I don’t know about you, but I get a feeling of dread when I need to change an account password.
Why?
Because of years of receiving warning messages for submitting my new password incorrectly.
With no indication of what characters the password must contain.
Who hasn’t received messages similar to:
- Your password must be at least 10 characters long, but not longer than 18 characters
- You cannot use %, ^, or & in your password. The only accepted special characters are *, $, and +
- You must use at least three upper case letters and two lower case letters in your password
No one should have to go through that annoying experience!
Especially when a designer can take the time to understand the problem and provide a helpful solution.
Wouldn’t it be easier for everyone if you were told what the password requirements were, before you entered the new password?
And that’s what I discovered when I recently updated my LinkedIn password on desktop.
Which is why I’m giving them a shoutout as my UX Win for this month.
LinkedIn Account Password Change
To change your password on LinkedIn in a desktop browser, you log in to your account and visit the Login and security page.
In the Change password section, you take these steps:
- Select change
- Enter your current password
- A prompt displays with password requirements: it must be eight characters, including one number or special character. Passwords can’t contain your name, email address or phone number.
- Enter your new password, twice
- Save your new password
You’re done!
Treat Users With Respect
What stands out for me about LinkedIn’s change password process: they treat their users with respect, explaining upfront what the password requirements are.
They don’t waste time inviting the user to change their password, only for the user to receive a warning message that the password is in the incorrect format. Or uses wrong characters or length.
LinkedIn’s message is clear and concise.
Passwords need to be at least eight characters long. And they can’t use your name, email or phone number.
No one should have to waste time trying to figure out what password requirements are.
As with the Get Together signup form in last month’s UX win shoutout, I could argue that the second password confirmation field isn’t needed.
But that’s another discussion.
Summary
Changing an account password doesn’t need to be an annoying task for users, if designers focus on the user.
I was glad LinkedIn:
- Designed a change password process that was fast
- Provided clear, concise info on password requirements upfront, before the user created their password
Thank you, LinkedIn for creating a straightforward change password process.
Personally, I hope more online services and products follow their lead!
