Employees often interact with multiple internal applications throughout their workday in enterprise environments, from custom ERP systems and internal HR portals to secure finance management platforms. To keep our work flowing smoothly and protect our sensitive information, it's essential that we can easily and safely access our internal systems.

Single Sign-On (SSO) solves this problem by allowing users to access multiple applications with a single set of credentials. This reduces the security risks associated with password fatigue while streamlining access to improve productivity. Want to know more about SSO? Read our comprehensive Single Sign-On guide.

Despite its importance, companies often focus more on the technical backend implementation, neglecting the frontend experience. This often leads to underutilization of SSO capabilities. 

In this blog post, we’ll explore key strategies and best practices to create seamless, secure, and user-friendly SSO experiences tailored to B2B applications. 

The Necessity Of Good UI/UX in SSO

Imagine an enterprise employee logging into a critical system that manages internal reports and customer data. Instead of a seamless login process, they are presented with a cluttered page where enterprise SSO options like Azure AD or Okta are hidden under traditional username and password fields. After selecting their identity provider (IdP), they face long loading times and unclear error messages. This disrupts their workflow and can lead to security issues such as the misuse of alternate authentication methods. A seamless login experience is the first step in the customer journey, and it's a critical factor that should never be overlooked.

For B2B applications, where users are more likely to work across multiple secure systems, focusing on intuitive and well-placed SSO options is crucial for maintaining productivity and security.

Enhancing user adoption and satisfaction

Imagine an enterprise has implemented SSO. However, the SSO login page is cluttered and confusing, and the employees prefer to use individual logins. This increases the risk of security breaches. Additionally, the unnecessary complexity of the process and the time wasted trying to navigate the confusing login page give a bad user experience. On the other hand, a good UI/UX design can improve user adoption and satisfaction.

The implementation team can streamline the SSO login page with clear instructions and prominent placement of SSO options. The team can design intuitive flows that guide users through the login process, improving adoption and user satisfaction.

Increasing Security

Users often use weak, easy-to-remember, or reuse passwords across multiple services that pose security threats. Well-designed interfaces can enhance security by enforcing best practices.

At the simplest level, teams can design interfaces to seamlessly guide users to choose stronger passwords, providing real-time feedback to create unique passwords. This approach improves security and educates the users about good password practices, thus improving the security and user experience.

Building Trust and Credibility

If applications have outdated SSO interfaces and lack security indicators, users may question the safety of their data. The design and user experience of the SSO solution can significantly improve (and impact) users' trust in the platform. 

Teams can redesign the interface to keep up with the times, incorporating visible indicators like SSL certificates, 2-factor authentication, and security certifications. This will build users' confidence in the platform.

Key UI/UX Considerations for SSO

Having understood the necessity of good UI/UX in SSO, let us examine some key considerations that will guide your design process. These considerations are crucial not only for technical implementation but also for creating a good user experience. 

Seamless Integration with Existing Systems

You will agree that a well-designed SSO solution must integrate with your existing tech stack and business processes. From a technical standpoint, ensure your B2B systems support enterprise-grade authentication protocols like SAML, OAuth2, or OpenID Connect, which are often integrated with identity providers such as Azure AD or Okta. 

From a user perspective, designing the SSO interface to align with your corporate brand and interface standards is equally important, providing a seamless transition between internal and external systems.

Consistency Across Platforms

To ensure uniformity, adopt responsive design principles and implement enterprise-grade cross-platform frameworks that allow seamless transitions across different devices and services. This ensures that users, whether they are on their office workstation or using a mobile device, experience the same SSO workflows. Create a system with consistent UI elements, color schemes, and interaction patterns across web and mobile platforms. 

