Email verification during onboarding that requires internal approval

Question

I'm designing a sign-up flow for a clinic management platform (browser, desktop and mobile friendly) that is dedicated for business owners to sign-up for their company. The one registering will be the owner account that manages everything, like a super admin of the company when using my product. Think as if I'm Stripe, the payment gateway provider.

To be adherent to the local laws, we will require the business to be a legitimate business, and we will approve it manually before user can complete the sign up process.

In summary, the flow I drafted was:

1. User land on sign-in/sign-up page. User click on sign-up
2. User will see fields to put in their business name, business registration number, attach soft-copy of their business registration registry with their local council.
3. User submits and receives and email on the copy of response.
4. Validation team will receive an email to review and approve or reject the invitation. Validation team approves it after doing due diligence, including calling the user over phone.
5. User receives an email that it's approved and in the email, user will click on the CTA button to continue the sign-up process
6. User lands to the page to create their password and clicks 'Continue'

Now I'm stuck what's after (6). Should I......

• A: Land user to the logged-in landing page, which is the Dashboard and congratulate them. (Risk: what if user have a typo in their email? Or it turns out to be an abuser who have stolen a soft-copy of business license and trying to imitate them).

• B: Proceed to verify user's email, where an email will be sent to the user > user click on the link and completes sign up > land user to the logged-in landing page. Risk: clunky flow that brings user off the platform for the second time)

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Now I've also ran through this with my Product Designer, should we were to choose A. Could we have:

Opt 1 - During (2) above, incorporate the flow to force user to verify their email first like in (B) before they reach (3)

Opt 2 - Maintain status quo above

All cents are welcomed! -Kenny

Answer 1

I would recommend Option B with a few adjustments to make the sign-up flow more user-friendly and reduce friction:

1. Simplify the Initial Sign-Up: Start with a sign-up form that includes all the necessary fields like business name, registration number, and a password field. This way, the user can fully set up their account in one go, including their login credentials.

2. Email Verification Immediately After Sign-Up: Redirect the user to a screen prompting them to verify their email. If they don't receive the verification email, they have an opportunity to correct their email address (this helps catch typos early, which I’ve personally experienced many times!).

3. Inform the User About the Manual Verification Process: Once the email is verified, display a message that informs them their account is under manual review. You could mention that they will be notified via email once the verification is complete. This step helps manage expectations and keeps the user informed.

4. Keep Users Engaged During the Verification Process: If the user tries to log in while the account is still under review, show the same message that their account is being reviewed. You could even allow them to view their submitted details in a “read-only” mode to give a sense of progress.

5. Celebrate the Approval: After approval, send an email congratulating the user, with a clear call-to-action button to log in. Adding a celebratory tone can make the experience more positive and memorable.

This flow helps ensure the user is fully aware of each step, reducing the risk of frustration from a lack of communication. It also provides a smooth, intuitive process that keeps them engaged while their account is being reviewed. I’ve seen similar approaches work well in applications requiring extra verification steps, and they help balance user experience with security requirements.

Hope this helps you refine your sign-up process!

Answer 2

Given the need for thorough validation and adherence to local laws, Option B seems to be a more secure and user-friendly approach. Here's a refined suggestion for Option B:

Option B Refined:

Consider Using Sniper Link which will land them directly to the mail.