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The Art of the Signup Page

Written by: Guy Kawasaki

Article Overview: A site's signup page is the second most important page on a site (the most important is the home page itself) because this is where you're asking for committment. Everyone worries about the home page (and still don't do a good job), but most companies do a poor job with the signup page. For example, HAMweather's is aesthetically-challenged, and Last.fm's doesn't convey enough information. This article about signup pages by Tim Bednar is a good read. His list of important signup-page elements is:

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The Art of the Signup Page

A site's signup page is the second most important page on a site (the most important is the home page itself) because this is where you're asking for committment. Everyone worries about the home page (and still don't do a good job), but most companies do a poor job with the signup page. For example, HAMweather's is aesthetically-challenged, and Last.fm's doesn't convey enough information. This article about signup pages by Tim Bednar is a good read. His list of important signup-page elements is:

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Logo
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Elevator pitch
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Descriptive copy
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List of key features
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List of key benefits
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Call to action
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Testimonials
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Tours
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Examples of users
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Screen shots
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Life-style images
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Link to more information

However, you can clearly be successful without a great signup page.

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Article Tags: bednar, committment, descriptive copy, elevator pitch, good job, life style, page elements, poor job, screen shots, style images, testimonials, worries

About the Author: Guy Kawasaki
RSS for Guy's articles - Visit Guy's website

Guy Kawasaki is a managing director of Garage Technology Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm and a columnist for Forbes.com. Previously, he was an Apple Fellow at Apple Computer, Inc. where he was one of the individuals responsible for the success of the Macintosh computer. Guy is the author of eight books including The Art of the Start, Rules for Revolutionaries, How to Drive Your Competition Crazy, Selling the Dream, and The Macintosh Way. He has a BA from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA as well as an honorary doctorate from Babson College.

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