In-app onboarding is the moment you introduce users into your app and guide them in a way that will get them ready to use its full functionalities as soon as possible.
Often displayed as a list of steps or videos, the in-app onboarding process actually comes with lots of uses, beyond making a good first impression. Think of it as the app’s first handshake, setting the tone for the user’s entire journey.
At its core, in-app onboarding serves a dual purpose:
When you mix in a good design and personalized tips, you're well on your way to creating an onboarding process that will get users not only understand your app but also feel empowered to use it to its fullest potential.
Let's see just how you can do that with some out-of-the-box tips.
You first have to nail the components of your user onboarding process to create an experience that understands user behavior and can respond to how users interact with your onboarding flows.
Most app users won't finish a clunky onboarding process without a little push. To better guide users and avoid the potential to overwhelm users, keep the signup short and frictionless.
Stick to mobile app onboarding that solely focuses on the most essential things people will need on day one:
Any non-essential steps (e.g. email confirmations) should be delayed until after signup. Instead, focus on the important aspects listed above and on ensuring security through SSO options or social logins for convenience.
You can use a welcome screen to set the tone for the app experience and give users a quick path to understanding its purpose and benefits right away. Keep the messaging clear and engaging to build trust and reduce confusion but don't forget it should also stick to your brand.
Personalization is another key part of the app onboarding welcome screen. You could ask a few quick, relevant questions (e.g. preferences, goals, or usage intent) at this point and tailor the content and features based on these.
For example, when using Pinterest for the first time, a user will be asked to select their latest interests so the content the app suggests will resonate with them right away.
You can use interactive walkthroughs for mobile apps to help users learn by doing. Consider adding tooltips, modals, or hotspots to provide guidance in a non-intrusive and contextual way.
Tip: Focus on actions tied to users’ primary goals. These can include creating a task in a productivity app or making a first purchase in a shopping app, to provide immediate value.
Onboarding checklists provide users with a clear, structured path to complete essential first steps while monitoring progress with a visual indicator. Including pre-completed steps, such as account creation, builds momentum and encourages users to continue engaging.
As Nick Bouchard, Founder of Word Merc Marketing, puts it:
"Every item on your checklist has to be hyper-relevant for the user, with the ultimate goal of getting them to that 'aha!' moment. It has to be short, actionable, and clear."
Provide help where and when users need it. Why? This is a quick way to reduce frustration and provide a smoother experience that users might just remember as a positive one.
Not sure where to start? Use in-app messages to highlight features based on usage behavior, guiding them through the app at key moments to enhance usability and engagement.
Incorporate searchable knowledge bases, FAQs, or guided tutorials. to empower users to resolve issues independently at any time. Include live chat or email support options for more complex problems.
On this, Nick Bouchard suggests interdepartmental collaboration:
"The person who writes your support documentation should work very closely with your customer-facing teams, no matter which team they're on. This will give them more insight into what customers struggle with and how they solve their problems. It'll also give them a headstart on anything they write."
Web onboarding gives you more screen space. This comes with more room for details and extensive content like in-depth tutorials, videos, and tooltips. The process can also take longer. This makes it a good fit for new users who may have (or need) more time to explore.
Mobile users though will appreciate concise, visually engaging flows. Time-to-value should be under 60 seconds. Onboarding must be fast, visually engaging, and easy to digest, often involving fewer steps. Mobile apps rely heavily on visuals, animations, and short, action-driven screens to quickly communicate key features.
Personalization is a good place to start for both web and mobile onboarding. However, the way you customize things differs based on the platform.
For the web, you can collect more detailed user information upfront, offering the ability to tailor the experience with advanced preferences and feature customization.
Mobile apps require the basics with a gradual flow towards more contextual personalization based on user behavior during onboarding.
Note: Both also benefit from contextual onboarding and goal-driven design. Web users may receive pop-up guides when accessing a new tool, while mobile users might see tooltips or in-app messages based on specific actions they take.
With the app onboarding flow elements ready, we're going to tackle some of the most effective best practices for improving the app onboarding experience.
