Registration funnel optimization

Registration is the funnel that matters. Industry typical: 20-50% of visitors who start signup don't finish. Olympus's default flow is reasonable but not optimized, here's how to tune.

Instrument first

Track:

Visitors on /register.
Form submission attempts.
Form submission errors (per field).
Successful registrations.
Email verifications.
First login after registration.

In Hera, add analytics events:

"use client";
useEffect(() => {
  analytics.track("registration_page_viewed");
}, []);

Submit handler:

const onSubmit = (data) => {
  analytics.track("registration_attempted", { email_domain: data.email.split("@")[1] });
  // ...
};

Optimize: fewer fields

Default Olympus registration: email + password.

Don't ask for first/last name, company, role, etc. on signup. Collect those later (profile setup, in-app).

Each field adds friction. Each conditional ask reduces.

Counter: B2B sales often wants company info. Compromise: optional fields, clearly labeled.

Optimize: clear password requirements

Show password requirements as the user types, not after submit:

<PasswordStrengthMeter password={value} />
// "Add 4 more characters"
// "Avoid common passwords"

Fewer submit-error cycles.

For B2C, social signup converts ~3x better than password.

UI order:

[Sign up with Google]
[Sign up with Apple]
[Sign up with GitHub]
─── or ───
[Email]   [Password]
[Sign up]

Social first. Password as backup.

Optimize: magic link as primary

For some B2B SaaS, magic link (no password ever) converts even better.

Enter your work email:
[your-name@company.com]
[Send sign-in link]

Friction: 1 input. User receives email, clicks → in app.

Trade-off: now they need to check email mid-flow. Mobile UX worse.

Optimize: in-app prompts

Defer profile completion to in-app:

// First app visit after signup
<OnboardingChecklist>
  <Item done={hasName}>Add your name</Item>
  <Item done={hasPhoto}>Upload profile photo</Item>
  <Item done={hasMfa}>Enable 2FA</Item>
</OnboardingChecklist>

Bait with rewards / progress bars.

Optimize: gentle email verification

Don't block app usage on email verification. Let user sign up + log in immediately. Verify later.

Show a soft banner:

Please verify your email, some features (like password recovery) need this.
[Resend email]

After 7 days unverified, get strict.

Optimize: error message UX

Bad:

{ "error": "validation_failed" }

Good:

"This email is already registered. Sign in instead?"
[Sign in] [Use different email]

Specific, actionable.

Optimize: prefill via URL

If user clicks an email invite link:

https://your-app.com/register?email=alice@example.com

Pre-fill the email. They just enter password. -1 field.

Optimize: passkey on registration

If passkey supported, offer:

Continue without a password?
Save a passkey to your device, sign in faster next time.
[Save passkey]    [Use password instead]

Reduces password fatigue.

A/B test

Test changes incrementally. Olympus's settings vault has feature flags, use them:

olympus.registration.layout = "v2"  // 50% A, 50% B

Measure conversion. Pick winner. Repeat.

Common dropoff causes

Email already in use

User signs up with an email they already have. Either:

Show "Already have account? Sign in" link prominently.
Auto-redirect to sign-in with the email prefilled.

Password too weak

Show meter live. Reject submission before round-trip. Most users will retry vs abandon.

CAPTCHA fatigue

If CAPTCHA always fires, ~5% drop off. Use risk-based: only show if signals suggest bot.

Form errors

Each field error → 5-10% dropoff. Validate live, not on submit.

Email verification confusion

User signs up, doesn't get email, thinks "broken." Show clear "Check your spam folder. Still nothing? [Resend]."

Studies: if a user doesn't return within 24h of signing up, they probably never will.

Tactics:

Email at +5min: "Welcome, here's how to start."
Email at +1d: "Your first task: [actionable]."
In-app: prompt to add data, invite teammates.

Measure cohort retention

-- 7-day retention by signup week
SELECT
  DATE_TRUNC('week', i.created_at) AS signup_week,
  COUNT(DISTINCT i.id) AS signups,
  COUNT(DISTINCT CASE WHEN l.created_at > i.created_at + INTERVAL '6 days' THEN i.id END) AS d7_active
FROM identities i
LEFT JOIN security_audit l 
  ON l.identity_id = i.id 
  AND l.event_type = 'login'
WHERE i.created_at > NOW() - INTERVAL '12 weeks'
GROUP BY 1
ORDER BY 1;

Watch for changes.

Registration funnel optimization

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