Contributors/Account Creation Experiments
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Account Creation Experiments (2026)
A comprehensive review and redesign of the account creation experience on Wikimedia wikis.
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Account creation is the first step toward participation on Wikimedia projects, yet current registration flows create unnecessary friction, particularly on mobile. Many good faith contributors abandon the process due to poor discoverability, outdated form design, or technical barriers such as IP blocks.
This project focuses on running small, measurable experiments to make account creation clearer, easier, and more discoverable, especially for mobile readers and temporary account holders. The goal is to increase successful registrations without harming downstream outcomes such as constructive editing and retention.
Current status
[edit]- Early planning, research, and design.
- Release first version tests for Focus Areas 1, 2, & 3
- Next - Improve the Account Creation Experience, v2
Problems
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- Account registrations have declined significantly since 2019,[1] contributing to fewer new active editors.
- On mobile, the option to create an account is difficult to find and confusing.
- The current wiki account creation form performs below industry benchmarks. In Q2 FY25/26 on English Wikipedia, less than 39% of people who began filling out at least one field on the “Create account” form successfully completed account creation. [2]
- The dated UX and error handling for the account creation form’s Password and Username fields appear to create significant friction during form completion. On mobile, drop-offs on the Password and Confirm Password fields account for roughly 26% of all bounces, compared with only 6.75% on desktop. This likely reflects the increased difficulty of entering and verifying these fields on smaller mobile screens and keyboards.[3]
- We do little to convert successful newcomers using temp accounts to regular accounts.
- Many good faith users encounter IP blocks during registration, with limited clarity or resolution paths.
- On mobile, most users drop off at the Username field after interacting with the field. This is most likely due to a validation error.[4]
- The Password and Confirm Password field drop-offs account for roughly 26% of all bounces on mobile, while they only account for 6.75% on desktop. This likely highlights users’ difficulty typing characters using the smaller mobile screen and editor.[5]
Why this work matters
[edit]Improving account creation strengthens the contributor pipeline. More successful registrations will:
- Increase participation from mobile users, the fastest-growing segment of readers.
- Generate a healthier flow of new editors who are more likely to return and remain engaged.
This work is an early step in a longer-term effort to improve the newcomer experience and support a sustainable, multi-generational editing community.
The current account creation process creates major barriers for prospective contributors: poor mobile discoverability, IP blocks without clear resolution paths, a confusing, outdated account creation form, and minimal interventions aimed at converting readers or temporary account holders into active contributors. Addressing these issues will increase activation, boost long-term participation, and strengthen the foundation of a sustainable contributor pipeline.
How success will be measured
[edit]This work sits under the WMF FY25-26 Annual Plan Wiki Experiences 1 Objective:
- Contributions increase because volunteers are offered compelling opportunities and understand their impact.
Account Creation experiments are tracked under Wiki Experiences 1.8 Key Result:
- By the end of Q4, achieve a 5 percent relative increase in the mobile web account creation completion rate, supported by at least three controlled experiments that each deliver a minimum 2 percent relative improvement within their target audience.
At the experiment level:
- Each successful experiment shows at least a 2 percent relative increase in account creation for its defined audience.
- Guardrail metrics such as constructive activation and retention are monitored to ensure no harmful downstream effects.
Focus areas
[edit]We are currently investigating ideas in four main areas, in consultation with other teams and the community.
1. Improve the Account Creation Experience
[edit]Experiments that focus on simplifying and modernizing the core account creation flow, with an emphasis on mobile usability and clarity. Explore ways to reduce cognitive load by streamlining the interface, removing or consolidating legacy warnings, and clearly explaining the benefits of creating an account in newcomer friendly language.
This test focuses on improving the usability of the mobile web account creation form by reducing visual clutter and cognitive load. On smaller devices, the current form is difficult to scan and navigate, with excessive helper text and redundant elements competing for limited screen space, especially when the keyboard is open. To address this, the test introduces a simplified form layout that removes unnecessary elements, streamlines helper text, and improves the overall information hierarchy in line with Codex design guidelines.
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Current form -
Proposed V1 simplifications
Starting this new interface is tested at the following wikis: English Wikipedia.
