaped. Enter Payment Details is three words, and really clear. It immediately makes me think of a form, too. Awesome.

If you’ll have Add Event (I like that term!) buttons, what will they do? Or is it still a checkbox thing?

Following that logic, I would either get stuck having to change each <<Add-to-Cart>> buttons to <<Some Long Name Button Telling You The Next Step>>

If you have a bunch of buttons all doing the same thing, they can have short names. “Add Event!” if I think it’s a sumbit button I’ll expect it to take me to another page to “Do Something About This Event I’ve Just Claimed I Want”, but if it’s like a checkbox, easiest is keep the Next Step (Register) button simple but as I mentioned before, a single line of text before it will tell any hesitant sheeples what’s coming up. And here I’m not using sheeple as a degrading term, but for the Hesitant Uncertain Web User. Which we all are at some point in our online lives, depending on the site.

But that is exactly what I did on Pages 4-6. I have Step #1, Step #2, and Step #3?!)

Yup. You’re good there, esp if your first page says what steps 1, 2 and are. That you have “3 steps” tells me how long the process is (well not really, but gives me a feeling of steps/tasks). Most payment systems have names on them at least on the first page (step one, add items. step 2, log in or create account. step 3… differs depending on if I logged in or created an account).

Having a really really long label for a button like this is okay?

While you try to keep them short and sweet (and commands), if you test your form on your mom and anything seems not suddenly and 100% clear to her (the mom test, also known as grandma test and mother-in-law test), you’ll need to consider more label text. 3 or 4 words can still be in a button and not be totally weird. More than that, you’d have accessory text. As I said, people who feel confident and skim stuff will only read your buttons. The labels are for reassurance… if your instinct really is “this is clear enough” then either go with your instincts or do user testing to see if you’re right.

Don’t just take the word of some random stomme poes on teh internets. I mean, I do use the * selector in my reset part of my CSS, and nowadays everyone around here knows that’s a wasteful pile of code.

I get a kick out of your made-up-words.

“Bestly” was my favouritist.

I was looking to book a hotel for the Fronteers conference. Looks like I’ll be staying at the Stay-Okay again : )

I want to show you an example of one of their pages (yeah, in Dutch, oh well):

These are possible extras you can add to your cost of your room stay. You can choose all of them or none of them or one, etc. Each checkbox has the label “voeg toe” (add). On the left is the name and the details. It kinda looks like a table but it isn’t (it’s a list). Anyway what if there were options inside each option, like number of people. One could add a little dropdown select choosing number of people…
whoa the whisky is hittin me. Cool.
So here’s another example http://www.stayokay.com/index.php?pageID=3207&hostelID=356017#products there are prices in large letters and a select and they’re not all in separate sections (because it’s not a table, each choice is a li).

Anyway, I wanted to show this because it’s definitely a several-step thing, but looks really clean and simple and even though it’s Dutch, I think you can see the structure pretty well.

What do you think? You probably have a similar design in mind. What I wanted to show is they have a lot of options but the page doesn’t look complicated or overly filled.
However, the arrows say “previous step” and “next step”. It’s okay, but as I mentioned in my first post in this thread, I rather like my buttons to tell me what’s in the next step. In fact, books and research about conversion mention this: instead of “continue” (popular by amazon, who does a lot of things right but also lots of stuff that isn’t so great), they ought to be (from the last link, which is really the first page:
“extra’s” (since the next page is asking about extras). Then the first link I posted, next button should be “Gegevens invullen” (fill in details, in Dutch this pretty much means a form)).

The problem with “continue” or “next” is it doesn’t say anything, when usually you can usually still find short words that give way more information. You can totally be okay with continue and next, most forms do it and most people know they’re moving through a multi-step process. But I think it’s BETTER to see if you can put more useful text in those step links. If you can’t, don’t sweat over it. It’s just a suggestion.

You posted to bounce ideas off us, right? So whatever we say, you know your content and information and client better than we do. Remember these are all suggestions. I think you have a good head on your shoulders and you’ve probably run into form usability articles and I love those, and like me I think you’ll grab what you see makes sense and make good use of it.

Stomme,

You’re making me rack my brains tonight?! :eek:

I appreciate your comments, but after kicking some things around, I think I’m going to have to push back on some points… :cool:

Remember that comment!

If you have a bunch of buttons all doing the same thing, they can have short names. “Add Event!” if I think it’s a sumbit button I’ll expect it to take me to another page to “Do Something About This Event I’ve Just Claimed I Want”, but if it’s like a checkbox, easiest is keep the Next Step (Register) button simple but as I mentioned before, a single line of text before it will tell any hesitant sheeples what’s coming up. And here I’m not using sheeple as a degrading term, but for the Hesitant Uncertain Web User. Which we all are at some point in our online lives, depending on the site.

I hear what you are saying above, yet I feel conflicted, and this is why…

On my Page 3, Step #1: Select a Date and Attendees…

  • The goal is to select which Event the user wants to attend.

  • As such, I can’t have a set of “Choose this Event” buttons AND a “Get ready because here comes a Log-In form!!” button?! (:

  • I suppose I could add in a text note, but since there might be a listing of 4-6 Events, each with their own “Choose this Event” button, I’m not sure visually how I would tie in a message like you are suggesting with several buttons…

Here is the form again…


(Page 3)

[COLOR="#008000"]=========================
[b]Register in 3 Easy Steps...

