Lets be honest, no one likes going through the process of signing up for an account on a website, and if there was a secure universal system to solve that problem we would probably all be on board. However, that doesn’t exist and so in the meantime we need to do what we can to make the process less painful for our Magento website customers. One way we can do so it by enabling a social login feature using the APIs of common social media websites.
Lets Look at Some Positives and Negatives of Using a Social Login
Positives:
- Less Logins to Remember
Different websites have different requirements for logins. Some use email for the login, some use a combination of numbers and letters, some only letters. Some have very strict password requirements (for good reason). At a certain point people people can only remember so many logins. - Increased Conversion Rates
Users will be more likely to stay on the site and make a purchase when the process is fast and impulsive. - Validated Emails
Users emails that are shared with you when they use social logins have already been validated, so you will be able to send marketing materials and not have bounce backs from fake emails. - Familiarity
- Seeing the familiar logos of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or other social media networks can give visitors a sense of familiarity and comfort.
- Less Failed Logins
Recovering log in information is always a frustrating process. Users who opt to sign up with social logins will not have this problem. Its a simple button click and they are logged in.
Negatives
- Giving Up Some Control
- If one of the social networks goes down people will not be able to access accounts on your website either. If a customer cancels a social media account, their account with you will be inaccessible.
- Security issues
If one of the social networks is hacked, then all accounts a person uses that profile to sign into can also be compromised. - Not Everyone is on Social
Not everyone uses social media, so if you only use social media logins you will lose customers. The obvious solution here is give customer the option of both.
Best Practices for Implementation of Social Login APIs
- Choose a one or two to implement, don’t crowd the page and make it confusing.
- You must change your privacy policy to reflect this addition.
- Place the social login buttons in a prominent position on your account signup and login pages.
- Provide the alternative option for a traditional account signup with just email.
Here’s a List of the Most Popular Magento Extensions
- AddShoppers: Social Marketing Apps for eCommerce (http://www.magentocommerce.com/magento-connect/addshoppers-social-marketing-apps-for-ecommerce.html): Take your store to the next level with social apps that increase sharing and grow revenue.
- Social Login and Social Sharing (http://www.magentocommerce.com/magento-connect/social-login-and-social-sharing.html): Add Social Login & Sharing to your Magento website, also get accurate Social Data and Social Analytics.
- Social Login (http://www.magentocommerce.com/magento-connect/social-login-18.html): Social Login allows customers to gain access to your site instantly, using FB, Twitter, Yahoo, G+, LinkedIn.
- Social Login for Magento (http://www.magentocommerce.com/magento-connect/social-login-for-magento.html): Social Login extension for Magento allows visitors to log in via 18 social network accounts.
- Social Login and Social Share by Janrain (http://www.magentocommerce.com/magento-connect/social-login-and-social-share-by-janrain.html): Speed up your checkout process and increase quality referrals with Janrain’s Social Login and Sharing Plugin
The research for this article was done by a staff writer for LDA Interactive, a Los Angeles based web design agency. Contact LDA at info@ldainteractive.com or call (213) 342-1770 for a website consultation from one of our specialists.