This test focuses on reducing friction during account creation by making the username policy easier to understand and improving key form interactions. It introduces a concise, accessible summary of the username policy so newcomers are not immediately faced with a lengthy and complex document. (T419395) In addition, it includes targeted usability improvements to the form, such as a standard “reveal password” option (T419413) and real-time username validation to provide immediate feedback. (T419401)
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A quick overview of the username policy
Experiment results: Account Creation Form Improvements (V2)
[edit]Hypothesis: If we add a user account button to the header on mobile web, then the number of new accounts created on mobile will increase by at least 2% relative to the control group.
What we tested
[edit]For this test we improved live username validation, clarified the username policy popover, and added a reveal password button. We also removed redundant elements and unnecessary, jarring warning messages, improved the form's information hierarchy, and aligned the design with Codex design system guidelines. We ran this as an A/B test, showing the redesigned form to half of eligible users and the existing form to the other half.
- Phabricator epic: T409236
- Pilot wiki: English Wikipedia
- Audience: 50% of all logged-out mobile sessions at English Wikipedia during the dates of this experiment
- Control: 4,673 subjects (49.91%)
- Treatment: 4,690 subjects (50.09%)
- Dates of experiment: June 18, 2026 – June 30, 2026
- Goal metric: Permanent account creation rate - the proportion of users who created a permanent (aka named) account. This excludes temporary accounts.
What we found
[edit]The results were clear and positive. Users who saw the redesigned form created permanent accounts at a rate of 20.4%, compared to 16.4% in the control group. That works out to a 24.4% relative increase in the account creation rate, far exceeding our hypothesis goal of a 2% increase, and the experiment reached a 100% chance of winning. The 95% confidence interval for the increase is entirely positive, ranging from 13.7% to 35.1%. In other words, while our best estimate of the lift is 24.4%, even the most conservative end of the plausible range is a 13.7% increase, still well above our 2% goal. This gives us strong confidence that the improvement is real rather than a product of chance.
We also looked at two secondary metrics:
Proportion of account creation attempts with email increased by 20.3%. Meaning that not only did we increase the number of accounts created, but a greater percentage of these accounts are adding their email address (which is still optional but encouraged).
Special:CreateAccount user policy link clickthrough decreased by 68.2%. The decline in clickthrough to the username policy was greater than anticipated. We plan to release a follow-up improvement to help ensure people can easily access the username guidance they need, and understand that clicking on the guidance will not force them to navigate away from the form: T430604 Account Creation form: Simplify username guidance based on experiment data and user research.
Why this matters
[edit]Many mobile users who reached the account creation form never completed it. This experiment suggests that the form itself has been a source of friction: simplifying the form and giving people live feedback on their username, clearer username guidance, and the ability to check their password translated into a substantial increase in completed registrations.
What happens next
[edit]- Account Creation form: Simplify username guidance based on experiment data and user research (T430604)
- Learn whether the benefits block has a large effect on Special:CreateAccount on desktop (T430785)
- Move Account Creation Form Changes from GrowthExperiments to MediaWiki Core (T429029)
This test will explore more ambitious improvements to the account creation experience, building on insights from earlier iterations. This experiment explores whether offering auto-generated, available username suggestions during account creation can reduce friction and help more users successfully create an account. The experiment focuses on the username step because it is a major source of abandonment. Many users encounter validation errors, unavailable usernames, or uncertainty about what username to choose, requiring multiple attempts and increasing the likelihood that they leave the process. By providing valid, available suggestions that can be selected with a single tap or click, the experiment aims to reduce cognitive effort, minimize errors, and streamline account creation, particularly on mobile devices where text entry is more challenging. Ultimately, this work seeks to determine whether simplifying username selection can increase account creation completion rates and help more potential contributors successfully join Wikimedia projects.
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V3 Account Creation design
When mobile users start an edit while logged out, they encounter a jarring warning message with editing as a temporary account being the main Call to Action. This interface can feel abrupt and discouraging, and it frames temp account editing as the primary path rather than encouraging users to create an account.
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Current warning (Control) -
New design (Treatment)
Experiment results: Improve logged-out warning message
[edit]Hypothesis: If we improve the logged out edit warning, the account creation rate among newcomers on mobile exposed to the warning will increase by at least 2% relative to the control group.
