Why are login fields mostly right-aligned?

Answer 1

I don't think it has anything to do with what's natural. At least not anymore. Whatever the original reason, it's self-perpetuating now. Most websites have the login form on the right-hand side of the page. Therefore, if you're striving for the goal of "don't make me think," you should put the login form on the right-hand side of the page...

...thus increasing the number of sites that have the login form on the right-hand side of the page and the strength of the suggestion to put the login form on the right-hand side of the page so your users won't have to think...

...thus increasing... you get the idea.

Answer 2

I'd guess the reason for sticking it in the upper-right corner is that it's an important thing to do on a page, but not nearly as important as the title for the page/website, and that goes in the top-left corner. It's all about reading order.

I doubt right-handedness or left-handedness makes any difference. Your hand and neck use independent muscle groups.

Answer 3

i'm left-handed. even more, i'm the only one i know that uses mouse on the left and swaps buttons (so the 'main' button is my index). but i don't see why you think that anything on screen should move 'for our benefit'.

one thing i've found by obsessively observing (i did my first semi-formal poll about this when i was 13 years old) other left-handed people's habits is that there's a lot more variety among us than among right-handed people. so, if you want to do some 'multi-handed' ergonomics, you shouldn't assume anything, just allow for maximum flexibility.

Answer 4

I'd never really thought about this before... interesting. I think it has to do with organization for an left-to-right language universe.

Since most languages move from left-to-right, it makes sense to have the site expand from the left to the right. Along those same lines, if you need to expand your menus, it makes sense to expand your menus from the left out to the right. However, user links (such as login, profile, etc.) are typically static. If you want to keep them out of the way of the rest of your navigation, better to put them on the other corner of the page - thus the right corner, rather than the left.

Edit: Sorry, I think I misinterpreted your question to mean "why are the login links on the upper right" rather than "why is the whole form on the right side of the page".

Answer 5

I am not expert in design, but I have my opinion about this subject.

The main reason there is alignment on the right should have to do with the way of reading. The majority of existing languages. The most people don't care about the minority of people, they only care about the majority.

Not being omniscient I wonder how a left-handed person would react to the very same UI

I don't think that this could matters for any person. But I'm not the right kind of guy to talk about this... I write with right hand :S

It would be great that all companies start to worry about this subject, for a better world :D

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It's choice, not chance, that determines your destiny.

Answer 6

I don't see how it matters which hand you use the mouse with (FWIW, I am right-handed but use the mouse with my left hand).

Which hand you use does not alter where your cursor rests on the screen, so you don't have to move it any further with one hand than with the other. The distance is the same - i.e. however far it is from the last thing you clicked on.

Answer 7

You might find this page interesting.

"As the owner of a website you want people to be able to use your website easily and reach content quickly - which is your ultimate goal. Being consistent with other websites in terms of the positioning of menus and content will help your visitors, give them a better overall experience and reduce the likelihood of closing the browser in annoyance. Once you have confirmed the layout, you can by all means go wild with the content and design."

Having the login box on the right side also allows you to keep the left hand navigation bar the same for people who are logged in and those who are not. See ING Direct's website for an example.

Answer 8

UI Design 101 dictates that you orient the controls of your user interface (desktop application, web page, etc.) using the natural reading order of your customers. For English users, this would entail a left-to-right, top-to-bottom approach. That is, the most important information should be in the top-left corner and the least important information should be in the bottom-right corner.

The reason various websites put their login controls at different locations has less to do with conformance with some industry standard than it does with what the website designers perceive to be the most important information.

Take Gmail for example. Google is more concerned with advertising their various products (Gmail, Web History, iGoogle, etc.) to new users than they are about you logging in. Hence, they tout their products in the place that most users look first - the top-left corner. If you've already got an account, you immediately skip over this and type your login credentials on the right-hand side. And remember that once you're logged in, you never see this screen again. With this approach, Google is clearly trying to accommodate new users, not existing users. From a business perspective, this makes sense.

Answer 9

I found this article by Joel very enlightening. The part about conforming with the leaders in your field in order to eschew confusion and frustration is particularly applicable to your question.

Answer 10

I am left handed but I use the mouse with my right hand, always have....I feel awkward when I use it with my left now.