When you have a site that uses user accounts, say for returning customers, I really hate the common theme of having a login fields area and a register fields area.
Mainly because I can’t always remember if I am registered or not. Why not make the forms do double duty as login and registration forms? You put in your email address* and what you think is your password and hit the button. If that user exists and the password is correct, let me in. If that user exists and the password is not correct, bounce me with a message. If that user does not exist, go on to a registration page and get the rest of my details**, and keep the hash of my password so you only have to confirm it not get me to type it twice again.
Streamlined. The only thing that I can see that is wrong with this idea is that it does give away some information, namely the form tells you that a certain email address is registered on that site. However the existing registration form does that anyway so…
* I am pretty much a believer in the email address as username idea. There is never going to be a problem with your desired username being take already, and people who complain that they have too many email addresses or they change them often or whatever… pfft.
** Or better yet – don’t ask me for any more information, just to confirm the password. Oh, and make sure I can continue on with what I was doing.
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