---
layout: post
title: Educating API Developers With Each Login Over At @CloudElements
image: >-
  http://kinlane-productions2.s3.amazonaws.com/api-evangelist-site/blog/cloud-element-login.png
author:
  name: kinlane
tags:
  - Cloud
  - Developers
  - Login
---
I am a big advocate for making sure the on-boarding process for developers is as friction-less as possible. Developers should be able to signup, and login without anything getting in their way. This is why normally I wouldn't suggest adding anything unnecessary to to signup and login process, but [I saw something over at Cloud Elements that I thought was interesting](https://console.cloud-elements.com/elements/jsp/login.jsp).

First, let me know that Cloud Elements gets bonus points because they [emphasize signing in with your Github or Google account.](https://console.cloud-elements.com/elements/jsp/login.jsp) I am a big fan of keeping all my API accounts linked to my Github profile--it just makes sense to me. I'd love it if API providers allowed me to store keys, SDKs, and other resources within my private Github repository, that I use across all the APIs I depend on. (I'm sure someone will tell me not to do this, but nobody has yet to convince me of why)

[What really caught my eye logging in,](https://console.cloud-elements.com/elements/jsp/login.jsp) was the updates they provided at the bottom of the login screen. There was an image, with a simple message telling me that v1 of the Cloud Elements API was sunsetting, with a simple "Read More" link, so I can get more details. I like this concept of adding these type of critical updates to the login screen for developers.

I am going to add a flexible messaging area to signup and login screen, as part of [my suggested on-boarding building blocks](http://management.apievangelist.com/building-blocks.html). Developers may not be regularly logging into their API developer portals, so I wouldn't depend on this channel for everything, but in addition to the blog, Twitter, and other channels, it might make sense as a way to share important information with API consumers.