We've been publishing blog posts as long as we've been publishing code—and with every article, we learn even more about the product experience.

This year was no different—and we revisited familiar topics (like user onboarding), dove headfirst into less-charted territory (like the Marvel Cinematic Universe), and tackled some of the biggest topics and challenges facing product folks today (like how to reframe your thinking around product-led growth).

We’ve got tons of exciting things in store for 2023—so watch this space (and sign up for our blog newsletter) to stay up to date. 

In the meantime, here are our most-loved blog posts of 2022:

1. PLG requires teamwork

Product-led growth is a team sport. Align your teams or DIY trying. (This meme says it all.)

2. Lessons from the MCU

Even pop culture can teach us a lot about user onboarding—including how to onboard users in phases. If you look closely (which we absolutely did) you'll find that Marvel has given the world more than a series of cultural moments—they’ve given us a perfect model for user onboarding.

"Take a page out of the MCU playbook and be a user onboarding superhero: Assemble your user onboarding experience in phases, turn up the difficulty slowly and keep the enemies coming."

3. The BBQ Party Strategy

Our Director of Programmatic Content, Ramli John, introduced a new framework you can really sink your teeth into. 🤤 Learn how throwing an unforgettable BBQ party is similar to crafting a delightful user onboarding experience that your users will love.

4. All about tooltips

Tooltips are one of the most powerful and versatile UI patterns around. But how do you design a tooltip that adds value without annoying your users? Learn how to use tooltips for onboarding, feature announcements, product tours, and more with these examples of tooltips done right.

5. User onboarding examples

Which app has the best user onboarding? We get asked this all the time, and it's hard to pick just one. But these 10 user onboarding experiences are the cream of the crop, the top dogs, the head honchos—you get the point. So study at the feet of these masters, see what they do right, and take notes on how you can one day earn a spot on this list.  

We'll go through each experience step-by-step and explain how to design your own best-in-class onboarding.

6. A/B test your user onboarding

User onboarding is still one of the most neglected areas of testing. But that also means there’s a lot of opportunity (and upside) for companies willing to put in the work.

Like what?

• 🤑 Drive more ROI: which upsell prompt performed best?
• 📈 Measure the impact of your Flow improvements: Test, but verify
• ⏰ Improve activation rate: Shorten that time-to-value, yo
• ✅ Increase completion rates: take heart knowing users actually read your announcement!
• 👣 Make low-risk modifications: Baby step your way to big changes to prevent pissing off your power users

Learn why you can’t afford *not* to test your user onboarding flows—now with Pokémon—over on our blog.

Looking ahead 👀

We’re heading into 2023 full of fresh ideas, new insights, and exciting announcements. Don’t miss a beat—subscribe to the Appcues Blog for weekly updates on the latest.