Joomla 1.5 Login Module — Bigger isn’t Better!
Website real estate is so important. You want to make the most of each of your pages, especially the area “above the fold” that users can see before they scroll down the page.
Joomla’s new login module though is HUGE. In fact, at 159px X 258px, it’s about 43 percent taller than the old version! Yes, I know there are a bunch of new links to “forgot password” and “forgot username” etc., but making this module so big shows little understanding of usability and web optimization.
The premium real estate on your website should be about getting people to convert… to subscribers, to customers, or to whatever else you want them to become (you do know what that is, right?) So save your space and don’t waste it on a login module bigger than your house.
Fortunately, there are a few login alternatives out there. The one I found to be the most elegant was the Wow Login Box from Wow Joomla. It’s tiny — only about 37 px high — it’s free to download and they also have a Pro version… but I haven’t tried it. The only weakness I found on this little module is that the “Submit” button is hidden. You may need to tweak the CSS to make it work.
There are many ways though that Joomla can optimize this module and make the size more reasonable. My proposed layout is only about 90 px and it has exactly the same elements:
- Place the text box label inside the box, so that when users click on it, it disappears;
- Place the username, password and button next to each other on the same row;
- On the button, change “login” to “go.”
As for usability, one more suggestion:
- Place the “remember me” check box on the left. It’s just good practice and makes more sense.
Tags: design, joomla 1.5, login
