There is a moment when you open a brand-new app or log in to a service for the first time where you don’t know this is going to work for you and you don’t really where anything is

And somewhere in the back of your mind, a little voice is already deciding: Is this worth my time?

I’ve studied over 200 onboarding flows across some of the most successful and not-so-successful digital products out there, and what I found were patterns, mistakes, and some really interesting insights that will change the way you think about onboarding UX.

Why Onboarding Matters

Well for starters, let's talk a little about what onboarding is and what it isn't. It's not the login screen (Authentication) or even the fields where you enter your account information (Account Setup). While these might be part of 'onboarding', a true 'onboarding flow' is the structured UX flow of screens, interactions, and prompts designed to introduce a user to a product or feature.

Onboarding is often an afterthought for many, but it's also a product’s first line of defense against the delete button. One of the biggest things people get wrong about onboarding is that it's not exclusive to first-time users or even the first time a user signs up or logs-in. It's a bit more nuanced than that, or at least a good onboarding flow should be more nuanced than that.

A bad onboarding experience can cause up to 80% of people to abandon an app before they even use it.

That’s like opening a restaurant and having 100 people show up but only 10 of them stay to try the food, the other 90 look at the menu and walk right back out. That’s not good. Especially when you’ve poured so much into building a great product and no one even gets to see it. And we all know how important first impressions are and how hard it is to win people back.

But products that get onboarding right? They can increase retention by up to 50% and create die-hard users who actually stick around.

So the big question is: What separates a winning onboarding flow from a failed one? And how can we design them better?

Turns out, I've' uncovered a formula and some of it might not be what you expect.

The Golden Rule of Onboarding

You can’t onboard someone you do not understand.

No amount of beautiful illustrations, perfectly laid out screens or tool tips will make up for not clearly understanding users.

That's because the key to getting someone "onboard" is being able to meet them where they are at and having a plan to get them where they are trying to go.

Onboarding isn’t just about showing off your product and its features—it’s about getting them to the result they care about.

And for that, you need to know who they are, and what they care about, and you need a strategy to get them to a result.

Developing an effective onboarding strategy

Good onboarding is all about strategy and most designers don't think much about it. They throw up a carousel of walkthrough screens and hope that users don't skip it. But if you want to do it right then here are the steps you need to take to figure out your onboarding strategy.

Step 1: Know thy user - Define Your User Types

The most successful products know that NOT every user is the same. Some might be:

• Power users who want advanced features fast
• Casual users who need hand-holding
• Skeptical users who need immediate proof of value
• Business case users
• Some might be motivated by rewards
• Some might be terrible with technology and have only ever used to used Facebook

So it’s really important that you do the research to understand who your ideal customer is.

And here’s the kicker you also need to understand who your product is NOT for.

📓 Example: Notion’s Onboarding Flow

Notion’s web app is a great example of this.

When you first sign up, it asks whether you want to use it for:

• A team
• Personal use
• School

This means you're self-identifying with the type of use case. Then, it asks you just a few questions about yourself using a dropdown with limited options.

I think in a lot of cases, this is better than just an empty form field, because it allows for a more tailored experience on the other end.

After selecting a few details, like:

• What kind of work you do (e.g., Product Management)
• Your team role
• Your primary use case (Wiki, Project Management, or Company Goals)

You're dropped into the workspace, with walkthrough tooltips to help guide you. This means you're not left alone to fumble through the experience.

💡 Takeaway: Trying to be everything for everyone rarely works so knowing who your product isn’t right for is a constraint that will really help you in the next step.

Step 2: Work backward - Define what success looks like for your users

The best apps recognize that different users and user types have different goals, motivations, and levels of experience, and that changes each step of their journey too.

For each type, you need to define what success looks like for them

• What’s the ultimate outcome they’re here for?
• What steps absolutely need to happen to get them there?
• What’s the simplest, most intuitive way to guide them through those steps? or to get them to their first “win”

📓 Example: Acorns Onboarding Flow

Acorns is a great example of this.

Since it’s a financial app, there are a lot of questions that need to be answered in order to classify the user correctly.

It starts with simple toggles that allow you to choose multiple answers—so the app knows how to categorize you.

The first critical step is linking your bank.

• This is a non-negotiable because, without it, you can’t see any results.
• They reassure users that it’s safe, encrypted, and secure.
• You can either auto-connect your bank or manually enter details.

Next, Acorns uses Plaid, a third-party service, for secure automatic linking. After logging into your bank and going through security checks (2FA, etc.), you reach success!

At this point, the app explains that it’s subscription-based, showing different pricing tiers (Personal, Family, etc.).

While this flow is quite extensive, it makes sense for a financial product. However, one thing I don’t love is that you can’t pause and finish later. I wish there was a notification upfront letting users know they’ll need to complete this in one sitting.

💡 Takeaway: If you don’t define success for your users, you won’t know when they’ve achieved it.

Step 3: Align Onboarding with Your Business Model & Strategy

This is the step that is most often overlooked by designers. Onboarding isn’t just about helping users understand the product—it also needs to align with how the business plans to make money and the business's long-term objectives. If onboarding is too aggressive in pushing monetization, users will bounce before they even understand the value. But if it’s too passive, they might never convert.

We’ve all been catfished into being really excited about an app only to be slammed face-first into a paywall before we even get a chance to see what it can do.