User-Centric Design Approach

Always design your SSO solutions with the user in mind. Implement analytics to track user behavior and pain points in the SSO flow. This will help you identify the processes/interaction points that are less relevant and prove to be a hindrance. For example, by tracking user behavior on the SSO login page, a company might discover that many users are struggling to find the password reset link. Based on this data, the company could redesign the page to make the link more prominent and easily accessible. Additionally, conduct user research and comprehensive usability testing to create user personas and journeys to understand different users and scenarios better. 

By following these key aspects of building SSO solutions, you can create an experience that functions well technically and provides a smooth, intuitive experience for your users across all touchpoints.

SSO UI/UX Strategies and Best Practices

We laid the foundation for understanding the importance of UI/UX in SSO and its key considerations. We’ll now turn to specific strategies and best practices. These best practices are based on our experience working with customers, clients, and the community and are, hence, proven ways to build SSO solutions that are not only functional but user-friendly as well. 

Simplify the Login Process

The first touch point for any user of your SSO solution is the login page. Hence, this must be streamlined and user-friendly. Below are a few ways to achieve it:

• Collect only essential information, which in most cases means a single identifier (username or email) and a password.
• Use email domains to redirect the user to the correct SSO provider automatically. 
• Avoid technical jargon like “Authenticate” and use simple, action-oriented labels like “Sign In” instead.
• Use tooltips to provide additional information rather than cluttering the main login interface. 
• Provide visual cues and use familiar SSO provider logos for quick recognition. 
• Optimize for mobile, ensure the fields are large enough for touch input on smaller screens, and use native UI elements to provide a better experience.

Choose the Right Identifier

Selecting the appropriate identifier for your SSO solution is crucial for creating a seamless user experience. Here are a few best practices for choosing the right identifier:

• Evaluate username vs email for your use case. While email is universally understood, unique, and easy to remember, usernames can be shorter and allow for more personalization. For most B2B scenarios, email is often the better choice due to its uniqueness across organizations. 
• Providing users with the flexibility to log in using either their email ID or username provides a better experience. Implement smart detection features to distinguish between email and username inputs.
• For returning users, implement autocomplete to suggest previously used identifiers.
• Provide real-time validation and feedback for identifiers, use regex patterns to ensure the right email format, and create custom rules for usernames that allow allowed characters, patterns, and lengths.
• Implement a single input field that can accept various identifiers, such as emails, usernames, or phone numbers, and use intelligent detection and routing to redirect the user to the next step.

Design for Multiple Authentication Methods

Designing SSO solutions for today’s diverse technological landscape requires you to support various authentication methods to cater to the needs of different users and specific security requirements. Here’s how you can design solutions to support multiple authentication methods.

• When building SSO for B2B applications, ensure support for enterprise-standard SSO providers like Azure AD, Okta, and Ping Identity, commonly used within organizations. Additionally, industry-specific providers for B2B environments, such as GitHub and GitLab for development teams, or Salesforce for organizations using CRM tools, should be considered.
• Also, provide a clear option for users who prefer traditional login using usernames and passwords. 
• You can also add passwordless options like Magic Links, OTPs, and biometric mechanisms for a better user experience.
• Offer progressive disclosure to avoid overwhelming users with too many options at once, and request necessary permissions only when required.
• Implement a “Remember This Device” option for added convenience on trusted devices.
• Provide clear feedback on authentication status and next steps and maintain visual consistency regardless of the chosen authentication method.

Optimize Registration Flow

An efficient registration flow is crucial for driving the adoption of your SSO solution. Here are some tips to optimize your registration flow.

• Streamline the sign-up process, minimize the number of required fields, and use progressive profiling to collect additional information later.
• Communicate the advantages of using SSO and use concise copy throughout the registration process. 
• Provide users with clear descriptions for each SSO provider and offer a recommendation based on the user’s email domain or the industry. 
• Auto-fill fields when possible (eg: company name based on email domains) and remember user preferences for returning visitors.
• After registration, provide users with a seamless onboarding experience and offer a quick tour of your application's key features and benefits. 