What we tested
[edit]Starting this new interface is tested at the following wikis: Arabic Wikipedia, French Wikipedia, Spanish Wikipedia, German Wikipedia, Russian Wikipedia, Chinese Wikipedia, Italian Wikipedia, Portuguese Wikipedia, Persian Wikipedia, Polish Wikipedia.
What we found
[edit]The experiment started on and reached statistical significance on (p-value <0.05). The experiment groups included 194,029 subjects in the control group and 192,973 subjects in the treatment group.
Users in the treatment who were exposed to the updated message were 27% more likely to create a permanent account compared to the control group. A 16% relative decrease in temporary account creation was observed among users who saw the updated message, indicating a shift toward permanent account registration.
No significant change in constructive edit rates was detected, suggesting the increase in permanent registrations did not negatively impact downstream contributor metrics.
Why this matters
[edit]Small improvements to the earliest moments of the editing journey can have a meaningful impact further down the funnel and support long-term contributor growth. By making the logged out warning less intimidating and more clearly encouraging account creation, we increased permanent registrations without reducing constructive contributions.
3. Make Account Creation Easier to Find on Mobile
[edit]Experiments that address the limited visibility of account creation for logged out traffic on mobile web. Explore clearer and more intuitive entry points to account creation, ensuring users can easily distinguish between logging in and registering.
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Current header on mobile web (for logged out traffic) -
Proposed header on mobile web (for logged out traffic) -
Proposed header on mobile web with menu expanded
Starting this new interface is tested at the following wikis: Hindi Wikipedia, Indonesian Wikipedia, Bengali Wikipedia, Thai Wikipedia, Hebrew Wikipedia.
Experiment results: Mobile Web Account Menu
[edit]Hypothesis: If we add a user account button to the header on mobile web, then the number of new permanent accounts created on mobile will increase by at least 2% relative to the control group.
What we tested
[edit]We added an account menu button to the header of the mobile web experience. The button surfaces account creation and login actions more prominently, a small change, but one designed to reduce the friction of finding and starting the registration process.
To measure its impact, we ran an A/B test with logged-out mobile web users. Half of participants saw the new header (treatment), while the other half saw the existing experience (control).
- Pilot wikis: Hindi Wikipedia, Indonesian Wikipedia, Bengali Wikipedia, Thai Wikipedia, and Hebrew Wikipedia
- Audience: 7,922,773 participants enrolled in this experiment
- Experiment dates: March 31, 2026 to June 28, 2026
What we found
[edit]The results were clear and positive.
Users who saw the new account menu were approximately 25% more likely to create a permanent account than those who saw the existing experience.
This far exceeded our goal of a 2% increase, and the result was statistically significant, meaning it's very unlikely to be due to chance.
We also looked carefully at whether the new registrants were contributing constructively.
The concern was that making registration easier might attract lower-quality contributors.
That didn't happen: there was no meaningful difference in constructive editing behavior between the two groups.
This suggests that this change didn't disrupt the quality of contributions, and our overall mobile editing environment remained just as constructive as before.
Why this matters
[edit]Many people who visit Wikimedia projects on mobile are never prompted to create an account in a way that's easy to find and act on.
This experiment suggests that a meaningful share of those visitors are willing to register, they just need the option to be more discoverable.
A small interface improvement translated into a substantial increase in new accounts.
What happens next
[edit]Based on these results, we're rolling out the mobile account menu to all Wikimedia Foundation wikis on mobile web:
We'll continue monitoring contribution quality and username blocks among new registrants as the rollout expands.
We will also look into the high-level impact of this work:
4. Encourage Temporary Accounts to Register
[edit]Experiments that explore how and when temporary account holders are most motivated to create a full account. Experiments may test targeted prompts or notifications shown at high intent moments, supported by lightweight research such as surveys to better understand Temporary Account holder motivations and barriers. The emphasis is on clearly communicating how a permanent account unlocks features like mentorship, Suggested Edits, and community recognition.
- Example work: Explore opportunities to guide Temporary Account users toward full account creation (T416418)
5. Surface Reading Lists to Logged Out Readers
[edit]Experiments that explore whether exposing Reading Lists to logged out readers can create meaningful opportunities for deeper engagement and encourage account creation. The goal is to help readers understand how creating an account enhances their reading experience, while providing a natural and low pressure pathway toward registration.
- Example work: [Mobile Reading List] A way for users to save articles (T409861)