UX Today: Twitter's Mobile Site Sign In Form

I'm starting a new blog series, UX Today, where I will document and analyze usability issues I encounter online and in the physical world.

Today's usability issue comes from Twitter's mobile website sign in page.

Twitter's mobile site sign in page

My username was pre-populated because I have used the site on my phone before. I thought my password was also pre-populated, because the placeholder text Twitter uses in the password field is a series of dots, which look just like an obfuscated password.

Twitter's password placeholder text

Thinking my password was already entered into the password field, I tapped the "Sign in" button. The page refreshed and I wasn't signed in, but I didn't see why, so I tapped "Sign in" again, thinking the site had a glitch.

What actually happened was that I had not entered my password, and the error message on the page was located at the top in a light gray text, hardly noticeable, and resulting in frustration while I tried to figure out what was wrong.

Error message at the top of the form

There are two easy fixes here that Twitter should make:

1. Remove the dots as placeholder text from the "Password" field. They are not necessary and cause confusion. Placeholder text in form fields are harmful because it makes it hard for users to know what information they have already entered.
2. Move the error message next to the field where the error occurred and make it obvious. By placing it at the top of the form, away from the "Password" field, and making it a light gray, it isn't obvious for users.

In working on a quick mock-up of these improvements, I realized that Twitter developers likely added the placeholder text so that users would know where to type. Without the placeholder text, it's not obvious. That said, adding placeholder text isn't the best solution.

Mock-up of changes Twitter could make to the mobile Sign In form