Enhance Error Handling and Feedback

Effective error handling and feedback help users understand and resolve issues quickly, reducing frustration and support requests. Here are some best practices for error handling:

• Avoid technical jargon and use simple language to communicate what went wrong and how to fix it. 
• Offer real-time validation to validate the fields as users type. Use visual feedback like icons and colors to reinforce feedback. (Eg: Red cross marks for invalid inputs)
• Provide a step-by-step troubleshooting guide tailored to corporate users, with links to internal IT help desks or relevant help articles.
• Detect common mistakes like docs in email domains and suggest corrections. 
• Use advanced AI and ML to predict common enterprise authentication issues such as failed MFA or network delays. 
• You can also integrate chatbots tailored for corporate environments to provide more complex, enterprise-focused troubleshooting, reducing dependency on helpdesk teams for every login issue.
• Implement logging systems on the server side to log errors and identify common patterns. Set up alerts for critical events to help find the root causes and improve the solution over time.
• Offer contextual help based on the method of Authentication the user is logging in with - if they’re using social login, show them the relevant error. 

Design for Trust and Security

Building trust and ensuring robust security are paramount in implementing SSO. This helps with faster adoption and enhances user experience. Let's look at some best practices for building trust and security. 

• Start with only essential information and display the permissions that your application needs. Progressively ask for permissions and explain why each one of them is needed.
• Provide a provision for users to skip non-essential information collection and explain how the user data will be stored and used. Also, provide easy access to detailed privacy policies.
• Enable HTTPS by default for all communications, set secure password policies, such as minimum length and complexity requirements, and implement account lockout policies to prevent brute-force attacks.
• Display security indicators like SSL/TLS and security certifications like SOC2 and ISO 27001 on the interface, and use trusted badges from known security providers. 
• Offer multi-factor authentication mechanisms and encourage passwordless authentication mechanisms like magic links. Enforce 2FA by default and prioritize more secure methods like TOTP over SMS-based OTPs.

Optimize for Mobile and Responsive Design

People always use multiple devices to stay connected, and in this mobile-first world, ensuring your SSO solution works flawlessly across all devices and platforms is critical. Here are some tips to optimize for mobile and responsive design.

• Ensure your SSO solution works seamlessly across devices by using responsive design principles to adapt to different layouts and screen sizes. Implement consistent behavior and features across platforms. 
• Adapt elements for touch interfaces and increase touch target sizes for interactive elements. Use mobile-friendly input types like “tel” for phone numbers so that the number pad shows up.
• For enterprise mobile users, consider integrating app-based authentication with MDM solutions (Mobile Device Management) which are common in corporate settings. Implement push notifications for one-tap authentication and leverage device-based biometric authentication (e.g., face recognition, fingerprint) to enhance security without compromising user convenience.
• Minimize payload sizes to reduce load times and optimize mobile network performance. Implement caching techniques and use lazy loading for non-critical content.
• Use app attestation to verify the integrity of mobile apps and implement measures like certificate pinning to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks. 

These were some of the best practices to help you implement a holistic approach that balances security and user experience to build your SSO solution. 

Implementation Considerations

Once you’ve listed the UI/UX strategy and best practices for your SSO solution, it’s important to look at the larger implementation considerations. Implementing an SSO solution isn’t just integrating login forms and buttons; it involves understanding how systems perform, interacting with existing systems, and planning how to implement changes to provide a seamless experience. 

Technical Requirements

Understanding the technical requirements is the foundation of any good SSO solution. Everything, from authentication protocols to infrastructure, is critical to implementing a robust SSO solution. 

• Choose standard protocols like OAuth 2, OpenID Connect, or SAML based on your requirements.
• Ensure your Identity Provider (IdP) is configured to handle multiple Service Providers (SP) with scalable authentication and authorization mechanisms.
• Implement MFA for better security, ease of use, and effective session timeouts to ensure compliance with industry standards like GDPR or SOC2.

