Drive User Engagement and Retention with These 10 Onboarding Best Practices

Intro

Product onboarding is a critical phase in the user journey, where users get acquainted with a new product or service. It sets the tone for their overall experience and determines whether they will continue using the product or abandon it. To ensure a smooth and successful onboarding experience, here are ten essential steps to follow:

1. Understand Your Users

Before designing the onboarding process, it's crucial to understand your target audience. Conduct user research to understand their needs, preferences, and pain points. This knowledge will help you tailor the onboarding experience to meet their requirements.

2. Set Clear Goals

What do you want users to achieve during this phase? Whether completing a tutorial, setting up their profile, or understanding key features, clearly communicate the objectives to guide users through the process.

3. Keep It Simple

Simplicity is key when it comes to onboarding. Avoid overwhelming users with too much information or complex tasks. Break down the onboarding process into small, manageable steps that are easy to follow. Use visuals and concise instructions to guide users through each stage.

4. Provide Contextual Guidance

Contextual guidance is essential to help users understand the purpose and value of each step in the onboarding process. Use tooltips, on-screen prompts, and contextual help to provide relevant information at the right time. This will reduce confusion and improve user engagement.

5. Offer Interactive Tutorials

Interactive tutorials are a great way to engage users and teach them how to use your product effectively. Incorporate interactive elements such as guided tours, interactive walkthroughs, and tooltips to provide hands-on learning experiences. This will help users grasp the product's features and functionalities quickly.

6. Personalize the Experience

Personalization goes a long way in enhancing the onboarding experience. Collect user data during the registration process to customize the onboarding journey. Tailor the content, recommendations, and user interface based on their preferences to make them feel valued and engaged.

7. Provide On-Demand Support

Offer on-demand support options throughout the onboarding process. Include a knowledge base, FAQs, live chat, or email support to address users' questions or issues. Prompt and helpful support will build trust and confidence in your product.

8. Gamify the Experience

Gamification elements make the onboarding process more enjoyable and engaging. Incorporate challenges, achievements, and rewards to motivate users to complete each step. This gamified approach adds a fun element and encourages users to explore and learn more about your product.

9. Continuously Iterate and Improve

Onboarding is not a one-time task. Continuously gather user feedback and analyze onboarding metrics to identify areas for improvement. Make data-driven decisions to optimize the onboarding process and enhance the user experience.

10. Test and Iterate

Finally, test the onboarding process with real users and gather their feedback. Use this feedback to iterate and refine the onboarding experience. A well-tested and iterated onboarding process will increase user satisfaction and product adoption.

Wrapping up

Following these ten steps, you’ll create a seamless and engaging onboarding experience that sets your product up for success. Remember, a great onboarding experience helps users get started and keeps them coming back for more.

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My flexible pricing model

Working with traditional freelancer/agency pricing can get complicated. My pricing model is simpler.

Simply hire me by the month at a fixed cost.

Need to pause the work? That’s fine. Since there aren’t any long-term contracts, we can pick things up later when the time is right.

Schedule a consultation call to discuss my specific rates, go over any questions you have, and walk through the next steps.

Prefer email instead? Reach out to me at hello@timhaskins.design

A little about me

With deep roots in brand, design, and technology, I specialize in delivering best-in-class UX & UI. I've done this for hundreds of companies around the globe over the past 25 years.

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Client history

I've worked with many types of clients worldwide. From small startups all the way up to Nike, Adidas, Xerox, Williams-Sonoma, and Lowe's — to name a few.

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My purpose

Everything I do is centered around helping people live fuller lives — a driver for what gets me up each morning. That can take many shapes, such as pro-bono work for non-profits, mentoring other designers, or designing products that impact lives.

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Life-altering moment:

In 2015, I suffered a life-altering traumatic brain injury and lost my ability to do much of anything. Without the ability to fully comprehend language, living with constant vertigo and depression, and the loss of my creative problem-solving skills — my life was turned upside down.

