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When I'm logging into a website, I ALWAYS forget to tick the "Remember Me" checkbox. While the system is logging me in, I always want to go back and tick that, but by the time I'm being redirected to the logged in page, it seems frustrating to:

sign out - > insert my details -> remember to tick that option (sometimes I'm not paying attention and forget the second time too!) -> and log in again.

  • So wouldn't it be better to place that checkbox before the user and password inputs and save all that trouble?
  • Is there a good reason to place it at the bottom?
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  • possible duplicate of Why isn't the "remember me" checkbox in login forms enabled by default?
    – Fractional
    Feb 18, 2015 at 9:48
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    @RedSirius It's not a duplicate- totally another question..
    – Nir Smadar
    Feb 18, 2015 at 9:49
  • You can't expect that users will have read or seen all the page content leading up to the username and password fields. Upon wishing to login. I would expects users to quickly scan the page to find the username and password fields - making any 'remember me' option above these fields equally easy to miss.
    – Fractional
    Feb 18, 2015 at 10:53
  • @RedSirius Placing that option above the controls was just a suggestion. I could think of other options (none of which seems good enough), but the point here is that this is an issue that has been addressed poorly (imao).
    – Nir Smadar
    Feb 18, 2015 at 11:42
  • @RedSirius for me both questions should be under "What design will maximise use of 'remember me option'?". Otherwise we end-up have a question for every alternative design.
    – Jason A.
    Feb 19, 2015 at 12:21

3 Answers 3

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On a login page, what is the order for most important fields for all the users? (Irrespective of whether they want to stay logged in or not)

I think most of us would have it this way:

  • Username/email
  • Password
  • Login button
  • Keep me logged in option

Now going by this order, it won't make a good UX (or even pratically possible) to have a 'Keep me logged in' option after the Login button. There is a big chance that user might have already clicked 'Log In' button before discovering the 'Keep me logged in' option.

It is not a good UX to have 'Remember me/Keep me logged in' as first option nor as a last option. The middle path here is to have it just before the actual Login Button.

Also many sites don't even have this option of staying logged in. Which makes this field universally optional. And you wouldn't want to have a optional field at the top of the form.

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    Forms controls are not always ordered by their importance. often it's better to order them by a real life scenario
    – Nir Smadar
    Feb 18, 2015 at 9:51
  • True, but there is no single real life scenario here. You might want to stay logged in for all the sites, but some user might not want to. For him, having keep me logged in at top wouldn't make sense. But both these type of users will agree that in a login form, Username & password input are more important than 'Keep me logged in' option
    – Jigar
    Feb 18, 2015 at 9:56
  • Also many sites don't even have this option of staying logged in. Which makes it universally optional. And you wont have a optional field at the top of the form
    – Jigar
    Feb 18, 2015 at 10:00
  • You made some good points. I tend to agree, but my intuition is telling me that a lot of users are encountering that scenario. It also seems that the users won't report that because once they are logged in, they will prefer to continue their business.. The frustration will arise when the user closes the session, and then has to log in again..
    – Nir Smadar
    Feb 18, 2015 at 10:07
  • At which point their browser can refill the username and password.
    – Fractional
    Feb 18, 2015 at 10:50
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From a usability POV I definitely agree that there should be a remember me function within the logged in section of the web site. It seems logical that a user would decide they want remembering after they have seen a site is worthwhile rather than before they have ever logged in for the first time.

From a security POV this idea falls down though; too easy for someone to forget to log out and then remember me to be clicked. And to include password confirmation and all that....that would just seem a bit daft.

As to the headline question of putting the tick box before the inputs- why would this help your situation of forgetting to click login? Surely the best place for the tick box so you remember to press it before pressing the login button is right next to the log in button?

It seems a pretty standard cognitive flow: username>password>there's the login but...what's that? remember me?....ahh....go on then>press login button.

Placing it below the login button rather than next to it...Partially for visual appearance and showing relations, having it next to the login button would disconnect the password/username from the login button with a weird tick box in between.

It also helps to minimise mouse movement- very simple to tick a box then move your mouse a few mm upwards to press login.

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  • A lot if users just click the enter instead of using the mouse
    – Nir Smadar
    Feb 19, 2015 at 9:36
  • not if they're clicking remember me
    – the other one
    Feb 19, 2015 at 9:52
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Why not look at it from another POV. Why do we need a checkbox "Keep me signed in" at the first place? It does nothing more than just toggle a setting right?

Why not add 2 confirmation buttons? One with the text "Login and never ask again" and one with "Login and please nag me again next time" (maybe do something on the labels??)

Clicking the first button will automatically set the Setting to keep you signed in.

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2
  • Exactly what's going through my mind, but as others commented- it's out of the scope of this discussion. It should be under "what is the best design for the login form" or something like that..
    – Nir Smadar
    Feb 19, 2015 at 15:18
  • Can't tell if this was a serious suggestion or not?
    – rohicks
    Nov 1, 2016 at 21:55

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