Step #1: Select a Date and Attendees

Event		Cost	Attendees	[COLOR="#0000FF"][u](Update)[/u][/COLOR] Total[/b]
Flower Show	$20	_1_		$20		<<Choose this Event>>
Mankato, MN
Sept 24, 2011

Flower Show	$20	_3_		$60		<<Choose this Event>>
Willmar, MN
Oct 1, 2011

Banjo Jamboree	$50	_1_		$50		<<Choose this Event>>
Brainerd, MN
Oct 8, 2011
[b]
=========================[/b]
[/COLOR]

I’d like to think that - even for a light-weight Internet user - “Choose this Event” implies that we are moving towards purchasing a ticket(s) for the Event we just selected, right?!

Yes, I could add in a prompting message, but as mentioned above, how do you tie that in visually with my 3 buttons above??

And if I changed “Choose this Event” to “Log-In or Create Account” it would confuse users because the action we want is for the user to choose which Date/Location they want to attend…

Now, one way to alleviate this problem is to re-design this page. And I am also conflicted on this topic as well.

I could have a re-designed page/form which looks like this…


(Page 3)

[COLOR="#800080"][b]=========================
Register in 3 Easy Steps...

Step #1: Select a Date and Attendees

Select	Event		Cost	Attendees	[COLOR="#0000FF"][u](Update)[/u][/COLOR] Total[/b]
___	Flower Show	$20	_1_		$20
	Mankato, MN
	Sept 24, 2011

_X_	Flower Show	$20	_3_		$60
	Willmar, MN
	Oct 1, 2011
	
___	Banjo Jamboree	$50	_1_		$50
	Brainerd, MN
	Oct 8, 2011

				<<Log-In or Create an Account>>

[b]=========================[/b]
[/COLOR]

If I use this second approach, it helps out the “Hesitant” users you describe, but my fear is that it will also confuse those same users having to figure out how to navigate Radio Buttons, Drop-Down Lists AND a warning <<Log-In or Create an Account>> button?!

Aside from this conversation, people like Paul O’ seem to like using Radio Buttons with one “Submit” button at the bottom versus having multiple “Add-to-Cart” buttons next to each Event.

(Obviously I sorta like the idea of an “Add-to-Cart” button next to each item since this is what nearly all e-commerce sites do.)

And - in general - I like your advice above, but I’m not sure how well it fits into this more complex arrangement…

There is a yet another way to approach things but it has it down-sides as well…

I could just have a page where people “Select an Event” and then somewhere later have people choose how many tickets they need. However, then that opens up the issue where people snipe at me for “having too many clicks/steps”?! :rolleyes:

(When does it end?!)


Possibly. If you are able to offer two different forms depending on what the user chooses (instead of a single page with both a login form and a sign-up form, which seems to differ from place to place which setup is better), it’s quite common to see a sentence “log in or create an account” with “log in” being one (obvious) link and “create an account” being another. One sentence with two links, which isn’t as shiny and obvious as a single large button, but the two-choice sentence has been popular.

Okay, I follow you, but have to give you a hard time here…

1.) If I do that, the people referenced above will complain that I’m adding an unnecessary extra step.

2.) Currently on Page 4, I start the page off with “Step #2: Log-In or Create an Account” which tells the timid user what is going on.

I totally see your point of “announcing things in advance”, but based on what I said above, and the fact that I am announcing what is happening at the top of each page, it should be too big of a deal if someone wants to ditch. (Then again, how else are you going to buy Event tickets online?! Subliminal e-commerce?!) :lol:

See what I mean?

As far as your suggestion about offering both options on one page, what about this example…

New Egg Log-In or Create an Account example

If you don’t focus on the styling and extraneous stuff, I think it looks pretty straight-forward and it is all on one page minimizing steps.

I like it. If you’re afraid of “long” buttons (and yeah, short action words are more awesome especially to get someone started in a process), check out some of the places like amazon.com and other e-commerce and charity websites… longer “button” are common enough. Go ahead and make the text larger and simpler and still somewhat button-like or pill-shaped. Enter Payment Details is three words, and really clear. It immediately makes me think of a form, too. Awesome.

Maybe I could make Page 4 look like this…


(Page 4)

[COLOR="#800080"][b]=========================
Step #2: Log-In or Create an Account


Existing Customers:[/b]

	E-mail: ___________

	Password: _________

	<< Log-In then Enter Payment Details>>


[b]New Customers:[/b]

	E-mail: ___________

	Re-enter E-mail: ___________

	Password: _________

	Re-enter Password: _________

	<< Create Account then Enter Payment Details>>

[b]=========================[/b][/COLOR]

While you try to keep them short and sweet (and commands), if you test your form on your mom and anything seems not suddenly and 100% clear to her (the mom test, also known as grandma test and mother-in-law test), you’ll need to consider more label text. 3 or 4 words can still be in a button and not be totally weird. More than that, you’d have accessory text. As I said, people who feel confident and skim stuff will only read your buttons. The labels are for reassurance… if your instinct really is “this is clear enough” then either go with your instincts or do user testing to see if you’re right.

Don’t just take the word of some random stomme poes on teh internets. I mean, I do use the * selector in my reset part of my CSS, and nowadays everyone around here knows that’s a wasteful pile of code.

I think you offer good advice, but hopefully you see some of my concerns above? (If I fix one issue then it creates another issue in someone else’s mind. It seems hard to please everyone…)

“Bestly” was my favouritist.

You’re one cool cat, Stomme! (The Bestestest!!)

Debbie