"Reset your password" label causes unnecessary cognitive overhead - use natural wording

Problem/Motivation

The current page title and heading on the password reset form at /user/password is "Reset your password". While technically accurate, this label creates unnecessary cognitive overhead for users who are already in a state of frustration or confusion after losing access to their account.

When users arrive at this page, they are typically looking for a way to recover access—not necessarily to "reset" something, which implies an active action they need to perform. The phrase "Reset your password" can be misinterpreted as:

• A requirement to already know the current password
• A process that will immediately change the password without confirmation
• An action that requires more steps than simply receiving a recovery link

This subtle friction negatively impacts the user experience from the very first interaction with the recovery flow. A more natural, widely recognized label would reduce confusion and align with common web conventions, making the process feel more intuitive and less intimidating.

Steps to reproduce

1. Navigate to /user/password as an anonymous user
2. Observe the page title and heading: "Reset your password"
3. Note that the form asks only for an email address or username
4. Observe the disconnect between the label ("Reset") and the actual action (sending a recovery email with a one-time login link)

Proposed resolution

Replace the label "Reset your password" with a more natural, user-friendly alternative that better reflects the actual action being performed.

Option A: "Forgot your password?" – This is the most widely used pattern across the web, immediately signals the purpose of the page, and aligns with user expectations.

Option B: (recommended) "New password" – A shorter, cleaner variant that frames the page around the goal (getting a new password) rather than the action (resetting), reducing cognitive load by focusing on the outcome.

Option C: "Get a password reset link" – More descriptive and action-oriented, clarifying exactly what will happen.

This change should be applied to:

• The page <title> element
• The <h1> page heading
• Any contextual labels or breadcrumbs referencing this page

Remaining tasks

1. Decide on the preferred alternative label via community consensus
2. Update the relevant template files and/or translation strings
3. Update functional tests to reflect the new label
4. Add a change record for site builders and themers
5. Backport to supported Drupal versions if feasible (minor change)

User interface changes

The page title and heading at /user/password will change from "Reset your password" to the chosen alternative. No other UI elements are affected.

Example before:

<h1>Reset your password</h1>

Example after (Option A):

<h1>Forgot your password?</h1>

This change is purely textual and does not affect layout, styling, or functionality.

Introduced terminology

No new terminology is introduced. The change replaces existing terminology with more user-centric phrasing that is already widely understood and used across the web.

API changes

No API changes. This is a front-end string update only. Theme hooks, form IDs, and route names remain unchanged.

Data model changes

No data model changes. The user password reset flow remains functionally identical.

Release notes snippet

The password reset page at /user/password now uses a more natural and user-friendly label. The page title and heading have been updated from "Reset your password" to "Forgot your password?" (or the community-approved alternative) to reduce cognitive overhead and improve the initial user experience during the account recovery process.