{"id":3362,"date":"2024-09-12T08:00:44","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T15:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pageflows.com\/resources\/?p=3362"},"modified":"2024-10-26T00:13:58","modified_gmt":"2024-10-26T07:13:58","slug":"onboarding-flows-the-start-of-great-ux","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pageflows.com\/resources\/onboarding-flows-the-start-of-great-ux\/","title":{"rendered":"Onboarding Flows: The Start of Great UX\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Onboarding flows define the quality of user experiences. With the right onboarding flow, you can engage and even expand your target user base. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, a bad user onboarding experience can blemish your brand\u2019s reputation and lead to significant revenue loss. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For that reason, every UX designer must know how to design exceptional onboarding experiences. 
In today\u2019s guide, we\u2019ll reveal how to do just that. We\u2019ll also explore a range of user onboarding examples, both good and bad, to guide your designs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What Is an Onboarding Flow?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Naturally, if you\u2019re unfamiliar with user onboarding<\/a>, you\u2019re probably wondering, \u201cWhat is an onboarding flow?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Onboarding flows are the first stage of the customer journey. This is the stage where users become familiar with your product\u2019s functionalities, resulting in better usability in their following interactions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, a user onboarding flow is a demonstration of your product\u2019s value and ease of use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By creating excellent onboarding experiences, you can increase customer retention and conversion rates<\/a>. You can even reduce your product\u2019s bounce rate and diminish your users\u2019 reliance on customer support. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you can imagine, every onboarding screen will have slight variations that depend on the company\u2019s goals. For instance, some flows will teach users how to create an account, while others will help users complete in-product actions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even the device your user utilizes to complete the onboarding flow will have an impact on how you design it.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Web vs Mobile App Onboarding: Crucial Differences\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many designers believe that creating an onboarding flow for a mobile app also means creating one for a web app. This isn\u2019t the case. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your mobile app onboarding flows should be different from your web onboarding flows because you have different limitations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, you have to consider contextual differences that affect the user\u2019s experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your users are using their laptops, they are likely in an environment that allows for better focus. But if they\u2019re using their phones, they are more likely to be in a distracting environment, like a shopping mall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means that your mobile app onboarding experiences should be straightforward, concise, and even more engaging. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another limitation you face is smaller screen real estate. With less space to work with, you need to prioritize the right onboarding elements carefully. Clearly, this differs from web applications, where you have more flexibility to add engaging elements like animations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, you must strike the right balance between helpfulness and user engagement<\/a>, all while ensuring you create de-cluttered user interfaces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You must also consider the nature of the user\u2019s interactions. On a computer, the user can click and scroll using a mouse. But on a phone, users can tap, swipe, and pinch the screen using their fingers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means you need to adapt your onboarding flow\u2019s navigational aids to suit touch-based user interaction. Think about the way your users hold their phones and design accordingly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key Elements of the Best Onboarding Flows\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now, let\u2019s really get into the best<\/em> onboarding flows and explore their must-have elements.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1. Welcome Screens\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Your welcome message adds a personal human touch to your user onboarding that will enhance the user\u2019s engagement. By immediately introducing your users to your brand\u2019s personality, you can set the tone for their entire onboarding experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond that, your welcome message is a great opportunity to outline your product\u2019s value proposition and how it benefits users. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Account Creation\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Every good onboarding experience will require its users to set up their personal profiles, and yours should do the same. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This step allows designers to collect data that reveals more about their target demographics and users\u2019 preferences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, account creation provides users with access to the product\u2019s core features. What\u2019s more, when users complete this step, they can enjoy more streamlined sign-in flows in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when it comes to good vs great profile creation, the best onboarding experiences have an additional feature – personalization. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By implementing brief surveys into this stage of the user\u2019s onboarding, you give users the power to customize their experiences. With this data, you can tailor your product\u2019s content to the user\u2019s needs more accurately. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You also make the onboarding experience more unique to that particular user, which drives their engagement with the overall process.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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3. Product Tours\/Walkthroughs\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Product tours guide users through a product, introducing them to its most valuable features and demonstrating how to use them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many product teams adopt an incremental approach to tours so as not to overwhelm users with too much information. They also typically deliver these product tours to users via short videos as additional visual assistance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s worth noting that you can also use interactive product tours. The addition of interactivity allows users to experience your product\u2019s value proposition first-hand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you can imagine, interactive walkthroughs do wonders for your user engagement and retention rates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For that reason, we recommend implementing context-relevant, helpful hints and tooltips in your interactive tours. This will encourage your users to explore and discover more of your product\u2019s valuable functions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip<\/strong>: Make it so that users can disable hints and tooltips if they prefer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Progress Indicators<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For users, there\u2019s nothing more frustrating than not knowing how long it\u2019s going to take to complete in-product tasks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your product lacks progress indicators like a progress bar<\/a> or checklist and the user is growing impatient, they may abandon it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Progress indicators instill users with the confidence that their actions are steadily helping them progress toward their goals. This, in turn, incentivizes users to complete the onboarding process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s more, according to a study from CommandBar<\/a>, 43% of users said onboarding checklists were helpful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How To Design Onboarding Flows Effectively\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s time to put those elements into practice; you need to know how to design onboarding flows the right way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Conducting Valuable Research\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The best onboarding experiences start with thorough user research<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With UX research methods<\/a>, you can acquire valuable data that helps you empathize with your user\u2019s needs, expectations, and frustrations. You can then turn these actionable insights into detailed user personas that will contextualize your target users. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With these user personas<\/a>, you can easily identify and resolve the user\u2019s pain points within your onboarding flows. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You should also conduct competitor research, analyzing their onboarding experience and investigating reviews to uncover what users feel about them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the findings from competitor research, you can emulate what works and avoid what doesn\u2019t in your own flows. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Mapping Vital Flows\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With your research, you can start to map out user flows<\/a> that detail how different users will approach completing tasks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The more user flows you have the better; this means you\u2019ve considered how all<\/em> of your target users achieve goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also recommend creating task flows<\/a> for more linear, predictable processes like the sign-up process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By clarifying these flows, you\u2019ll find it easier to spot any moments of friction during your users\u2019 interactions. You\u2019ll also be able to identify the key elements that your onboarding experience will need to resolve these frictions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Creating Your Content\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

From your flows and research, you know which elements you need to implement to ensure a seamless onboarding experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, the first thing you need to do is find the right onboarding software for your needs. We recommend looking into tools like UserGuiding and Userpilot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With your chosen tool, you need to start creating the best content using the elements we discussed earlier. Ask yourself the following questions: <\/p>\n\n\n\n