# Recent changes to the signup form
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/recent-changes-to-the-signup-form/335776
**Category:** UX
**Created:** [November 9, 2024, 6:56am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/recent-changes-to-the-signup-form/335776 "2024-11-09T06:56:00Z")
**Posts on this page:** 19
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@ToddZ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/ToddZ)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2024, 6:56am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/recent-changes-to-the-signup-form/335776/1 "2024-11-09T06:56:00Z")
It seems there have been some changes to the signup form recently..?
**Relevant to this topic: [Required fields not shown as requiredđ˛ during sign up](https://meta.discourse.org/t/required-fields-not-shown-as-required-during-sign-up/170052)**
No fields are marked as required.
**Tangent to that topic:**
Field instructionsâwhich I think used to be staticâare now shown only when a field has focus. Which is fine, but instructions only show for Email:
None of the other fieldsâ instruction text appears:
Also, the tab order is⌠out of order.
These strike me as minor fixes â I hope we can get this âfirst impressionâ space touched up!
---
### Author:  [@chapoi](https://meta.discourse.org/u/chapoi)
#### Post date: [November 14, 2024, 6:30am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/recent-changes-to-the-signup-form/335776/3 "2024-11-14T06:30:47Z")
> [@ToddZ](#):
>
> No fields are marked as required.
That is correct. We have pivoted to only marking fields that are optional as such, while all other fields can be considered required by default. The logic behind it is, most fields are required so it cuts down on noise.
Thereâs pro and cons and endless discussion online amongst the designer community, but thatâs the approach weâre taking.
> [@ToddZ](#):
>
> None of the other fieldsâ instruction text appears:
I think we decided to drop the other instructions, as they werenât very useful.
The username instruction used to be:
I think everyone is by now aware a username is an unique identifier without spaces.
> [@ToddZ](#):
>
> Also, the tab order is⌠out of order.
Thatâs a worse issue. I just tried though, and it seems to work as expected. A recording would be helpful to see the issue.
---
### Author:  [@ToddZ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/ToddZ)
#### Post date: [November 14, 2024, 8:42am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/recent-changes-to-the-signup-form/335776/4 "2024-11-14T08:42:14Z")
Thanks for clarifying re. the markings and instructions. Iâd had some ~~custom field instructions~~ EDIT: _customized instructions for fields_ that I miss a bit, but Iâll live.
As to the tab order, it seems my issue may be that the _fields_ are out of order. Metaâs own signup form matches several other forums I frequent, but mine has Name appearing before Password. So tab skips from Username down to Password then back up to Name.
I canât figure out what I mightâve done to achieve this, or how to un-achieve it⌠đ¤
## Meta:
## Me:
---
### Author:  [@chapoi](https://meta.discourse.org/u/chapoi)
#### Post date: [November 14, 2024, 8:47am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/recent-changes-to-the-signup-form/335776/5 "2024-11-14T08:47:15Z")
> [@ToddZ](#):
>
> Iâd had some custom field instructions that I miss a bit, but Iâll live.
The custom user field descriptions should behave the same as email, do they no longer show up for you?
> [@ToddZ](#):
>
> I canât figure out what I mightâve done to achieve this, or how to un-achieve it⌠đ¤
The only thing I can immediately think of is using the `order` property of the flexbox to change it?
---
### Author:  [@ToddZ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/ToddZ)
#### Post date: [November 14, 2024, 9:17am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/recent-changes-to-the-signup-form/335776/6 "2024-11-14T09:17:35Z")
> [@chapoi](#):
>
> The custom user field descriptions should behave the same as email, do they no longer show up for you?
Nope â instruction text only shows up for email, and it itâs there regardless of whether I customize it or leave it at default. Instructions for other fields donât show no matter what I do.
> [@](#):
>
> The only thing I can immediately think of is using the `order` property of the flexbox to change it?
Also nope â Iâve done nothing like that.
Iâm on tests-passed 3.4.0.beta3-dev (20effebd51) as of 24 hours ago. I see there are, as always, more recent commits for me to pick up, but nothing looks like a tweak to the signup formâŚ
---
### Author:  [@chapoi](https://meta.discourse.org/u/chapoi)
#### Post date: [November 14, 2024, 12:23pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/recent-changes-to-the-signup-form/335776/7 "2024-11-14T12:23:46Z")
> [@ToddZ](#):
>
> Instructions for other fields donât show no matter what I do.
So to be clear were on the same page:
You have custom user fields with a field description like this:
And on focus the description does not show up:
About the order⌠odd. I wonât know more until I can take a look at the actual page. If you want to give me the link to your site?
---
### Author:  [@Moin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Moin)
#### Post date: [November 14, 2024, 12:31pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/recent-changes-to-the-signup-form/335776/8 "2024-11-14T12:31:33Z")
I think itâs the one linked in the profile [https://forum.tasat.org/](https://forum.tasat.org/)
---
### Author:  [@chapoi](https://meta.discourse.org/u/chapoi)
#### Post date: [November 14, 2024, 12:32pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/recent-changes-to-the-signup-form/335776/9 "2024-11-14T12:32:48Z")
Perfect thanks, taking a look
---
### Author:  [@chapoi](https://meta.discourse.org/u/chapoi)
#### Post date: [November 14, 2024, 12:35pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/recent-changes-to-the-signup-form/335776/10 "2024-11-14T12:35:52Z")
Okay, I see this is our code, but it only applies to non full-page login forms, which is why there is a difference between your site (not full page) and meta (full page).
Not sure why that change is there, will check internally and get back to you.