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Fast-forward to today. I consider myself one of the lucky few who fully recovered from an injury like that. I have a deeper appreciation for life now; from mundane tasks to relationships to my craft — which shows in the quality of my work.

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My superpowers

Translating strategy into a marketable product, simplifying the complex, pinpointing a person's hidden pain, and breathing new life into outdated UIs.

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Additional facts:

I live in Portland, Oregon, once had a 30-person design agency for over a decade, launched my own SaaS products, and am raising 3 boys (the latter being the hardest but most rewarding!)

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FAQ

Do you have a team of people or is it just you?

When we work together, I will be the one designing your product and your sole point of contact.

My ideal client prefers working with an individual rather than an agency or team. They want someone experienced who focuses on their project and communicates directly with them — without the bureaucracy or cost of a large team.

From time to time, I'll bring in additional specialists to the project for unique deliverables like branding, illustration, animation, etc. In those cases, I will direct the creative and ensure it's on-brand and at the quality I'm known for.

What is your pricing model?

My pricing model is based on a monthly engagement rather than an hourly rate or a long-term project contract. My clients love this model because they don’t get nickel-and-dimed for changes or feel beholden to a woefully outdated contract.

As you’ve likely experienced, when building a product there are multiple changes, discoveries, and pivots that can occur. That requires a flexible pricing model that can ebb and flow with you.

Within my model, I offer four pricing tiers, starting at $1,500/month (USD). You choose from one of the monthly pricing tiers depending on the amount of work and types of deliverables needed in that given month.

Can you work within a fixed budget amount?

While my model is based on a monthly engagement to optimize my client’s budgets, I have made exceptions in the past. Some of my clients have had fixed budgets that they need to work within, and in certain cases, I can work within that structure. Let’s talk more about your situation and see if it will work.

How happy are your clients?

What tells me my clients are happy (and see value in my work) is that I have 100% client repeat rate — something I strive for — which is reflected in my approach, style, and work ethic.

This means that every client has come back a second time to continue our work together. They wouldn’t do that if they didn’t see value or weren’t happy.

How do you manage projects and communication?

I use a platform called ClickUp to manage and communicate project updates. It also hosts documentation, Gantt charts, and Kanban boards.

Slack is the primary communication tool for me and my clients, though I can potentially use other tools like Teams.

Often my clients have their own platforms, like Jira, Monday, or Trello. I’ve used those and many others and am happy to explore what it would look like for me to use your tools.

What do you deliver?

What I deliver can vary depending on your needs. The most common deliverables are flow diagrams, wireframes, and dev-ready Figma design files (including Design System documentation.)

Secondary deliverables include items such as interactive prototypes, animated UI concepts, custom icons, and audits/user research documentation.

Do you specialize in our industry?

Over the past 25 years, I have worked in dozens of industries versus specializing in just one. My ideal client values this because they want fresh ideas and someone thinks differently. They want their product to be unique and innovative, not follow the same tired strategies.

When we collaborate, I take a deep dive into your business and industry, understanding it thoroughly. This way, I can provide insights that significantly enhance your product's design and user experience.

We need designs yesterday — can you help us?

I hear this often and I totally get it. You have a real sense of urgency and could already be behind on your goals due to one factor or another.

As you’ll see, I can turn around designs very quickly and we can get some quick wins if need be. But to make a product that really stands out, one that meets your goals, and users love, takes time, thought, and research. And while I do have a thorough process for getting us there, my process is designed to be flexible for getting quick wins and long-term success.

Why wouldn’t we just hire a cheap designer from one of those freelancer sites?

Sure, you can hire a designer on platforms like Fiverr or Upwork, but they likely won’t meet your expectations and you’ll typically get what you pay for.

Some clients I've spoken to tried that route before working with me. They found that the design quality was not up to par, and the designers mainly followed instructions without offering innovative ideas. It’s a gamble.

My clients need someone who will deeply engage with their project, show enthusiasm for their product, and propose creative solutions, rather than simply executing tasks as instructed.