At what point in webapp you should ask users to signup?

At the moment when he begins to use the main functionality of your website.

It greatly depends on the product type and how well-known it is. One way to view it is when the user is ready to commit. If the product is a big, well-known product that the user's friends use, then they won't mind signing up right away. They are ready to commit from the get-go. But if that's not the case, the user needs to get familiar enough with the product to become willing to commit. Hence, you move it to later in the experience, and the best way to figure out where is to A/B test the heck out of it until the magic moment is found.

Hi! Thanks for asking. I think we're on track to achieve product-market fit. We've seen a lot of growth in recent months, and our users are really loving the product. We're also getting great feedback from potential customers, and we're seeing a lot of interest in our product.

As suggested by other users, the best way to find that out would be to A/B test it.

Asking at initial steps introduce friction in the user experience. Authentication is a silent conversion killer. Plus, when a user is first starting to explore your product, asking for registration can stop their momentum. I work in authentication and, generally speaking, the best practice is to ask for user registration after you've demonstrated some value so the user is incentivized to create an account. In other words, it's a good idea to front-load value before asking for something in return. This is the same logic that e-commerce sites use when they ask for registration after a user has put something in their cart or is preparing to check out -- don't hinder user exploration and momentum. In this situation, AB testing will help you refine but I think you should build with a point of view. At what point has the user experienced enough value that they would hand over their email or identifying information?

Signup at a later stage allows you to gain more qualified leads, whereas earlier signups might be users who are not the right fit for your product. Also if you guys love an underdog story, please support Graphite today - we spent most of the day in #3 and are currently trying to overtake #1 :)