Collect data during onboarding to tailor user experiences that align with individual preferences and goals.
By segmenting users based on criteria such as their goals or specific tasks they want to achieve (Jobs to Be Done), you can provide more meaningful content and features. This personalized approach enhances user engagement and ensures users see immediate value, increasing retention.
Start with the core, essential actions to help users quickly understand the app’s primary value. When users become more familiar and confident with using your mobile app, you can roll out more complex features to avoid overwhelming them.
This step-by-step approach ensures that users feel empowered and not intimidated by complexity, increasing their likelihood of continued engagement.
Incorporate progress bars, congratulatory messages, or badges to visually guide users and celebrate achievements, making the onboarding experience more engaging. Highlight value milestones to keep users engaged and get them to be active and build better relationships at work.
Gamification makes the process fun and increases motivation so users feel accomplished. By recognizing milestones, you keep users invested in the journey and reinforce the value of completing each step.
Conduct A/B testing to optimize these mobile app onboarding flows. Use analytics to track user progress, pinpointing where drop-offs occur.
Adjusting the user onboarding flow based on real user data ensures a smoother experience and helps maximize conversions. Once you're iterating on the process, you can enhance user engagement and retention for the onboarding flow to stay relevant over time.
Don’t overload users with information. Keep it concise and focused on essential steps to prevent confusion.
Ensure that empty states, such as empty dashboards or profiles, include helpful guidance or prompts to encourage users to take the next steps and prevent frustration. The simpler the experience, the more intuitive and user-friendly the onboarding process.
OneTable added step-by-step guidance within their platform to help hosts get started quickly.
Outcome: Onboarding time was reduced by 31%.
Success factors:
Hotjar used personalized checklists to guide users through the onboarding process.
Outcome: This approach increased installations by 26%.
Success factors:
Blip focused on reducing "time to value" with precise and actionable onboarding flows.
Outcome: Activation rates increased by 124%, and more users achieved their first meaningful outcome 9.7 times faster.
Success factors:
Thinkific leveraged jobs-to-be-done (JTBD) checklists based on insights from early customers.
Outcome: Simplified onboarding aligned with user goals and expectations.
Success factors:
From all of the mobile app onboarding examples above you might have noticed that there are different types to consider for your app onboarding experience:
Use it to gradually introduce features and functionality (like the Thinkific team did), focusing on providing "just-in-time" knowledge to prevent overwhelming users.
What stands out:
Best for:
Use it to guide users through accomplishing specific tasks or goals (like the Blip team did), focusing on the app's core functions.
What stands out:
Best for:
Use it to highlight how the app improves users’ lives or solves their pain points (like the Hotjar team did) rather than focusing solely on mechanics.
What stands out:
Best for:
Beyond its creation, your main goal should be to keep improving the onboarding experience using a couple of key metrics and strategies.
Appcues is a low-code platform designed to create seamless, engaging, and user-focused onboarding experiences for web applications. It supports product teams with building and optimizing onboarding flows without relying on developers, making it a perfect choice for prioritizing user activation and retention.
Appcues Multi-Channel Messaging (OPM) lets you create a cohesive engagement strategy that connects in-app and out-of-app messaging for more effective user communication.
By combining these channels, teams can create seamless user experiences that feel intuitive, personalized, and impactful. Each channel enhances the other, ensuring users receive the right message at the right time, wherever they are.
Key features:
Userpilot is best used for creating customized flows based on user behaviors, segmenting the experience for first-time, power, or returning users.
Key features:
Pendo offers a mix of in-app messaging and analytics, allowing product teams to track feature adoption, onboarding progress, and user behavior. It helps personalize onboarding flows based on how users engage with the app, providing targeted guidance and tips.
Key features:
A well-designed onboarding experience:
To create seamless and engaging onboarding experiences, use our guide above together with tools like Appcues to create a custom app onboarding experience and tailor it to individual user needs.
Ready to enhance your app’s onboarding? Explore tailored solutions that suit your unique needs and user base.
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