Six Point Checklist: Making a User Friendly Login Page
An important feature of Forio Broadcast Professional is the
ability to restrict access to registered users. Broadcast contains
a number of features to make the login process smooth and your
application appear professional.
Here's a quick checklist to use when you create a new simulation.
- Set up a simple but attractive login page. You can read how to do this in our online manual. I suggest your page be laid out cleanly, with a simple logo, and a minimum of text. Make it easy for your users to see where to log in.
- In the login page, remember the user's user name with the following syntax:
<INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="FD_loginid" value="$!RecentUser.LoginId"/>The FML reference
$RecentUsercontains information about the last user to log in from the same computer. -
Automatically set the user focus on the login field (or if the user name is filled in, the password field). This subtle behavior allows the user to enter their password, hit enter and quickly log in. You can use the following code:
<script type="text/javascript">
#if($RecentUser)
document.loginform.FD_password.focus();
#else
document.loginform.FD_loginid.focus();
#end
</script> - Related to the above point, confirm that hitting enter will log you in. Normally pressing enter will act the same as clicking the "login" button, but this might change if you have a second button (instead of a link) for "Forgot Your Password?". (see below).
- Provide a link "Forgot Your Password?", allowing your users to enter their username or email address to retrieve their password. Among other benefits, this will reduce the amount of time you spend responding to email from forgetful users.
- Provide a link for users to edit their user profile, most importantly allowing them to change their password. Again, providing a means for users to control their account will reduce your email support burden.
You can see all of these features in our recently released Service Quality Management Simulation
Posted by Will Glass
