To OpenID or not to OpenID? Is it worth it?

Question

Does OpenID improve the user experience?

Edit

Not to detract from the other comments, but I got one really good reply below that outlined 3

Answer 1

I respect your need for a business reason to use OpenID rather than a tech-geeky reason. So here it is:

Reason #1

OpenID is way easier than username+password. "Oh no", I hear the responses now, "OpenID is confusing and scary for users. They'll run away." That's why you don't tell the user it's OpenID. Just offer Yahoo and Google buttons and say "use an account you already have" or something to that effect. Users will love you. Underneath you're using OpenID, but don't advertise the fact, and perhaps don't even offer an OpenID text field, until OpenID becomes more mainstream.

A strong majority of users are already logged into Yahoo or Google, so "Click here to log in using your Google/Yahoo account" buttons will mean it's faster and easier for your customers -> more sales.

Reason #2

Do it for your customers, even if they're not asking for OpenID. OpenID is more secure than username+password, since your customers won't be reusing the same username+password on your site as all their other sites. It's bad security to reuse username+password across web sites, but that's what users do. Using OpenID (without telling them) to get them to reuse their existing [pick your small list of major OPs here] accounts will mitigate this and give your users added security. If your site is hacked, their credentials won't be stolen. And if other sites your customers have accounts with are hacked, there's a good chance your customers account with you won't be compromised.

Reason #3

Fewer support calls and web pages to support users who forgot their passwords.