User Onboarding Secrets from Today’s Fastest-Growing Mobile Apps
When 24% of apps are only used once,* you know how important it is to get your app’s onboarding flow juuuust right.
So how do you deliver an intuitive onboarding experience that educates new users on the essential mechanics of your app, sells them on its value, and gets them to experience its benefits as fast as possible?
Secret #1: Simplify
72% of users say completing the app onboarding process in less than a minute is an important factor in their decision to keep using an app.*
So create a great first impression — and boost retention — by making the user onboarding process as quick and easy as possible.
Only ask for essential personal details and permissions, and stick to the key features and UI elements that are absolutely necessary to help users experience the app’s value.
WhatsApp automatically detects SMS to simplify phone verification, so that users don’t have to leave the app to dig through their messages for a code to enter. This makes onboarding fast, provides an excellent new user experience, and makes it less likely that users will get distracted by something outside the app and forget to complete the onboarding flow.
Secret #2: Give the Option to Skip
Not everyone wants to be handheld through the onboarding process. Tech-savvy users in particular may want to dive right in and explore the app themselves, without sitting through the grand tour.
In fact, music video streaming app Vevo found that adding a skip option to their onboarding flow increased logins by nearly 10%, and the number of successful sign-ups jumped by almost 6%.*
Slack
Many apps that offer a skip option do so at the very beginning of the onboarding flow with a “Skip the tour” button. Slack’s onboarding ux gives users the option on every screen.
Secret #3: Use Permission Priming
82% of users say it’s somewhat to very important to know why an app is asking for information like device permissions, payment info, or personal details.* That’s more than 4 out of 5 mobile app users.
Letgo
Letgo focuses on streamlining the selling process and giving users a convenient way to message potential buyers and sellers. To convince new users to opt-in to critical permissions like camera access and message notifications, Letgo sets up a logical reason to opt-in: get a convenient alert as soon as someone expresses interest in buying your stuff.
Secret #4: Show Value Immediately
Every one of your users downloads your app for a reason. Your onboarding process needs to show that you’ll meet their expectations. Whether your onboarding flow is a product walkthrough, new user registration, or feature carousel, keep the focus on benefits, not features.
Venmo
Venmo immediately communicates its core value of quickly and conveniently sharing payments with friends, and offers powerful social proof, in one cleverly-designed welcome screen
.The very first thing new users see upon first-time app launch is a live feed of Venmo transactions. It’s a smart way to showcase all the varied uses for the app — and how popular it is.
Secret #5: Incentivize First Conversions
Another effective way to get people who download your app to keep using it is to offer them something valuable for completing simple onboarding tasks, whether it’s filling out a profile, choosing a paid subscription, or making a first purchase.
Incentives could be in-app currency or rewards points, a free shipping or promo code, or access to exclusive features or content.
UberEats
UberEats succeeds in the crowded delivery market because it knows what users want — fresh food, ASAP — and removes every friction point on the way to placing that first order.
After collecting essential details like user location, the app immediately shows new users restaurants that can deliver food within 30 minutes and displays a prominent $20 off coupon on multiple screens.
Secret #6: Preview App Content
One way to speed up the process of new users discovering your app’s core value? Let them jump right in and experience it before asking them to sign up or taking them on a product tour.
By letting users see what your app has to offer, they know what completing the onboarding or sign up process is worth to them.
Hotstar
Video streaming giant Hotstar previews popular content and lists membership benefits on the very first screen — and they feature a prominent free trial button.
Secret #7: Use Multiple Channels
Onboarding users doesn’t happen just inside your app. You need to engage new users on multiple channels to bring them back to your app and encourage them to explore.
Complementary welcome emails, push notifications, and in-app messages should work together to help users experience the app’s core value and nudge them to complete the onboarding process.
Just keep all your onboarding messages simple and direct with an obvious call-to-action.
Ixigo
To activate new users, Ixigo automatically sends an email within 10 minutes of signing up on the app. Their compelling subject line teasing a welcome gift sees an impressive 54% open rate.
The onboarding email features dynamic visuals and simple, flattering copy that treats signing up as an accomplishment. The entire email is focused on persuading the user to take one action: book their first flight.
Subject line: Emily, Welcome Aboard! You have unlocked ₹250 ixigo money!
Secret #8: Rules Are Made to be Broken
Users are unpredictable — and they’re not all the same.
Every user base and app vertical is different. As a smart mobile marketer, you understand the importance of continually A/B testing the onboarding experience to find what works for your users.
Musical.ly
Musical.ly is an app with an… let’s say inefficient user onboarding flow. And yet it’s crazy popular with its core demographic of kids and pre-teens: it boasts 60 million MAUs and was acquired in November 2017 for nearly $1 billion.*
Musical.ly asks for your birthday. Then your email address. Then your username. Then your first name. It should have users enter their name, age, and email address on one screen, then select a username and password on the next.
Next, users are dumped into a three-step captcha. To top it all off, there’s no progress bar so I have no idea how much more personal info I’m expected to give up before I even get to play with the app.
Turns out, quite a bit: I still have to opt in/out of notifications, sharing contacts, and connecting to Facebook before I finally get to the app itself.
Mobile App Success Starts with User Onboarding
Good onboarding requires the right mix of educating users on how to use your app, and selling them on the value you offer.
Want to know if you’re giving your new users the best onboarding experience? Learn how easy it is to successfully onboard and engage users with CleverTap.
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