[asanwal]

Why is this better than having users enter their email twice and just confirming they match?

I realize entering email twice might be slightly sub-optimal from a user perspective but if you as a user want a service, it seems like entering one's email twice is not a lot to ask or a major source of friction. Or is it?

Not trolling. Genuine question. We do the type your email address twice on our site so wanted to understand if there any clear benefits of this approach.

[MichaelApproved]

That would reduce sign ups not increase them.

I see what you're saying about the customer wanting the service but a lot of time it's not so simple. We spend a ton of time tweaking our copy and graphics to convince the customer, if only just barely, that they should sign up. When they finally decide to sign up, the fewer the forms the better. There have been studies that show a marked reduction in performance for each new field you request from the customer. This has lead to people asking for a password only once, instead of the traditional twice, or to go further and not even ask for a password (it's automatically created and emailed to them).

Additionally, as developers, we should be making things easier for customers. Correcting obvious typos is a better system than asking all customers to type it twice. Consider the extra work you're creating for all the customers who didnt have a typo.

[shabble]

One of my accounts uses a relatively long domain, so I often type it once, Ctrl-A Ctrl-C to copy it, then paste into the dupe field. Assuming I'm not the only person that does this, entering it twice isn't going to help in any significant way.

And secondly, there's a fair UI improvement in 'your email might be wrong, and here are some easy 1-click suggestions to fix it' vs 'these 2 things don't match. Work out where the error is, and then fix it', usually without even indicating the non-matching substring(s).

[MehdiEG]

Many people really struggle to type on a keyboard - it's something that geeks often forget (I've been reminded of this again this week when helping my mum setup her new laptop). For them, having to enter their email address twice isn't suboptimal - it's a nightmare.

Those of us who don't have a problem with keyboards don't bother typing twice. We Ctrl-A, Ctrl-C, Tab, Ctrl-V, which renders the whole thing pointless.

[astrodust]

[e-mail]

[e-mail]

When people don't even know their email address from a URL or a Twitter handle they're bound to get it wrong exactly the same way.

Plus, confirming an email address is absurd. Why not confirm every other field on the form if you're such a stickler about accuracy?

[jaredsohn]

The e-mail address is more important than other fields both because it can be used to verify identity and because it allows a website to send marketing e-mails (which is often the purpose of getting people to sign up.)

[astrodust]

My address is particularly important when a package is being shipped, but I can't recall ever being asked to type it in twice in a row.

[tjoff]

Then again, you can do a lot of mistakes when typing your shipping address and it will still get through. It is also easier to spot mistakes since a shipping address contain regular words which isn't as common with email addresses.

One char wrong and your email is completely worthless, and with it your only real link with the service is cut off - often with no way of fixing it.

[eli]

Email is arguably still more important. They want to be able to contact you if the package cannot be delivered.