Original Article:

Contrary to what most people believe, user onboarding is not about giving your first-time users a perfect list of to-dos to make them adopt your app, teaching them how to use the app, or dispensing as much information about your app as possible. Instead, it's about introducing users to the app and empowering them in their quest to solve a particular problem using a contextual onboarding experience.

Different apps solve different problems; this is why you will see several approaches to onboard users and create a good first impression. For instance, Duolingo solves the problem of learning a new language, while Canva enables anyone to design. The user onboarding for these apps is the means to an end.

What is User Onboarding?

User onboarding is about the initial experience within the application. It's the process by which a new user is introduced to your app's key features and value offerings.

5 Reasons Why a Smooth Onboarding Flow is Crucial

Users only delete an app if they don't understand how it resolves their problem and provides some anticipated benefit. A superior onboarding experience helps you lower churn rates by taking the user from the "Peak of inflated expectations" to "The slope of enlightenment" and much beyond, to the extent that these users could become brand advocates.

Three Stellar User Onboarding Examples and What We Can Learn from Them

Example 1: Slack

Slack has one of the best user onboarding flows out there. It starts with a frictionless sign-up and a crystal clear goal – to get new users to start using the product. In the main four onboarding screens, Slack only asks essential questions – the name of their team, the project they are working on, and the team members' email addresses.

That's it. The new users are onboarded and ready to collaborate with their team on their next project in under 5 minutes – swift onboarding is Slack's core value. Five things we like about Slack's user onboarding approach:

  • Articulates value prop & core functionality clearly and repeatedly.
  • Less than 5 modal windows.
  • Makes a new user interact with the product.
  • Low time-to-value. Slack wants you to start using the product ASAP!!
  • Use of contextual nudges to familiarize & encourage users with the app.

Example 2: Reclaim

Reclaim.ai is one of the smartest scheduling tools that automatically finds the best time for your tasks, recurring events, 1:1 meetings, and breaks. Five things we like about Reclaim.ai's user onboarding approach:

  • Uses an animated calendar for a glimpse of how Reclaim works.
  • Highlights the "aha moment" sooner by suggesting habits – an important product functionality.
  • Good use of empty states.
  • Offers an option of guided user onboarding flows for major features and the freedom to explore on your own.
  • Gets all the setup out of the way right in the onboarding process.

Example 3: Salesflare

Salesflare is a powerful CRM tool with a well-thought and well-executed user onboarding experience. Five things we like about Salesflare's user onboarding approach:

  • An option to play around with the app using their interactive product tour.
  • The "learning by doing" approach – new users finish tasks as they go along the user onboarding experience.
  • A checklist with a progress bar – to ensure all the necessary steps are covered during onboarding.
  • Use of digital nudges and empty states in the product walkthrough.
  • The blend of proactive and reactive user onboarding strategies – for better user engagement.

Your Checklist for Delivering a Great User Onboarding Experience

Find the "Aha" moment/Put a goal: A great user onboarding flow has a very specific goal. So, be clear about what you want your new users to get from the onboarding journey.

Do you want users to sign up? Or do you want to initiate a conversion right at the beginning? Or any other action you want your users to take at the end of the app onboarding journey?

And that's not all. You need to identify what a successful onboarding strategy would look like for each user and the problem each unique user is trying to solve by using your app. Based on that information, build an onboarding flow that is most relevant to those specific user segments.

Canva, an online design tool, makes it easy for non-designers to start working on the app by asking what they are using it for (work/personal/education). A user who would select work would be shown a tailored user onboarding experience (like presentation templates) compared to someone using the app for personal reasons. So, depending on the user persona and the specific purpose for which the app is used; you trigger a specific user journey – one that makes the FTUX (First-time user experience) much more seamless.

Map user journeys: To create an ideal user onboarding flow, you need to understand the target users and their needs. You need to craft user personas that help you understand your users, their needs, and their goals. This will help you develop messages that resonate the best with them.

If you research your target users well, you'll get the right insights to establish a flow that fits their journey. A quick tip: Different personas mean different approaches. Tailoring the product onboarding to a persona's specific needs will require you to test onboarding elements and their effectiveness.

Communicate your value prop clearly: To capture a user's attention, you must make them understand what your product is all about. This calls for a compelling value proposition to be put in place – a statement on what makes your product unique. A quick tip: Your value prop must be clear, concise, and quick to grasp the product's core benefits.

In the image below, Notion's value prop is very effective in what it communicates:

Now you have the rewritten article!