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I'm Siddharth from SAWO Labs

Some of the best practices for UX and User Authentication examined

• In order for any business to be successful online, it needs to ensure that the customer has a seamless experience right from the time they visit the website until the final intent (be it a purchase, a subscription or any other action that the business wants the user to take) is complete.

• But when it comes to matters of user data and security, often website administrators end up in a fix. The trade-off between security and convenience can be a tough decision to make, considering how these two parameters are generally pitted against each other.

• Upping the security parameters leads to additional steps in the customer’s journey, which could be off putting. As an organization though, striking a fine balance between the two is the key to success.

UX: Less is more

• When devising your User Experience, always follow the mantra of ‘Less is More’. Any hurdles during navigation would almost certainly lead to your potential customer bouncing off, as there is no dearth of options to choose from online.

• By minimizing the number of actions required to complete a task or achieve a result, you make it easier for the user to browse your site. By being on the site for longer, your users are more likely to make a purchase decision, thereby helping you achieve your goals.

• Logging in to websites that they don’t visit too often is a pain-point for users as they need to create and remember multiple passwords. Certain sites make it even more complicated by implementing two-factor authentication, which is no doubt secure, but requires the user to have a supplementary device.

• To solve this issue, the highly secure yet extremely convenient process of biometric authentication is gaining momentum. Biometric authentication is super speedy and is completed in the blink of an eye, literally! However, due to the lack of biometric identification mechanisms on most desktops and laptops, website developers are wary of using this method.

Data Privacy: Do Indians care, and should you?

• Unlike internet users in foreign countries, Indians are usually lax when it comes to data security on the internet. Most Indian consumers are indifferent to data privacy rules and regulations, focusing more on the user experience rather than on improving their security.

• A survey conducted by McAfee revealed that online shopping in India has gone up by 68% percent since March. However, another worrisome finding is that only 27.8% of the respondents admitted to using online security solutions.

• This poses a challenge to businesses as any data breach resulting even out of the negligence of the user could have a negative impact on the business’s brand image. So, the challenge lies in implementing a solution that is not only intuitive and easy to use, but secure at the core as well.

Tips on providing a solid user experience

• Authentication alone does not guarantee security, as the users can have incorrect or fake information linked on their social account. Security is built on the fundamental concept of authentication combined with identification.

• It is essential for businesses to realize that both these processes need not be done simultaneously. Rather, breaking down the process into identification at registration and authentication at checkout can greatly boost conversions.

• Retailing giant Amazon adopted this method a few years ago, and is doing great, miles ahead of its competitors with regard to conversion rates. Amazon simply lets a guest user browse their entire catalogue and add items to the cart, personalizing recommendations based on cookies stored on the visitor’s device. Once the visitor has made the purchase decision by heading over to checkout, the login and authentication mechanism kicks in.

• By this time, the user is so deep into the purchase journey that they do not mind the task of logging in. However, if this process had to be done at the start, it would seem cumbersome to the user, who might leave the site altogether.

• Some businesses tend to use the fear factor to coerce users into keeping their account security details up to date. However, this ploy can backfire as the instilled fear can lead to reduced engagement and potential drop offs.

• Businesses need to identify user pain points and provide simple solutions that are user-centric and not solely security or functionality centric.

• Passwords as a form of authentication are really outdated and pose a large number of security threats. Added to it, is the high cost of maintaining a secure database which can store all the customer’s passwords safely. It’s high time for companies to ditch password-based methods to authenticate users. This is where biometric authentication comes handy, due to its speed, simplicity and tamper-proof nature.

Understanding your product from a security standpoint

• As a business, it is important for you to be realistic about your security requirements. While multiple checkpoints including 2FA, captchas, security challenges and the like make sense for a website or an app handling sensitive financial data or confidential private information, the same does not hold true for say, a subscription-based e-magazine, blog or news website.

• Planning an authentication system based on the security needs of your business while keeping the use-case and convenience of your visitors in mind will go a long way in attracting more visitors, consequently driving business.

• Do a thorough competitor analysis, check out the best industry practices, conduct a risk-reward assessment and then replicate it by tweaking it to suit your business, and see the results for yourself.

A cost-effective quick fix crafted for you!

• We understand that the above-mentioned process of research and analysis may not be easy for most businesses because of multiple reasons including lack of time or technical expertise. That’s why we have a simple solution designed keeping you in mind.

• Contact our security experts at SAWO Labs today for a free demo and walkthrough of our ground-breaking passwordless authentication system that’s easy to deploy and scale up. What’s more? It’s super convenient to use and extremely user friendly. Try it out yourself today.

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