Registration revamp (Alibaba Cloud Portal)
Aug 1, 2025
A UX initiative that was started due to noticing a huge drop-off rate in our registration metrics. Our analysis revealed that lengthy, complicated forms were discouraging customers from completing their registration.
Role
UX Design, UX Research, UI / Visual Design
Year
2025
Key Metrics
We captured baseline metrics (during a marketing campaign from Nov 4 – Dec 4, 2024) to measure success post-revamp:
Avg Enterprise registrations: 82
Avg clicks per user: ~20
Time to complete registration: 8.31 minutes
Drop-off rate: 80.62%
Exploration stage
User-flows
We began by mapping the existing registration journey as user flows, identifying gaps and pain points from end to end.
Stakeholders input
We collaborated with the Business Operations and Helpdesk teams, who:
Communicated daily with customers
Approved registration requests on daily-basis
Managed customer profiles throughout their customer lifecycle
Key highlights from our sessions
Customer validation was manual, using external tools such as MOC website to validate CRs.
Individual (non-business) accounts were simpler, validated via Nafath.
Customers frequently complained about lengthy forms and OTP issues.
The OTP process caused friction and frustration during registration.
Benchmarking
After understanding the internal process and major pain points, it was time to compare it against well-known cloud providers. We did a quick benchmarking against: AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, and Alibaba Cloud (Global).
Key findings:
The forms are similarly lengthy and requires certain information to validate your company
Most of the cloud providers provide a seamless experience by sectioning the forms into steps
Ideation & Design
Once we had our facts and numbers, it was time to hit the whiteboards (miro actually) 🌠 and brainstorm solutions.
The goal? Explore multiple approaches and weigh them against each other — focusing on optimal user experience and seamlessness. We also looped in the development and business teams to make sure whatever we picked was feasible, efficient, and aligned with business needs.
What approach did we go for?
➡️ Quick onboarding & WATHQ Integration.
This approach lets users secure their account first then complete their profile later. In other words: create an account with just the essentials, then fill in the rest when it’s convenient for you.
And to make things even smoother, we integrated with WATHQ for Commercial Registration (CR) number verification. Now, users can simply enter their CR number, validate it instantly, and have their company address auto-filled — no more tedious manual entry!
Advantages of this approach
Faster account activation: Users can get started right away without completing lengthy forms.
Simplified registration: Only the essentials are needed upfront, reducing friction during signup.
Verified information: Integration with WATHQ ensures data is pulled from a credible, authoritative source.
Challenges?
Costy approach, compared to the others.
Limited scope - Primarily benefits private-sector businesses, reducing value for other segments.
Incomplete profiles - The flexibility of “finish later” onboarding risked leaving profiles partially filled or accounts dormant.
How we addressed these challenges
We limited the number of CR number validation attempts to keep the integration cost-efficient.
Since most of our customers are in the private sector, we leaned into this approach, knowing the benefits outweighed the limitations.
We introduced automated reminders — first at 7 days, then at 30 days — nudging users to finish their profiles and claim their vouchers.
the Revamp
Below is the revamp of our registration, which can be explored on a prototype.
