Why good user experience is essential for multifactor authentication

2-factor authentication UX

Ultimately, your security measures should make it difficult for hackers to get in, but make it simple for customers to do business with you.

Online transactions are constantly under attack and can not only lead to legal costs, fines, and increased pressure on IT departments but they could seriously damage your business’s reputation and most importantly, you can lose your customer’s trust. By simply adding an extra step to authenticate user identity you will drastically decrease the chance of a data breach.

Best multi-factor authentication

We’ve outlined a few simple ways of how your business can balance security with the user experience.

Ease of access is at the forefront of enjoyable user experience. If a customer is being asked to complete unnecessary steps or to answer too many verification questions, they will lose interest in the process and you are more than likely going to lose their business. Although security features are a powerful tool to protect your users, convenient user experience is equally important.

Design an authentication process that is seamless and easy to use for your online customers. Don’t add security as an afterthought when considering design, the two should go hand-in-hand. An increase in security can often lead to unpleasant and complicated user experience. Make sure you strike the right balance between the two. Savvy online users will appreciate the extra layer of safety, but they are also accustomed to ease of access, make sure you offer both.

Test the user experience of your authentication solution with a handful of customers or staff first. When creating a consistent, integrated, and simple verification system you need to understand how users will interact with it. By testing your system, on a few customers first, you will gain valuable insight into the enjoyment of the process and, in addition, asking for continuous feedback will allow you to constantly improve the process, which will make for a better brand experience.

Keep it super secure with multi-factor authentication without negatively impacting a user-friendly experience. Offering out-of-band multifactor authentication is more secure than passwords or authentication within the same channel where users are engaging with you.

Work alongside a professional authentication security service that provides an end-to-end solution, so that you can focus on your core business.

Find out more about how two-factor authentication addresses user experience challenges while keeping customer data secure.