Integration with Existing Systems

Seamless integration with your existing systems is critical for delivering a unified experience for users and IT teams.

• In enterprise environments, legacy systems often rely on outdated authentication mechanisms. To bridge these gaps, consider building or using middleware solutions that can connect older systems with modern SSO protocols like OAuth2 and SAML. Tools like custom SAML connectors or identity management platforms can help smooth the transition and ensure all your applications are integrated seamlessly under a unified SSO framework.
• Different applications may have different needs for user authentication and data. Ensure that your SSO solution can adapt to these requirements and allow you to configure user attributes and their mapping. 
• Many organizations use directory services like Active Directory or LDAP. Integrating SSO with these directories ensures consistency across platforms. Technologies like SCIM can help synchronize user data between directories and SSO platforms. 

Testing and Quality Assurance

Testing before rollout cannot be discounted. Comprehensive testing ensures the SSO solution performs as expected across different scenarios and user environments.

• Validate that core functionality, such as login flows, token exchanges, and user sessions, works correctly across platforms and on different devices and browsers. Test common journeys, such as login, logout, and sign-up.
• Perform load testing to ensure your SSO solution can handle the load. Use load-testing tools to simulate peak usage scenarios, identify bottlenecks, and fine-tune your application and infrastructure.
• Ensure comprehensive security testing by testing vulnerabilities such as session hijacking, token replacement attacks, and cross-site scripting (XSS) to validate the robustness of your authentication flows.

Measuring SSO UI/UX Success

Building and implementing an SSO solution isn’t enough; continuously monitoring it and assessing its effectiveness is critical. By measuring specific metrics, you can determine how well your SSO solution is meeting user expectations and business goals. Let's look at some metrics in this section.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Authentication success rate: This metric tracks the percentage of users who successfully login through SSO versus those who encounter errors or abandon the process. A high success rate indicates that the SSO flow works smoothly.
• Time to authenticate: This is the average time it takes for users to authenticate. Users should be able to log in quickly. Longer times could mean complex workflows, slow server response times, or a confusing user experience.
• SSO adoption rate: This metric is particularly important in enterprise environments. A higher adoption rate suggests that employees are choosing SSO over traditional login methods, indicating that the SSO solution is not only user-friendly but also seamlessly integrates with the diverse set of internal systems that employees use daily.
• High Availability & Uptime: These are critical for maintaining user access and trust. Monitoring how consistent your application and SSO services are without downtime is essential for guaranteeing users an always-available service. Downtime frustrates users and negatively impacts the overall user experience.

User Feedback and Iterative Improvement

In addition to KPIs, user feedback plays an important role in improving the SSO UI/UX experience. Let us look at some ways to gather user feedback.

• Surveys and User Interviews: Conduct post-login surveys to gather qualitative feedback on the login experience. Questions could focus on ease of use, clarity of messaging, and complete flow. Regular feedback can help you identify and address pain points.
• Heatmaps and User Behavior Analytics: Heatmaps show areas of high interaction or confusion and can help you learn how your users interact with your login page. 
• A/B Testing: One of the best ways to test different UI/UX element versions is to perform A/B testing. By doing so, you can determine which design choices lead to higher conversion rates and fewer abandoned logins.
• Support Tickets: If necessary, provide users with access to support tickets and implement ways (or tools) to categorize and track them. Frequent issues related to failed logins or MFA could indicate the need for UI/UX improvements.

Conclusion

By following the best practices outlined in this guide - from simplifying the login process and choosing the right identifiers to enhancing error handling and optimizing for mobile - you can create an SSO experience that meets technical requirements and delights your users.

Remember that implementing SSO is not a one-time task. You must continuously monitor your system’s performance, gather user feedback, and prepare to adapt to changing technical requirements and user expectations. This will ensure that your SSO solution remains effective, secure, and user-friendly in the long term.

Resources

• What is UX Strategy?
• UI Best Practices for SSO

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