Why you should eliminate “I agree” checkboxes

Posted by: Josh Walsh in Design.

The “I agree” checkbox has become an interface standard on registration forms. “I agree to the terms and conditions.” While it’s purpose is generally understood by the consumer, it is a key source of frustration for people registering for accounts.

eBay's Registration, as an example

Why it’s overlooked:

• Checkboxes are small, particularly ones which aren’t grouped in a fieldset;
• They are typically at the bottom of a form – Out of sight out of mind;
• They are placed in close proximity to a larger button which takes the focus.

This checkbox is completely unnecessary, and it’s purpose can be handled in a much more graceful manner.  Most popular websites have fixed this issue, while most less popular websites have not.

The “I agree” checkbox is the leading cause of form validation errors. In my research, about 1/3 of participants in our studies miss the checkbox the first time around.  Even though the problem is easily corrected, people occasionally abandon the form altogether when it fails validation the first time.

This error pattern sticks out like a sore thumb when you see it in action, but goes completely unnoticed when you aren’t observing real people using your form.

Replace with a quick sentence: “By clicking the ‘submit’ button, you agree to our terms of service.” The legal contract is the same (as far as I know), without the added point of failure.

Twitter's Registration Process

Twitter’s registration form is pretty straightforward and simple.  However, by placing the “I agree” sentence beneath the button, it will lose some attention.

YouTube's Registration Process

Google gets it perfect on their YouTube registration page by visually grouping the sentence with the submit button.

Basecamp's Registration Process

As usual, 37Signals takes it a step further and emphasizes this with excellent copyrighting and design on their Basecamp signup page.