Everybody knows the normal registration process:
- Fill in sign up form
- Wait for email
- Click confirmation link in email
- Done (signed in & confirmation by email)
IMO this process works because people are used to it but it isn't very elegant because it breaks the user's flow. The same process on in a mobile app would look something like this:
- Fill in sign up form
- Wait for email, switch to email app
- Click confirmation link in email
- Browser opens and shows confirmation page
- Switch back to app
- Type in sign on information
- Done
This is just painful (even more so if the email address used for the sign up isn't the one that is used on the mobile's email client).
I see two main alternatives but both have some issues:
Don't require a confirmation by email, just sign in the user immediately. Main problem: We can't be sure if the email address is correct (other than syntax).
Don't require immediate confirmation: Let the user confirm his email address in the next 7 days or so and sign him in immediately. Main problem: Still can't handle wrong email addresses
Are there any other alternatives or more elegant ways to handle registrations?
Deep Linking
To jump from 3 to 7 straight away in case the user opens the email on his device (you shoot him straight back to the app after you've confirmed him)