login wall
This article is a stub. You can help the IndieWeb wiki by expanding it.
login wall (AKA login gate, authwall, or auth wall) is a UI antipattern used by some silos like Medium to prompt returning users with a login UI, sometimes after some number of viewed pages, that blocks viewing or using the site until the user has logged in. When presented immediately (upon first visit), this is a registration wall.
Silo Examples
LinkedIn redirects any attempt to access a profile with an "authwall" that forces you to login before you can view a profile.
Medium
See the Medium page for specific UX examples and criticism.
Quora
stub. needs screenshot.
Quora presents a login prompt when trying to read (how many? even just 1? or when scrolled?) answers to a question.
stub. needs screenshot.
Instagram will typically load a profile without authentication, but will force a login to scroll through past photos.
stub. needs screenshot.
Twitter allows view individual posts, but requires login to scroll through threads, profiles, and to view trending topics.
Articles
- 2014-03-02 Nielsen Norman Group: Login Walls Stop Users in Their Tracks
Summary: Demanding that users register or log in before they can use an app or see website information has high interaction cost and defies the reciprocity principle.
In our many usability tests, we rarely have seen users more annoyed than when they come across a login wall. Login walls are pages that ask the user to log in or register before proceeding. - 2017-01-11 9 Ways to Make Login Walls Suck Less
See Also
- antipatterns
- registration wall
- login
- Silo example: LinkedIn: many LinkedIn URLs will redirect you to https://www.linkedin.com/authwall requiring you to login before showing you anything.
- https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/28/23618804/google-facebook-login-ads-web-design-hell “One of the major problems with salesbros is that they think “always be closing” is a mantra to live by because they didn’t understand the point of Glengarry Glen Ross, which is that salespeople are nightmares. That’s why there’s always some silly pop-up chat at the bottom of every website now.”
- 2023-06-30 The Verge: Twitter has started blocking unregistered users / If you want to browse tweets, user profiles, and comment threads on the web, then you currently need to be signed in to a Twitter account.