App Onboarding – 4 Best Practices You Should Know

Do you know? 80% of downloaded apps are used only once before finally getting deleted. Businesses and developers spend lots of hours and dollars on pushing users to somehow download their app but not enough to onboard those precious users. The most successful apps out there already realise that and make sure to create an engaging onboarding experience for the first-time users.

Also referred to as walkthroughs, the purpose of onboarding is to introduce the basic and advanced functionalities of an app – Simply put, a demo of what the app does and showcasing its unique propositions and key features. This becomes all the more important for gesture-driven apps. Done right, onboarding increases the likelihood of app adoption.

According to a recent survey conducted by Localytics, implementing a robust onboarding process improved the retention rates by 50%. Another survey by Kahuna reveals that LTV of a user with the right onboarding experience is up to 500% higher than a user with no onboarding.

Exceptional onboarding sets the pace for further engagement. But what exactly makes a perfect onboarding experience? Here are 5 best practices you should know about:

1. Remove Friction from Registration

Picture this - The user opens your app for the first time and a rather long sign-up form pops up. Most likely, your user would leave the app then and there. Sign-ups are tricky and can lead to a significant drop-off in app usage. But isn’t sign up a necessary evil? Of course, it is. But as a business, you must do away with all the unnecessary details and ask only for the essential information – Optimise your registration process and make it as simple as possible. Choose an online app maker that lets you create customised sign-up forms for your app.

2. Put Your Best Foot Forward

Think of onboarding as going on your first date. If you are not setting the first impression right, chances are thin that users would click their way to your app again. The key to getting the first impression is rather simple. Acquaint the user with the app’s overall flow, the functionality of icons, gestures and swipe actions, convey the unique propositions and give them at least one good reason to keep using your app.

3. Empathize with Your Users

One simple reason why most developers choose to ignore the onboarding part is that they assume if it’s obvious to them, it must be obvious for the users as well. The fact is, no matter how tech savvy your first-time users are, they need a little hand-holding before they figure out how to go about using your app.

4. Don’t Clutter the Coach Screens

Developers are rather hasty while designing coach screens for onboarding new users. They try to pack the most in the least number of screens. The end result – It gets all noisy, distracting the user from the key message, eventually turning him off. Keep it simple – focus on one concept per screen. Better yet, try to make it an interactive experience.

As a developer you need to understand that some of your users might be smarter than others. Make sure you give such users the option to skip the onboarding tutorial at any point if they want to go straight into the app. And lastly, always listen to the users. Deploy their feedback to improve your onboarding experience on an ongoing basis. Use a mobile app builder that features an integrated feedback form. By adopting these best practices on onboarding, you can turn your first-time users into regular patrons.

I am a mobile enthusiast, passionate about helping individuals and businesses in building, marketing and monetising mobile apps. Having an extensive 10+ years’ experience across multiple verticals.