In Vitaly Friedman's article "10 Usability Nightmares You Should Be Aware Of," the first item listed is  problematic hidden login links on websites. Friedman uses Backpack as an example because the login link is very small and placed right underneath a block of text that looks like an advertisement, rather than placing the login somewhere else on the page where it can be easily located. If you try to visit the Backpack webpage now, a message appears saying the site is "retired" and services are only available to existing customers. However, the page recommends trying Basecamp, which is basically an updated version of Backpack.
Coincidentally, I use Basecamp at my internship; it's a platform that allows employees within the business to keep track of projects and progress on tasks, and clients are able to access the site to allow for free-flow communication between clients and project managers. Anyway, I'll get to the point. The login link on Basecamp is still hard to find. Although Basecamp is an improved version of Backpack and the link is not nearly as hidden as it was, the first few times I tried to login to Basecamp I spent a good 15 seconds looking for the link.
This is just the top half of the page and the login button/link text is not any larger than the advertisements next to it. In addition, I was confused because once you login to Basecamp, it looks completely different than the homepage so I was overwhelmed by the lack of consistency.

Websites should make sure to take their current users' needs into consideration when creating their homepage; while websites like this obviously want to gain as many new customers as they can, they should shift a small amount of the homepage's focus to ease of use for existing customers. Having a login link that's hard to find will frustrate users (many times, if you're like me). Basecamp offers great services but their page layout should reflect the convenience they hope to provide to their customers.
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