Why do websites want people to sign up?

The internet is a numbers game. The more visitors and members you have, the more people you can reach out and touch. Of course I don’t mean literal touching, but rather reaching them through advertisements and other things of that nature.

There are two primary methods websites use to raise revenue. The first via funds from users either by subscriptions or by paying for services and such. The second is through through vendors advertising. Obviously the more visitors you have, the more will see the advertisement and the higher the chance of someone clicking on said advertisement. And should someone use that advertisement to purchase something, that’s even better for the original site.

So by signing up, that means 2 things a very likely to happen. 1) The user can be reached via email and advertisements can be attached to those emails. 2) The user will return to the website, even if to only disable/delete the account they’ll have to return. But they’re wanting you to come back and come back often.

Now in terms of advantages for the end user, well you get notifications, if that matters to you. Some stores will send you emails and coupons for registered members only. I’ve even see some stores offer discounted shipping for users, the same users that didn’t pay a single penny to become a user. Again, the idea is that you’ll register and maybe only look around. But now that they have your email, they can send you little reminder emails to say they’re still here and still selling products you may be interested in.

The end goal is simply money. Whether it be money through advertising, money through providing a service, or money by selling goods. It’s all ultimately about money.