How important is "try without an account" for a SaaS service?
Hi
I am working on improving the "try without an account" functionality for my projects; I was curious about your experience
The most recurrent feedback/comment that I had from possible users is that it would be nice to try the service without an account, so I am focusing on this.
Do you consider this a nice to have or a key functionality?
How much priority do you give to this?
Did you see a significant change when you implemented this?
Thank you, let me know your thoughts
Trending on Indie Hackers
100% priority. Your visitors should be able to have “fun” with your product within 5 seconds of landing at your app, if they need to sign up then it’ll likely take more than that
I have the same feeling so far, specially when there are similar services that are already offering this preview feature.
Who do you attract with " Try With Account" ?
Answer : People with curiosity and not the pain point
If really a pain point exists then you people don't mind creating an account.
This is something to have always on the radar, thank you, the landing and offer must do an excellent job to communicate the value behind the sign up
I don't know about your product, but I can say this -- don't fall into the trap of allowing this because some "users" wanted it. People that just try it like that will usually not buy, and not only that, but they won't appreciate your product either.
Having said that, once again, I don't know what a user may need in order to use your product, but if signing up is complicated, then I do understand the users' concern.
I would have something as simple as : give me your email, and I'll drop you a "sign in link" (so user won't need to set up anything, not even a password). Any extra details you think you need, have defaults for them, and allow the user to set them later.
You are right, I also thing that I got that feedback because almost all the similar alternatives have something, looks like it is something expected for some users.
My signup process is not very friendly, I send a verification email and you need to be verified to do something, the alternative that you described is far better! I could improve this as well
Hehe ;) Basically, by sending people a link you also verify them, in one step ;)
That's really all you need.
I would go one step further: when user signs up, you'll tell them you've sent them a link. Clearly allow for a "re-send", just in case the user mistyped something.
But, once the user clicks on the link, reopen your website as "signed in" -- that's all the user wants. Then, he can fill in any extra details at a later time.
Personally for me, being able to try something out without an account is essential. You really want to lower the barriers for usage in the beginning. If people find value in your solution, they'll eventually create an account anyway.
From a programming standpoint though I know that there is some complexity when it comes to "guest" accounts, especially if it's the type of app where you're expected to save the progress of the user just in case they decide to create an account later. For example, in my self checkout app ShopMe (www.getshopme.com) we're building a feature that lets people do guest checkout. But even then, we need to save their receipts so when they eventually do create an account their invoices before the account creation is still there.
AWS/Azure have docs on how to do this so just google it depending on which platform you're using.
Yes, I agree that looks like this is essential and complex. As priority 1 I am trying to avoid as much as I can hit the server or create any data for the "try before accounts".
BTW Your landing is awesome!