Friction Kills Websites

If I have to fill out a long sign-up form, answer a questionnaire, wait for a return email to validate my logon, etc, the chances of me completing that process go down by the second. It’s called friction, and friction kills.

Flickr has a sign up process which is not too bad, but after sign up there is very little friction. There is almost nothing there; upload a picture, view some pictures, add information if you like. Even though there are several thousand person-hours of programming, it seems like it does almost nothing yet at the same time it does everything you need.

Check out this cool website from GE. It’s an interactive whiteboard that is simple, fun, and intuitive. Start a whiteboard session, invite friends, email the results. In order to start playing with your own whiteboard session just go to the link and boom you’re working. No signup, no instructions to read, just go. This is a great example of low friction in a website. I think every internet application developer should strive for this level of friction, and Google simplicity (one text box, 2 buttons).