Without an effective user onboarding UX, users are likely to quit using your product. Based on a study, 1 out of 4 users will quit using an application after a one-time experience. Wildly, 95% of users will quit using an app in three months because they couldn’t figure out how to use it or see the need to use it.
Users need to know how to use your product and how it can help them achieve goals. So it’s crucial they need to experience a well-designed and effective onboarding user experience (UX), to guide them to that process.
What is user onboarding UX?
In simple terms, user onboarding UX is the in-app experience new users feel when they sign up to test or use your product. It usually consists of different UI patterns, such as interactive walkthroughs, tooltips, pop-ups, and slide-outs, which are set to direct the user on how to use a product so they have a great user experience.
Why Does Onboarding UX Matter?
Onboarding UX is important because, if done properly, it can increase user activation, user retention, and customer lifetime value. Thereafter, users have confidence in and trust the product.
When to Onboard Users
As a general rule, you should onboard users at all stages of their customer journey, from when they sign up, and try the product, to when they want to close their account. But more so, it’s important to onboard users when customers sign up to use a product for a first-time experience when using the product.
1. Out of the Box Onboarding
Out-of-the-box user onboarding involves providing users with helpful resources to help them set up accounts, offering users personalized customer support, and providing tutorials or video guides to ensure a smooth transition. In this onboarding process, users can use the product comfortably. By utilizing out-of-the-box onboarding techniques, businesses can save time, reduce costs, help users find value faster, and create good experiences with users.
2. Progressive Onboarding
Progressive onboarding is a way to gradually introduce users to a new product over time. So users explore the product’s features and, in time, gain knowledge about the product. That way, it’s easier for them to understand the product or service fully.
3. New Feature Onboarding
This onboarding process involves introducing new product features to existing users to ensure they understand what they have access to and how to use it. It helps users build up knowledge of the product and platform over time without overwhelming them.
Types of Onboarding UX
1. Comprehensive onboarding UX
A comprehensive onboarding UX is a guide or product tour that shows users around a product. Users usually undergo this process swiftly.
a. Product Tours
What is it:
Product tours are like tutorials. They guide users step-by-step when they are using basic app features and interacting with the user interface. Users get guides through a series of images, videos, and flows users can skim.
When to use it:
You should use product tours when the steps users must go through are less than five. Based on findings by Userpilot, practically 80% of users skip product tours when there are more than 5 steps. Product tours are effective times when users would love to explore a product.
How to use it:
A typical product tour should consist of 5-6 steps of important elements that users must go through. Your instructions should be short.
An instance of using it:
Faqprime has a product tour feature that you could include in your onboarding process to guide users through a short and easy product tour of key features.
b. Interactive flows and walkthroughs
What is it:
Interactive walkthroughs are tutorials that involve users completing tasks. An interactive walkthrough is more like a product tour but more detailed.
Interactive walkthroughs teach users how to engage with the critical elements of a product’s feature or tool.
When to use it:
Interactive walkthroughs are effective when users need to understand complex processes. Walkthroughs should offer real-time guidance, as this onboarding approach guides users to gain proficiency in using a product and achieve their objectives efficiently.
How to use it:
Walkthroughs shouldn’t be too long or complicated. If so, users end up quitting the onboarding process. This leads to low completion rates, especially when the product is cumbersome and needs a detailed walkthrough.
An instance of using it:
Rocketbots is a messaging platform for users to connect all of their inboxes in one app. It begins its walkthrough with a welcome screen that prompts users to take their first action, which is setting up a “space.”
c. Onboarding checklists and task lists
What is it:
An onboarding checklist and task list is an in-app widget that shows users the tasks they need to complete to finish the onboarding process. It also breaks down a product’s main features into simple steps showing new users how it works.
When to use it:
A well-designed onboarding checklist should be implemented for users who love to manage their onboarding willingly and willfully.
How to use it:
Your onboarding checklist should direct users to the important features of the product, and common actions performed and should have a visible progress bar or indicator.
An instance of using it:
Faqprime’s tasklist feature involves users crossing checklists after completing a task. It usually consists of four to five tasks they need to complete.
d. In-app guidance
What is it:
In-app guidance uses prompts and messages on the user interface to teach users how to use a product’s features. In-app guidance is for onboarding new users in your app and introducing existing users to find new features.
When to use it:
It’s best to use in-app guides when a user signs up, tries out a new feature, or has difficulty using the said feature.
How to use it:
In-app guidance should be placed on the UI’s interface of the application. They should have resources so users can learn how the product works through; articles, links to external resources, and videos.
An instance of using it:
Faqprime’s in-app guidance feature is self-help, and it shows new users popular FAQ onboarding questions and information. To train them to understand a product’s features and use them effectively.
