Sometimes, it's hard to remember whether you are registered with a site - and if so, what your user ID is. Boxes and Arrows gives users some help in this situation by dynamically searching on the user name, reporting whether the login exists or not in the system.
A number of web services create two entirely separate site experiences for new vs. returning users. The new user experience is typically focused on the benefits of the service and getting people to sign up.
For example, compare the different home page presentations for new vs. existing users on Tastebook. New users are presented with clean, simple page with just three main options: How it Works, Look Inside (a product tour), and Get Started.
Below is the "logged in" version of the Tastebook home page--the starting point for actually using the service.
LinkedIn uses a similar approach, with a super-simple home page for new users:
The advantage of this approach is that it eliminates options that aren't functional for users who haven't yet signed up for the service. It also makes a crisp distinction between the web site for the product and the product itself (a distinction that exists, of course, for desktop software).
Recently, I came across this login form on an investment site. It allows me to choose where I'd like to go as a result of logging in:
Below are the "go to" options:
This might seem like an interesting idea. But in this particular implementation, I felt they had missed the opportunity to do a single "dashboard" presentation that summarizes these key areas. The dashboard could, for example, show key information about my account (Account Overview), provide a summary of my portfolio (View Your Portfolio), have an embedded quick-entry form for trades (Real-time Trade), etc. The dashboard presentation could likely give me the information I'm looking for without having to navigate to each specific area.
One thing I've noticed about web-based services is that some services make the login option much more obvious than others.
For example, Vox, where I keep a personal blog, has a clear "Sign In" link in the upper-right hand corner (click image for a larger view).
Smartsheet also has a clear login option in the upper right of the home page (click image for larger view):
In contrast, I visited Backpack after not having used the service in some time and had to scan the entire home page on the hunt for the login link. I expected it in the upper right, especially since there was a Sign Up link there...but there was no corresponding Login link.
I finally found where to login, tucked under the large red "Sign up for free" link.
When I clicked the Log In link here's the page I saw next:
I didn't expect "help" content here; I expected the login fields. The instructions told me I must first navigate to the URL that's assigned to me. The biggest problem I had with this page is that it is a potential dead-end: If I couldn't remembered my URL, no alternative course of action was presented.
It took a couple of tries, but I was able to remember my URL--at which point I finally got to the login fields:
