Name of the logged off part of an application/a website

Question

I'd like to know how you would call the part of the application which is not the showcase, not the app itself, but the part between both.

Let me explain with more details. It is something very common to have a showcase presenting what your app does, then having the app itself. However, you HAVE to log-in/register to access the app. Let say the login screens (login, signup, password recovery, etc.) do have a different layout. How would you call this set of screens?

Examples: logged-off part, user-account management part, etc.

Answer 1

Your Showcase is part of the anonymous access part of your website. You may have other things that are also part of the anonymous access part, such as a Community area with FAQs, forums, etc. That said, I would think you could name the specific section you referred to as the Access portion (or Access Management). That also give you a nice progression: Showcase -> Access -> App.

Answer 2

"Lobby" is one possible term. The physical location metaphor implies a comfortable area outside or preceding a "main" area, and is convenient for terminology because the phrase "in the lobby" is straightforward and simple.

Answer 3

Just keep it simple and call it register. If the user already has an account let him login (You can use a switching widget which switches between the login screen and the register screen) to ensure the user doesnt not have to swift between multiple pages. However I would strongly recommend not having a register page to access your app. An additional step to reach a final goal is always a deterrent to people and they may drop off at that point. Swype after initally having a login and register screen to get access to Swype Beta dropped the registration process after getting a lot of requests from users.

To quote them

Download Swype Beta without Registering! You asked for it, you got it! No more registering and logging in on this website or within the Swype Beta Installer to download Swype Beta.

You could look at lazy registration as a way to avoid the drop off if you need users to have email accounts

Answer 4

I'd agree with Benny and have "public" for the nonsecure area and "private" for the secure area. Keeps it simple and clear.

Answer 5

I would call it the public area or public pages/views of the application, depending on how big it is and what its contents are. Check out the following example of one way you could organize an app and its pages:

Marketing Website — myapp.com

• Homepage — myapp.com
• Tour — myapp.com/tour
• Register forwards -> app.myapp.com/register

Application — app.myapp.com

• Public Area (does not require authorization)

  • Register — app.myapp.com/register

  • Login — app.myapp.com/login

• Private/Secure Area (requires login)

  • Dashboard — app.myapp.com/dashboard
  • Settings — app.myapp.com/settings
  • etc

There are, of course, apps that are structured differently. Some have a larger public area of the app, but the above at least might give you an idea how to describe/organize it. For example, there are some apps that allow you to use the whole "app" without logging in at all.

Another note: I would avoid calling the public area insecure, because it has negative connotations. It might be a secure public area (doesn't mean it requires the user to login). Think HTTPS.