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Is it good to have ONLY social login in my website?
I am developing a website and planning to implement only social login for users, instead of having own user register/login form.
I think that I can avoid user registration, login, forgot password forms in my website if I use only social login.

Is my thought right?
what are the pros and cons to have only social login?

My website is not for commercial purpose, it's for entertainment purpose like social sharing and some private stuffs for a user. (PHP/MySql)

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@JohnConde Care to explain why this was closed? It seems like a valid question, with potentially significant considerations. – Su' Jan 20 at 3:18
It's subjective. I do like the question but it seems like there is no one right answer as it's looking for reasons to do it/pros and cons. – John Conde♦ Jan 20 at 4:43
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@JohnConde, rarely ever is there a "one right answer". It may generate debate (it hasn't yet). But, it is a valid Question, IMO, because it is specifically asking for any pro's and con's to this approach...very valuable information for any webmaster thinking of going this route. Most Questions have multiple, widely varying answers, and the cream floats to the top. :) Edit: forgot to mention, there could be cons that are very persuasive and relevant, that a beginner might not be aware of, e.g., "No! don't do that because X, Y and Z!!!" or whatever. – akTed Jan 20 at 5:08
The StackExchange network of sites is built on the "one right answer" concept (one answer can be more right then another). With few exceptions questions that seek lists (looking for pros and cons is looking for a list) is not considered acceptable. Just because the question is interesting or useful to webmasters doesn't mean it is a fit for this site. It would be a good fit for chat, though. – John Conde♦ Jan 20 at 5:11
anyhow, Thanks. I got the answer from su's answer below – M.Kumaran Jan 21 at 17:32

closed as not constructive by John Conde♦ Jan 20 at 0:15

As it currently stands, this question is not a good fit for our Q&A format. We expect answers to be supported by facts, references, or specific expertise, but this question will likely solicit debate, arguments, polling, or extended discussion. If you feel that this question can be improved and possibly reopened, see the FAQ for guidance.

1 Answer

up vote 4 down vote accepted

While using social login does let you avoid dealing with user management, some of the more obvious downsides are:

  • You automatically exclude anyone not using the service(s) in question. Yes, even Facebook.
  • There are people who have personal policies of membership in those services but not using them for external login. (Increased tracking, etc.)
  • If the person decides to leave the service or just take a break, they are then also locked out of your site as a result. Remember you can deactivate though not delete your Facebook account.
  • Following from that, even if you allow login from multiple services, they can't switch from using eg. Facebook to Google+, because there's no "local" identity to handle the transfer.
  • At the far end of things, if the service has an outage of some kind or even shuts down, you're left scrambling to figure out how your users can continue using your site.

There was a case study post done in the last year or so that I can't find from the developer of a fairly large service that outlined several other lower-level problems with using only social logins. His conclusion was that it's generally best to create your own registration system, even if it's minimal, and then allow people to attach their social logins to it.

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Thanks a lot for the answer – M.Kumaran Jan 21 at 17:31

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