That’s why it’s critical to balance user experience with business objectives—whether that’s

• Driving subscriptions
• Increasing ad revenue
• Bolstering engagement
• Attracting investors

😳 Yes, sometimes, you need to have ads in your app and yes, you should be designing for them intentionally instead of randomly sticking them wherever they will fit into the UI.

📓 Example: VSCO’s Onboarding Flow (Not so great 👎🏽)

VSCO is an app I have mixed feelings about.

After signing up, you immediately hit a paywall.

• Because VSCO follows a premium business model, it does allow you to see a few features without paying.
• However, it’s unclear what’s free and what’s behind the paywall.
• I also had no idea I could explore the app before using it but all it let me do was see some very basic functions without telling me what's paid and what's not.

This means users end up clicking around aimlessly, not knowing what they’re getting into.

📓 Example: Fotor’s Onboarding Flow (Much better 👍🏽)

In contrast, Fotor (another photo editing app) does this well.

• Right from the start, it has a lovely onboarding modal that classifies the user.
• You select options like:
  • Your content creation experience
  • What you plan to use the app for (e.g., social media content)
  • How often you edit/create content

This personalizes the app experience right away.

Once inside, you can immediately see different features, templates, and editing options. Paid features are clearly marked with a diamond icon, so you’re never left guessing what’s free.

💡 Takeaway: The best onboarding isn’t about locking users in—it’s about showing them why they’d never want to leave

Step 4: Test, Tweak, and Optimize in Small Steps

If users drop off at a certain step, it doesn’t mean that everything is wrong. Don’t go redesigning it all—change one thing at a time and then measure it. Because it’s been my experience that small nudges can lead to big results.

• Reduce the number of clicks
• Change the copy
• Add a visual cue

💡 Takeaway: You don’t fix onboarding with panic and guesswork. You fix it by testing —one change at a time.

Finding The Best Examples of Onboarding Inspiration

After designing onboarding flows for years and studying these 200+ examples, I saw the same mistakes over and over again but before I get into those...

You might be curious how I was able to study all of these? Well, luckily I didn't have to download, install and create accounts on 200+ apps. I used my little secret weapon called Mobbin.

I just went to Mobbin and searched 'onboarding flows' and started analyzing them and you can too! It’s such an underrated tool for UX/UI designers, you can gain invaluable insights from looking at the screenflows and screencasts that they collect and curate and you can even bring them right into Figma.

Common Onboarding Mistakes to Avoid

Okay, now that we know what works, let’s talk about what doesn’t.

And these easily fixable mistakes are costing companies millions in lost users and revenue!

🚫 Mistake #1: The “Too Many Steps” Trap

If you’re asking for their full name, job title, favorite color, and your grandma’s maiden name—before you even let them see the product?

They’re not going to like that.

The best apps get users to their first win as fast as possible.

🚫 Mistake #2: The “Wall of Text” Problem

If your onboarding flow feels like a textbook, users will skip it.

Instead, use visual storytelling, quick tooltips, and real user testimonials to make it feel natural.

It's been my experience that storyboard-style flows are very engaging.

🚫 Mistake #3: The ‘No Escape Room’

It’s normal to feel like you want your users to understand every little thing about your product in order for them to get the full effect but if you force them through a 12-step program before letting them do anything?

Yeah, they are not going to like that.

Give users the option to skip if they want to skip and encourage them to explore on their own at the right time. Sometimes a 'choose your own journey' approach is what’s right for your type of user and sometimes more hand-holding is needed.

The key is flexibility—the best onboarding flows feel like a helpful guide, not and escape room you have to struggle your way out of.

🏆The Winning Formula and Three Key Elements that Work Really Well For Onboarding

So here is the actual user experience you want to aim for in terms of the interactions:

1. Personalized Onboarding → The “This is Just for Me” Effect

The best apps don’t treat every user the same.

💡 Takeaway: If your onboarding flow is one-size-fits-all… it’s can probably be improved.

2. Progressive Disclosure → The “Just-in-Time” Rule

Great onboarding follows the Just-in-Time Rule—users only get information when they actually need it.

I love using action-based triggers and conditionals for this and you could use something like Intercom to do this.

💡 Takeaway: Too much too soon is overwhelming. But not enough can make them feel lost

3. Emotional Engagement → The “Make It Feel Good” Factor

Apps that use micro-rewards, progress bars, and even subtle animations create an emotional connection with users—keeping them engaged, excited, and coming back.

It’s not just cute—it’s pure psychology. This tiny dopamine hit makes users feel good about using the app.

And it works.

💡 Takeaway: The best onboarding flows don’t just educate—they make users feel something.

Conclusion

So, after analyzing over 200 onboarding flows, here’s what I found:

✅ Personalization makes users feel seen.

✅ Progressive disclosure prevents overwhelm.

✅ Emotional engagement keeps users hooked.

✅ And the only real way to master onboarding?

👉 Know your users, define their goals, and test if you can get them there.

💬 Now tell me—what’s the WORST onboarding experience you’ve ever had? Drop it in the comments!

And if you want to see my huge collection of onboarding flows and screens cataloged and categorized by type like Walkthrough, Product Tour, Beacons etc. Then subscribe and follow for part 2!

I teach an affordable course all about product (UX/UI), business and strategy, so if you're interested in learning that sort of thing check it out.