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What onboarding is really for
Onboarding is not a product tour. Its job is to help a new user reach their first real result. We call this the first moment of value.
For an invoicing tool, that might be sending a first invoice. For an analytics product, it might be seeing data from their own site. Everything in onboarding should move people toward that moment.
Write your first moment of value as one sentence. If your team can’t agree on it, fix that before you design any screens.
Find the shortest path to value
Map every step a new user takes today, from sign up to first result. Then ask which steps are truly needed right now.
Remove or delay steps
- Ask only for details you need to get started
- Move profile and team settings to later
- Offer sample data so users can explore before connecting their own
Order what remains
- Create the account
- Connect or add the one thing the product needs
- Complete the first key action
- Show the result clearly
Choose the right onboarding patterns
Different patterns suit different products. Most good onboarding combines two or three.
| Pattern | Works well for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Setup checklist | Products with a few required steps | Too many items feel like homework |
| Empty states | Screens with no data yet | Blank screens with no next step |
| Tooltips | Pointing out one important control | Long tours people skip |
| Sample data | Analytics and reporting tools | Users confusing it with real data |
Design helpful empty states
An empty screen is a chance to teach. Explain what will appear there and give one clear action.
<section class="empty-state" aria-labelledby="empty-title">
<h2 id="empty-title">No invoices yet</h2>
<p>Create your first invoice to see it here.</p>
<a href="/invoices/new" class="button">Create invoice</a>
</section>Measure and improve onboarding
Track how many new users reach the first moment of value, and how long it takes. Look at where people stop.
- Activation rate. The share of new users who reach the first result.
- Time to value. How long that takes after sign up.
- Drop off points. The steps where most people leave.
Change one step at a time, and compare results before and after. Talk to new users too. They will tell you what confused them.
Your onboarding also depends on how clear the rest of the product is. Read more in our SaaS Design articles.
Key takeaways
- Define your first moment of value before designing screens
- Remove or delay every step that isn’t needed to get there
- Use empty states and short checklists instead of long tours
- Measure activation and time to value, then improve one step at a time