The purpose of this Sign in screen is to allow the user to login prior to the checkout screens so they do not have to re enter their shipping and billing information. If the user selects the “I am a returning customer” radio button and enters a valid login id and password then their shipping and billing information will be automatically populated on step 1 and step 2 of the checkout so they dont have to re key all their information if they already have an account.
Prior to adding this new signin screen to the cart, if the customer was a returning user and already had an account on your portal they had to use the standard dnn login to signin prior to checking out if they wanted the cart to retrieve their profile and prepopulate their info in the checkout screens.
If the user chooses the “I am a new customer” radio button on the signin screen and enters their login id the cart will populate the login id on the confirm page where they enter their password.
The signin screen was modeled after the way amazon.com prompts for a user to login before entering the checkout and I'm sure they conducted hundreds of hours of usability testing before implementing their sign in screen.
Regarding the button on the new sign in page, its an image button and can be changed to any button and text you like.
Regarding password rules, every portal has different password rules that are set in the web.config. If the user enters a password that does not meet the minimum password requirement for your portal the confirm page displays a message indicating such. If you want to alert the user to the minimum password requirement for your portal before they key in their password then you can add some help text next to the password textbox.
If you want to change the message the confirm page displays when the user enters a password that doesnt meet the minimum password requirement for your portal then you can modify the following line of code in the confirm.ascx page:
Password must be minimum of 7 characters." ValidationExpression=".{8}.*" Display="dynamic"/>
If think your comment about the user giving up is a bit of a stretch, if the customer is a new user their loginid is pre populated for them and all they have to do is enter a password and then click process payment, pretty standard stuff not sure how much easier it could be.
Why not consolidate this registration point with the returning customer log in?
For a new user, I think the last page in the checkout before the creidt card is authorized is the correct place for the user to enter and confirm their password. If we moved the password and confirm password textboxes from the confirm screen to the new sign in screen I think you would see more abandoned carts. I think the user is more willing to enter and confirm their password after they have entered their billing information. That being said I am always open to change and hearing everyones opinion so please leave your feedback.