All About New User Onboarding

Let’s Talk About Onboarding

Once upon a time, I was a marketer (don’t judge). SaaS startups were popping up like weeds and “growth hacking” was THE thing.

I quickly realized that despite having really compelling posts, content, and ads, we were hitting a wall with conversion. This wasn’t just happening in a single project or account, it was fairly common across the industry.

I started looking across accounts to see what the biggest differences were in accounts that were seeing positive growth and those that were struggling. The data was comparable all the way through the landing page… but what happened after they clicked through?!

Without any real knowledge of what good onboarding looked like, I was still able to identify that it was a problem.

I started asking some silly questions like:

• Why are you asking the user 10 questions before they get to the thing that convinced them to sign up?

• Why are you asking for a credit card number if you don’t have a paid version of the product?

• Wait, does your product not actually do anything you said it could do?!

Also, some not-so-silly questions like:

• Should we tell the user why you need this information?

• Is this the right order for the steps you want them to take?

• How can we get them to the cool part sooner?

Almost 15 years later I am still asking silly and not-so-silly questions about onboarding. In fact, I love new user onboarding so much that I regularly run through the process for new/interesting SaaS products.

I went back through the last 20 or so walkthroughs that I’ve done to identify what I would consider current best practices and also capture the common mistakes I see — even across really great products.

Fundamentals of Great Onboarding

1. Simplicity is Key

One recurring theme across successful SaaS onboarding experiences is simplicity. Products like Perplexity AI excel by keeping the initial user journey straightforward. They avoid overwhelming new users with too many features at once, instead leaning on a deep understanding of them to understand their intent and direct them on the most rewarding path.

Note: Using intent to personalize or streamline user onboarding can be risky, as you may segment users in irrelevant ways and actually fracture the onboarding experience. Start with one core flow that works for everyone and then break out different flows when you know which users crave a different path. Check out this episode of Humans of Martech for a neat conversation on the pitfalls of intent.

2. Immediate Value Delivery

Showcasing the product’s value upfront is essential. For instance, Opus Clips allows users to upload a video and see immediate results without even signing up. This approach hooks users by delivering instant value, encouraging them to explore further.

One of my favorite product leaders, Oji Udezue, has two concepts that are both clear and critical — I highly recommend you check these out.

1. The zone of benefit

2. Time to value

3. User-Centric Design

Products that prioritize user experience tend to perform better. Arc Browser and Linear stand out for their intuitive designs that guide users seamlessly through onboarding. These products focus on the user's needs and tailor the experience accordingly.

Linear also solves for this by giving users options. Used to right clicking for an action menu? It’s there. Prefer keyboard shortcut? Got those too. Lover of command bars? They’ve got you covered :)

4. Progressive Disclosure

Gradual introduction of features helps prevent user overwhelm. Typeform did a great job of staying focused on the main mission and not throwing all of the possibilities in my face. They use a subtle beacon after you set up your first form to guide you toward the things you might want to do next.

 Reclaim also does a really nice job of letting the user choose their starting point and making sure they add value in whichever path they choose

to take. This approach keeps the learning curve manageable while empowering users with advanced functionalities as they become more comfortable.

Let’s Get Tactical - Ideas and Best Practices

1. Onboarding Guides and Checklists

I’m a little on the fence about this one because it can be done in a helpful and intuitive way or in a confusing and frustrating way. A lot of the time, the details come down to how it’s designed, the steps you give the user, and the language you use. A few rules of thumb:

• Identify the shortest path to the user realizing the product's value and eliminate everything else, especially self—serving tasks or data collection.

• Organize the steps to build momentum for the user. Many companies still try to give users a tour of the entire product, introducing everything they could do. Instead, focus on one meaningful task and lean on your lifecycle engagement to direct them to the other pieces when they are most relevant. Even better if you can profile your users based on the task they want to do. Reclaim did a nice job of suggesting relevant habits based on my function/role.

• Set the right expectations by letting them know what they need to put into the product to get the most out of it. Ensure that what they need aligns them with what you’re giving them. For example, if I need a logo, Canva is not going to make me answer 5 questions about what kind of design I want to create. They are going to make sure that there’s a clear link to logo templates anywhere I might go to start my design. Superhuman is a really good example here as they want users to take more time getting set up and learning the product, so they let you know where you are at every step of the way.

2. Contextual Help, Starter Content, and Tooltips

Providing contextual help at the right moments can enhance user understanding. Linear’s use of tooltips and hover actions to explain features like keyboard shortcuts is highly effective. This method reduces friction by offering assistance exactly when and where it’s needed. Another great strategy is leveraging templates and placeholder content to direct the user and educate them on what is possible with the product. Coda is a complex product that has a number of templates to get users to see the immediate value of the product before learning all of the ins and outs. In fact, I’ve been using it for years and have barely scratched the surface when it comes to leveraging it to its full extent.

3. Product First, Account Later

Allowing users to start using the product immediately, with the option to create an account later, can reduce barriers to entry. Perplexity AI’s approach of letting users explore the product without logging in and only prompting for account creation when necessary is a great example of this tactic. This works if the user is creating something they may want to access again in the future and/or share with others.

The idea is that your product is so clear and intuitive that users can jump right in and actually have something worth saving and sharing (value) without needing to be guided.

4. Celebrate User Milestones

Recognize and celebrate user achievements during the onboarding process. This could be as simple as a confetti animation when a user completes a key action, but I really love it when I see this taken a bit further. While this isn’t an onboarding milestone, these weekly emails from Grammarly start as soon as you start using the product, and I love how they found a quantifiable way to communicate the value of a product that supports qualitative work (writing).

However you choose to approach it, ensure that these celebrations are meaningful to the user and not just self-serving. This triggers a neurological response in the user’s brain and increases their likelihood of continuing and/or returning. There are more neat psychological tricks you can integrate into your design here.

5. Feedback Loops

I actually love how Opus uses Canny.io to make their user requests and roadmap public and collaborative. I’ve been using the product for a while, and I still like to see what their users are requesting. It’s not just about what I need from them; it’s also about understanding their audience (content creators) on a deeper level. I suppose it’s a very meta approach to user research.

What Not to Do

While each of the examples I mentioned above had some really great elements to their onboarding experience, many of them had confusing steps or frustrating bugs as well. When it comes to successfully onboarding new users, some issues are more impactful than others. Here are some of the biggest (in a bad way) needle movers:

1. Overwhelming Users with Too Many Features at Once

   • Example: Beehive’s onboarding screen reset my inputs multiple times, which caused frustration and could easily lead users to abandon the setup process.

2. Lack of Immediate Value

   • Example: Opus Clips required multiple steps before the user could see any tangible benefit, which might deter users who are looking for instant results.

3. Poor Navigation and UI Confusion

   • Example: Arc Browser’s onboarding had confusing elements like color sliders and an unclear process for setting up accounts in different spaces.

4. Lack of Feedback During Processes

   • Example: Opus Clips didn’t provide clear feedback during the video processing phase, leaving users unsure if the process was working correctly.

5. Self-Serving Celebrations

   • Example: Opus Clips celebrated account creation with confetti, which felt self-serving rather than meaningful to the user.

   • Solution: Celebrate user achievements that are significant to them, such as completing a key task or reaching a milestone.