Sample Information Card Site Live

At http://www.cardspacedemos.com/FriendsWithCards/ you can try out a web site that uses Information Cards for account creation and site sign-in. It also allows you to create an account in the old way, with a username and password, and then associate Information Cards with that account. This site is intended to enable you to experience a site using Information Cards that you can use as a model for the flows on your site.

This site simulates e-mail address verification upon account creation. This enables “lost card” scenarios to be handled via card reset e-mails, similarly to how “lost password” scenarios are often handled today. I write “simulated”, because the site doesn’t actually send the e-mails — it just presents the bodies of the e-mails that would be sent as web pages.

This site is built using the Information Card Relying Party Resources I wrote about last week and follows the guidance in the Information Card Deployment Guide. I hope you will find this site useful to further your understanding of how to best employ information cards at your site.

Of course, site best practices are still a work in progress that others are helping to evolve as well, so I’d love to hear feedback on what you like at this site and what you think can be improved. For instance, Eric Norman correctly points out a place where the current site needs to be improved. The My Account page at SignOn.com already does a much better job here, identifying your cards by displaying your name and e-mail address, rather than an unintelligible string of characters. Keep those good ideas coming!