2. Contextual onboarding UX
Contextual onboarding is used to guide users through using a software application or product by displaying the right message to the right user at the right time when needed.
a. Tooltips
What is it:
Tooltips are a type of UX onboarding pattern for giving information about a specific element on a page, screen, website, etc.
When to use it:
A tooltip can be a part of a product tour, walkthrough, or interactive guide. So you need to point at something or get users’ attention on one part of the screen.
How to use it:
A good tooltip should be a short copy with images. when the copy is long or when there are too many steps, then it should have a skip button.
An instance of using it:
For example, when using Microsoft Word and you’re performing an action within the app, it could suggest a shortcut, so you can perform it faster.
b. Hotspots
What is it:
A hotspot is an indicative sign, displayed to the user to draw their attention to a particular part of your product’s UX. Or for them to click to get more information.
When to use it:
Hotspots are used to give a user information about a feature of a product. it’s usually for capturing the attention of the user.
How to use it:
You can use hotspots to show users what they need to do or where they need to go when using an app or product. And also create an onboarding experience that guides the user at every step.
An instance of using it:
An example of a hotspot is when you input your password on signing in, and it shows an icon “i.” When pressed, it displays a message about what your password should look like.
c. Feature guides
What is it:
Feature guides are more like product tours but are for introducing customers to new features, especially when the users are using that feature.
When to use it:
It’s best used to introduce a user to a new feature in a very concise manner. The major difference between feature guides and walkthroughs is that the latter has a more detailed copy.
How to use it:
When users are about to use a new feature when in use of your product, you can display a featured guide to walk them through the process of using the feature.
An instance of using it:
Using Faqprime’s in-app training, users can tour an application, in detail. It consists of all the resources needed to onboard a user successfully, without missing any piece of information.
3. Announcement onboarding UX
Announcement models are the use of in-app messages to guide users through the app and also inform users. It is used in place of giving users instructional information.
a. Announcement Modals
What is it:
Announcement models are layout windows pop-ups that show up on the interface of a product to inform users of new information about a product they are using at the moment.
When to use it:
If you have a new feature and want to let the user know about it and how to use it explicitly, then an announcement modal is best for the task.
How to use it:
When you want to tell users about new things in your product, then an announcement modal is best for doing so.
An instance of using it:
Faqprime uses an announcement feature, called “what’s new” to inform users about product releases, new features, improvements, news, and ways to carry out tasks within their app.
b. Banners
What is it:
It’s one of the most popular forms of a UX onboarding pattern. It’s used for announcing things to users in a way that doesn’t interrupt the user when they use a product.
When to use it:
If you need to announce seminars, celebrate new achievements, or give out sale codes, then banners are important.
How to use it:
You can place a banner atop the page of your UI. That way, it’s clearly visible to users. but more so, it doesn’t interrupt their user experience.
An instance of using it:
Google uses a banner on its search page to tell users about milestones, achievements, and more.
c. Pop-up alerts and videos
What is it:
Pop-ups are small windows or dialogue boxes that show up on the interface of a product. Pop-ups are intrusive and are designed to get the user’s attention to drive immediate action.
When to use it:
You should use pop-ups when you need to get the user’s attention to take action. They are mainly for attention-grabbing.
How to use it:
Pop-ups can be placed when you want to make announcements, security alerts, live streams, upcoming events, and more.
An instance of using it:
Faqprime has a floating bar and video pop-up for onboarding and announcement purposes.
How to design an effective onboarding UX?
To create an amazing user onboarding experience, there needs to be different UX onboarding patterns. So users can have great onboarding experiences. Listed below are some UX patterns that need to be in your onboarding experience:
Welcome messages
A welcome message is the beginning of the user journey, welcoming the user in with a friendly greeting. And prompting the user to take an action, with a CTA. Your welcome message should be brief and not too long.
1. Product tours
Product tours are important because they guide users to explore your application and show them what they can do with it. Product tours are usually a combination of various UI patterns; modals, highlights, or side popups. Product tours are important for product adoption because they guide users in using the product in a step-by-step manner.
2. Progress bars
Progress or gamification bars are important to motivate users to enjoy perfect onboarding. Also, they let a user know how far they’ve gone in their onboarding process until completion.
3. Tooltips
Tooltips are in-app UX patterns for delivering concise information regarding your product’s features. They are essential for guiding and educating users about your product and its features.
Best practices to follow when creating an onboarding experience
1. Understand your customers to give them a good onboarding experience
It’s important you research and understand your customers, find out who they are, what they want, their pain points, and which tasks they’re looking to complete. Ask yourself why users need your product.
2. Ensure Users Reach The Onboarding Process Fast Without Any Barrier
You should only offer users the most relevant information they need to get started and use the product efficiently. Your onboarding flows should target different user personas and their journeys. If it’s a paid product, then use your marketing site to lead potential users to the “aha!” moment.
