User story:

As a Temporary Account holder, I want to clearly understand the benefits of creating a full account so that I can decide whether it is worth taking the extra step.

As a Temporary Account holder who is starting to contribute repeatedly, I want to understand how creating a full account helps me connect with other editors and be part of the community, so that my contributions feel more meaningful and recognized.

Background

Temporary Accounts lower the barrier to starting an edit, but they also limit our ability to support and retain contributors over time. Temporary Account users cannot receive email, and experienced editors have fewer ways to teach, mentor, or follow up with them. In addition, we do not consistently communicate the benefits of creating a full account, nor do we guide Temporary Account users toward registration at moments when motivation is likely to be highest.

Early data from the Temporary Accounts banner suggests there are opportunities to better align messaging, timing, and presentation with user intent and readiness.

Problem Statement

The current experience does not clearly explain why creating a full account is valuable, nor does it prompt users to register at moments that feel relevant and motivating. As a result, many Temporary Account users continue editing without converting, limiting long term engagement, community connection, and retention.

Higher Level Goal:

This work fits under WikiExperiences 1.8 :
By the end of Q4, achieve a 5 percent overall relative increase in the mobile web account creation completion rate. Success will be measured by at least three controlled experiments, each achieving a minimum 2 percent relative improvement.

https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Contributors/Account_Creation_Experiments

Design Exploration Goals

We should explore and propose design directions that:

• Clearly communicate the benefits of full accounts compared to Temporary Accounts
• Reduce cognitive load and confusion in the account creation journey
• Identify moments of high motivation where registration prompts feel natural rather than disruptive
• Are suitable for iterative experimentation on mobile web

Key Questions to Explore

• What value propositions resonate most with Temporary Account users at different stages of editing?
• When are users most receptive to creating an account, for example after a successful edit or receiving positive feedback?
• How might messaging differ for first time editors versus repeat Temporary Account editors?
• Should this intervention be limited to Temporary Account holders who have demonstrated successful or constructive editing behavior, to avoid encouraging account creation by spammers or vandals?