---
### Author:  [@Moin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Moin)
#### Post date: [November 14, 2024, 4:06pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/recent-changes-to-the-signup-form/335776/12 "2024-11-14T16:06:53Z")
@ToddZ is the `full name required` site setting enabled at your forum? I think that moves the name field above the password field
---
### Author:  [@ToddZ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/ToddZ)
#### Post date: [November 14, 2024, 6:12pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/recent-changes-to-the-signup-form/335776/13 "2024-11-14T18:12:27Z")
@chapoi - I introduced some confusion by saying âcustom field instructionsâ â I meant I had _customized_ some default field instructions. I have no âuser custom fieldsâ.
@moin - I did have `full name required` enabled. Disabling this does change the field order back to match the tab order. Iâm ambivalent about requiring the name, but either way the field order & tab order should match.
And I had missed the [full page login screen announcement](https://meta.discourse.org/t/preview-our-new-fullscreen-signup-and-login-pages/334456), but switching over to that confirms that the ordering issue is the same.
(Not huge stuff, but I appreciate the attention to the topic!)
---
### Author:  [@jancernik](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jancernik)
#### Post date: [November 15, 2024, 10:06pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/recent-changes-to-the-signup-form/335776/17 "2024-11-15T22:06:12Z")
Hi @ToddZ! I made an initial commit to fix some of the issues you mentioned: [FIX: Signup fields tab order and descriptions (#29772) ¡ discourse/discourse@876591f ¡ GitHub](https://github.com/discourse/discourse/commit/876591fdabbf085c5f7937a419f6aa08a2eeb893)
Now, the tab order should be correct regardless of whether the `full name required` site setting is enabled or not. I also ensured that field descriptions are always shown, not just when the input is focused.
Our aim with the recent changes was to simplify the login experience. We removed the field descriptions that we felt added little value, but we also understand that customers may want to customize this. We are planning to add an option for site owners to include custom descriptions if they choose.
---
### Author:  [@ToddZ](https://meta.discourse.org/u/ToddZ)
#### Post date: [November 16, 2024, 7:16am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/recent-changes-to-the-signup-form/335776/18 "2024-11-16T07:16:53Z")
Thank you, Jan! Iâll look forward to picking up the updates.
The simplifications make sense â it was just a bit puzzling that the site texts for instructions were available in the system but didnât do anything.
---
### Author:  [@jancernik](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jancernik)
#### Post date: [December 2, 2024, 5:07pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/recent-changes-to-the-signup-form/335776/20 "2024-12-02T17:07:59Z")
Hi @ToddZ, sorry for the delay. I ended up adding the descriptions back, but they are hidden by default. You can toggle their visibility with these site settings:
`show_signup_form_email_instructions`
`show_signup_form_username_instructions`
`show_signup_form_full_name_instructions`
`show_signup_form_password_instructions`
Then, you can replace the text as you did before. The locales remain the same as before. Let me know if you have any other issues.
---
### Author:  [@Magie](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Magie)
#### Post date: [March 27, 2025, 11:02am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/recent-changes-to-the-signup-form/335776/21 "2025-03-27T11:02:57Z")
Hi @jancernik
I toggled the settings you suggested above. And it works for full name:
- setting: `show_signup_form_full_name_instructions` true
- Site text: `js.user.name.instructions_required` (when I adapt it the text does show up in the correct place)
But for username it does **not** work:
- setting: `show_signup_form_username_instructions`
- Site text: there is **no** `js.user.name.instructions_required` ⌠there is only: `js.user.username.instructions` but when I change it, it does not show up
Is the required site text missing? Or am I missing something? đ
Any hints are appreciated.
---
### Author:  [@dajb](https://meta.discourse.org/u/dajb)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2025, 4:23pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/recent-changes-to-the-signup-form/335776/22 "2025-12-08T16:23:11Z")
đ Hi, it seems like itâs over a year now and weâre still bumping up against this for a client project; we want to give guidance as to what is an appropriate username.
Whatâs the current status of `js.user.username.instructions` please?
---
### Author:  [@chapoi](https://meta.discourse.org/u/chapoi)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2025, 4:29pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/recent-changes-to-the-signup-form/335776/24 "2025-12-08T16:29:48Z")
Hello all,
Apologies for the lack of follow up. Jan no longer works for us and this fell through the cracks.
Ill have a look and get back to you.
---
### Author:  [@jordanjay29](https://meta.discourse.org/u/jordanjay29)
#### Post date: [December 8, 2025, 9:45pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/recent-changes-to-the-signup-form/335776/25 "2025-12-08T21:45:30Z")
> [@jancernik](#):
>
> I ended up adding the descriptions back, but they are hidden by default. You can toggle their visibility with these site settings:
>
> `show_signup_form_username_instructions`
Thanks for adding these back. When I launched my site the other day, the first question from one of my transferring members was âwe canât use spaces in a username?â
The instructions are incredibly useful and theyâve been turned on for my site. This is feedback for the whole team that forum usernames, the way Discourse does them, are not necessarily intuitive to those used to older forums that can use spaces and special characters, etc. Instructions are critical to avoid losing new member interest.
---
### Author:  [@chapoi](https://meta.discourse.org/u/chapoi)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2025, 11:45am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/recent-changes-to-the-signup-form/335776/26 "2025-12-12T11:45:52Z")
> [@dajb](#):
>
> Whatâs the current status of `js.user.username.instructions` please?
It seems to work for me:
If this doesnât work for you, can you detail the steps you took please and verify what version you are on?