3. Tailor the experience to each user’s journey
Understand each user’s behavior to provide a tailored user onboarding. Some users need to explore a product, and others need to use the product, so your onboarding experience should be different.
Those who want to explore their own onboarding experience could be longer than those who need to use the product immediately. It’s essential to find out how to meet the needs of different sets of users in the best way possible, as each user’s needs can be unique.
How do you improve your onboarding process in UX?
1. Keep it simple
To improve your onboarding process, you should minimize the cognitive load by presenting information clearly, concisely, and structured. Because when users get overloaded with too much information, it can overwhelm users.
2. Analyze the data – then go deeper
User onboarding is never finished and is always a work in progress. You should always track user behavior, gather feedback, track key metrics, and for user onboarding do A/B tests.
3. Don’t force information
You have to break things into smaller bits of information so users can understand things easily. An example of where this method can be effective is with forms and checklists. Rather than having all the signup fields on one page, you can break it up into smaller chunks of information across multiple pages.
4. Think like the user
When creating a UX onboarding, you should think like the user, know their needs and pain points, and then offer them a nice onboarding process based on what they want. It’s always important to collect data from the users to offer them a better UX onboarding experience.
5. Go back to Square One
Always analyze your previous onboarding processes, collect feedback from users, see where you have made mistakes, and then Iterate. It’s good to always experiment and try out different versions of your onboarding process. To see which one best works out, and continue to improve the process.
4 Onboarding UX Best Practices and Examples
1. Slack
Slack uses tooltips to guide users to product features they need to learn about. That way, it guides users on how to use the product from the onset.
2. Notion
Notion uses a checklist to show users important information on how to use the product. And pop-up videos to enable visual learners to know about the product effectively.
3. ClickUp
Click-up uses a gamification strategy for its onboarding process. For example, they offer users rewards for completing tasks.
4. Grammarly
When new users sign up to use Grammarly for the first time, they are greeted with a welcome screen, inviting them to a demo environment, displaying the app’s functionality. Then, it shows them a product tour of how users can use the application.
5 Tools offering the best user onboarding experience
1. Faqprime
Faqprime offers a suite of tools to set up personalized user onboarding, knowledge base management, and in-app contextual help. Its platform has important features like insights, announcements, and a knowledge base. To ensure you set up a quality onboarding process. In turn, it facilitates product adoption and unifies every aspect of the customer journey through better engagement and support.
Faqprime is an all-in-one platform for user onboarding UX, combining all onboarding features in one platform. So users can find value in your product faster than normal.
2. User Pilot
User Pilot is a nice tool for creating a personal onboarding experience for a large number of users without writing a single code. One major downside of using User Pilot for your onboarding is that it isn’t compatible with mobile phones.
3. Appcues
With Appcues, you can create and test personalized onboarding. It also has different onboarding templates – with images, example videos, and expert advice – you can choose from. According to reviews, Appcues lacks tutorial videos for setting up onboarding flows with the app.
4. Stonly
Stonly is nice for building a simplified and easy onboarding process. It’s nice for user onboarding with interactive walkthroughs and tooltips. Some users online have complained about its high pricing fee and lack of advanced features.
5. WalkMe
WalkMe is a platform for crafting onboarding experiences. The WalkMe’s user onboarding solution consists of three main guiding elements: WalkThrus, SmartTips, and ShoutOuts. Although some reviews online have stated that they don’t have internal tracking and analytics.
Create the best user onboarding experiences with Faqprime
Faqprime has all the tools you need to create a great customer onboarding experience. From creating a welcome message, product tours, progress bar, checklist, and more. Its set of tools ensures you create an onboarding experience with all key UI/UX patterns. More so, with its software, you can personalize the onboarding UX experience, meeting users’ unique needs and wants, which is an important aspect of making users reach their “aha moment.”
FAQs
1. What is the first-time user experience on a website?
Visiting a product, application, or service for the first time is considered the first-time user experience. This first impression the user experiences determines how they interact with the product.
2. What is the end user onboarding process?
A successful user onboarding is a continuous process of actively guiding users to discover new value as they use a product over time.
3. What is the onboarding screen in UI design?
An onboarding screen usually has a welcome message, typically consisting of quick walkthroughs, tooltips, or other UI elements.
4. What is the difference between first-time user experience and onboarding?
User onboarding is the process of showing users how your product can help them achieve their goals. Most importantly, learning how it works. User experience (UX) refers to any interaction the user has with a product.
5. What is the difference between UI and UX?
User interface (UI) is the interactivity, look, and feel of a product screen or web page, while user experience (UX) is the user’s overall experience with the product.
