How I took sign-up-to-play success from 34% to 77.5%

Friendbase | Mobile Videogame

Introduction

While working as a Product Designer at Optic Power, one of my main projects from 2021 to 2023 was Friendbase, an immersive 2D Virtual World where users create avatars, socialize, and play mini-games. During those years, we went through all kinds of adventures. In this post, I walk through how I improved the sign-up to play success rate from 34 percent to 77 percent through research and iteration.

Problem

Among the few metrics available, there was a disproportionate relationship between downloads and successful registrations. Far more users downloaded the app than those who actually reached the game.

Downloads

Create Account w/

email or Facebook

Create Avatar

Start Playing

Hypothesis

Users were signing up but not reaching gameplay due to friction or barriers in the registration flow.

"Martin's ability to see the big picture and foresee our needs as a client makes him an invaluable designer."

Melika Sanati

Friendbase Co-founder

Quantitative Data

We had a hypothesis, so it was time to test it. I measured user actions across the entire sign-up to play path, using Amplitude to track each step in both the Email and Facebook registration flows.

Highest dropout rate

Email was the most popular registration method among our users, and it also had the highest dropout rate, specifically at the email verification screen. I examined that screen and realized that it acted as a barrier. Users couldn’t do anything further within the app; they were forced to leave and confirm their email without even trying the app.

5754 users

Click on “Create an account w/ email”

Click on

“Create an account w/ email”

Click on

“Create an account w/ email”

1192 users

Verified the email

639 users

Start Playing

Email Registration Funnel Analysis Chart, Amplitude.

Verification Screen. Worst drop-off.

The other option was registration using a Facebook account, chosen by only 21.6% of users, but with a success rate of 67.5%, which is much higher than email.

Qualitative Data

I was able to interview a few collaborative users. The main discoveries from this sessions were:

The first screen did not clearly differentiate between 'Login' and 'Sign In,' causing confusion.
Users expected to be able to log in with a Google or Apple Account.
There were no clear acceptance criteria for usernames or names.

To summarize and visually present both quantitative and qualitative data, I created a User Journey Map for both registration processes: Email and Facebook. I shared this with stakeholders and the team to ensure everyone was aligned and foster collaborative ideation.

Solution Proposal

After researching, ideating, leading some workshops, and having a few meetings, I landed on a design solution that I'll explain through its three main features: SSO, Play as a Guest, and reduced steps.

Google and Apple Single Sign-On

Adding Google and Apple accounts was something users were loudly asking for. It's a trustworthy and quicker way to register, and also a standard in the industry.

Play as a guest

Introducing a new way to try the game before creating an account. Guest users can explore the game, but they cannot chat or make friends. This measure ensures security for our users. To encourage registration, we offer coins to Guest users who sign up, providing some extrinsic motivation, to complement the intrinsic motivation of not wanting to lose their progress.

Reduced Steps and “Minimalistic” Design

With Single Sign-On and Play as a Guest options, we are bringing users closer to their (and our) goal: to start playing. However, there were still many steps, seven to be precise, that users had to navigate to complete their account setup. Some of these steps involved sharing personal data, which can make them uncomfortable.

After extensive discussions, research, and debates with stakeholders and marketing teams, I managed to streamline the process to just one screen with two fields: Username and Birthday, along with one checkbox for accepting the terms and conditions. Without compromising the characteristic and playful style of the game, I developed a minimalistic new design aimed at helping users focus on their goal: to register quickly and start playing.

"As a developer, it always really easy to work with Martin, his designs are awesome and if something needs tweaking or is too complex to code, he finds solutions really quick."