diff --git a/lib/philomena/users/user.ex b/lib/philomena/users/user.ex
index 05d6a01c..cfd40b27 100644
--- a/lib/philomena/users/user.ex
+++ b/lib/philomena/users/user.ex
@@ -161,7 +161,7 @@ defmodule Philomena.Users.User do
   defp validate_email(changeset) do
     changeset
     |> validate_required([:email])
-    |> validate_format(:email, ~r/^[^\s]+@[^\s]+$/, message: "must have the @ sign and no spaces")
+    |> validate_format(:email, ~r/^[^\s]+@[^\s]+\.[^\s]+$/, message: "must be valid (e.g., user@example.com)")
     |> validate_length(:email, max: 160)
     |> unsafe_validate_unique(:email, Philomena.Repo)
   end
diff --git a/lib/philomena_web/templates/registration/edit.html.slime b/lib/philomena_web/templates/registration/edit.html.slime
index 977110d0..7e40e174 100644
--- a/lib/philomena_web/templates/registration/edit.html.slime
+++ b/lib/philomena_web/templates/registration/edit.html.slime
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ h3 Change email
       p Oops, something went wrong! Please check the errors below.
 
   .field
-    = email_input f, :email, class: "input", placeholder: "Email", required: true, pattern: ".*@.*"
+    = email_input f, :email, class: "input", placeholder: "Email", required: true, pattern: ~S/[^\s]+@[^\s]+\.[^\s]+/
     = error_tag f, :email
 
   .field
diff --git a/lib/philomena_web/templates/registration/new.html.slime b/lib/philomena_web/templates/registration/new.html.slime
index eb789ae2..fb19a3fc 100644
--- a/lib/philomena_web/templates/registration/new.html.slime
+++ b/lib/philomena_web/templates/registration/new.html.slime
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ h1 Register
     ' You'll use your email address to log in, and we'll use this to get in
     ' touch if we need to. Don't worry, we won't share this or spam you.
   .field
-    = email_input f, :email, class: "input", placeholder: "Email", required: true, pattern: ".*@.*"
+    = email_input f, :email, class: "input", placeholder: "Email", required: true, pattern: ~S/[^\s]+@[^\s]+\.[^\s]+/
     = error_tag f, :email
 
   .fieldlabel
diff --git a/lib/philomena_web/templates/session/new.html.slime b/lib/philomena_web/templates/session/new.html.slime
index 4c418d78..112ebaae 100644
--- a/lib/philomena_web/templates/session/new.html.slime
+++ b/lib/philomena_web/templates/session/new.html.slime
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ h1 Sign in
   p = link "Forgot your password?", to: Routes.password_path(@conn, :new)
 
   .field
-    = email_input f, :email, class: "input", required: true, placeholder: "Email", autofocus: true, pattern: ".*@.*"
+    = email_input f, :email, class: "input", required: true, placeholder: "Email", autofocus: true, pattern: ~S/[^\s]+@[^\s]+\.[^\s]+/
     = error_tag f, :email
 
   .field
diff --git a/test/philomena/users_test.exs b/test/philomena/users_test.exs
index a641f8e2..c66c5da1 100644
--- a/test/philomena/users_test.exs
+++ b/test/philomena/users_test.exs
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ defmodule Philomena.UsersTest do
       {:error, changeset} = Users.register_user(%{email: "not valid", password: "not valid"})
 
       assert %{
-               email: ["must have the @ sign and no spaces"],
+               email: ["must be valid (e.g., user@example.com)"],
                password: ["should be at least 12 character(s)"]
              } = errors_on(changeset)
     end
@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ defmodule Philomena.UsersTest do
       {:error, changeset} =
         Users.apply_user_email(user, valid_user_password(), %{email: "not valid"})
 
-      assert %{email: ["must have the @ sign and no spaces"]} = errors_on(changeset)
+      assert %{email: ["must be valid (e.g., user@example.com)"]} = errors_on(changeset)
     end
 
     test "validates maximum value for email for security", %{user: user} do
diff --git a/test/philomena_web/controllers/registration_controller_test.exs b/test/philomena_web/controllers/registration_controller_test.exs
index 98a5811f..c904a129 100644
--- a/test/philomena_web/controllers/registration_controller_test.exs
+++ b/test/philomena_web/controllers/registration_controller_test.exs
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ defmodule PhilomenaWeb.RegistrationControllerTest do
         })
 
       response = html_response(conn, 200)
-      assert response =~ "must have the @ sign and no spaces"
+      assert response =~ "must be valid (e.g., user@example.com)"
       assert response =~ "should be at least 12 character"
     end
   end