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I have 3 screens/pages one after another and I am wondering about the proper order of them.

  • Page 1) I have a sign up form

  • Page 2) then I need to ask my users a little more details, to set their accounts accordingly, so I have another form with the DOB, newsletter checkbox etc, not a lot of it (following the rule to limit the sign up form to only those essential fields: email address and password and asking more info after).

  • Page 3) I display info that the confirmation message was sent to xxx email address, that validation is necessary in order to fully use the site and where to look if the entered email address was wrong.

The order I showed here is the one I thought was right till now, but I am starting to doubt that.

I think maybe the confirmation message (page 3) should be second, as the account had been actually created by then. But on the other hand, asking for more info right after registration feels more obvious, because I think users are still in the filling-form flow (although they don't like it).

What's important is that I need the user to fill the additional details right away, because the kind of account they "get" depends on that input. (The user chooses the role of either tester or game developer and based on that choice we give them one of two account "insides".)

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I would indeed change the order to 1, 3 and 2 to show the user that you are collecting the information about them only after fully validating their account (building trust with the user).

What came to my mind is to show page 1 and then page 3 with some information "while you are awaiting your confirmation email, please, share some details about yourself to help us tailor our offer to your needs" (thus combined with page 2). Of course it would not be compulsory and the user will be asked later (show page 2 after successful validation) if decided not to fill it in immediately.

== UPDATE ==

In the comments, the OP has asked some additional questions. I give my answer here as comments are not for an extended discussion.

I think there are some issues here with the user's data model. I'd approach it this way: there are 3 roles of user:

  • developer
  • tester
  • undetermined

Also there are 3 states on the page:

  • not logged in (roles do not apply)
  • registered (not verified)
  • fully verified

If the user is registered, their role is "undetermined" and they get the information that the verification email has been sent. In the meantime they can fill in and submit the additional question to determine their role (you know the username, you can change their role).

If the user is fully verified and their role is "undetermined", they get the questions to answer. If their role is developer or tester, they get respective content.

If the user is not logged in, they either get the log in screen or some generic content.

I hope this logic is clear to you.

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  • The thing is I need the user to fill the additional info right away, because the kind of account they "get" depends on that input. (The user chooses the role of either tester or game developer and based on that choice we give them one of two account "insides".)
    – Ola Osinska
    Commented Apr 3, 2018 at 12:03
  • Do you need to send the confirmation only after you know the user role? If no, then determine the account type somewhere near the first login (after verification and logging in the user gets the list, otherwise they cannot continue). If yes, while requesting the account ask the user the minimum possible questions to determine their role.
    – Mike
    Commented Apr 3, 2018 at 12:15
  • No, I think I can send confirmation before I know the details, so the first solution applies. However, more questions: if the details were to appear after logging in, how could they be displayed? In the modal? If I don't know the type of account the user has, how can I log them in? I was thinking the details page would appear similarly to the sign up page, not inside the account yet.
    – Ola Osinska
    Commented Apr 3, 2018 at 12:45
  • I have added the answer to your question into the main post.
    – Mike
    Commented Apr 3, 2018 at 13:03
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This is how I would approach it:

  1. I would ask User about the details that are absolutely necessary to create their account.

  2. I would tell them that they need to confirm their email address and to do so they need to click a link in the message the system has just sent to them, "but meanwhile why don't you fill in these details because they will allow you to gain this or that additional value for you."

  3. Then, upon clicking the link in the activation email I would check if the additional information has been filled in by them and ask them for it again if they didn't specify it.

I believe this would be the best way to use gradual engagement and take advantage of the oh-so-meaningless "confirm your email" page.

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