App onboarding is critical for one simple reason: if users do not understand your app, they will not utilize it. The onboarding process is a user's initial impression of your software, and it boosts the probability of successful adoption when built appropriately.
When a user initially runs your app, the onboarding process promotes the value of your product and gives instructions that highlight important perks and features. A robust onboarding process is critical to the success of your app - in a case study, it’s been discovered that adding a decent onboarding process increased retention rates by 50%.
What is mobile app onboarding?
App onboarding is the process of transferring a new user from their first interaction with your app to a state of deep engagement. In other words, it's the time when you make an awesome first impression.
The main goal of mobile app onboarding is for users to fully grasp how your app works and quickly feel comfortable using it. Mobile app onboarding should be a pleasant experience for users, not a frustration-filled introduction.
As much as the onboarding process is very important to implement, the more important thing is implementing it in the right way possible. A boring, false designed onboarding screen can cause a decrease in usage and downloads of your app.
Why app onboarding is important?
As we mentioned at the beginning of the article, app onboarding is highly substantial to make users understand your app and start using it. This is what we call the 'onboarding process' - it promotes the value of your product, highlights important features, and provides subscription details to show what is the worth of your services.
An onboarding process is important to the success of your app as it makes it easier for new users to understand how your app works. Anything you add to your onboarding can have a massive effect on app usage. By implementing the right user onboarding, it’s possible to increase your app’s retention up to 50%. When considered a high retention rate is very hard to protect, onboarding gains more value.
Types of onboarding
Not all of the onboarding processes are the same. There are 3 types of onboarding that you can use for your app.
- Benefits: You can highlight the benefits of your app and show that on your onboarding pages. The aim of benefits-oriented onboarding is to increase conversion rates by showing users the key benefits of your app.
- Function: In this type of onboarding, the focus is more likely on the functions of your product. It may include instructions or demo videos to tell people how your app actually works. It’s a smooth way to make people engage in your app from the beginning.
- Progressive: In this way of onboarding, people are directed to a flow that is designed as providing new information in every step. The aim of this process is to make users take action and learn step by step.
Key strategies to make the best out of onboarding
A few key strategies to make the best out of app onboarding are:
-Use instructional text and images. This will help your user understand how to use your app. It's also beneficial to include images that highlight the value of your app, like what it can do for them or how it will make their life better.
-Promote the best features. If you have a feature that is not used often, you don't need to highlight it on the first screen. But if there's one thing you want users to know about your app, make sure they see it before they get too far into the process.
-Help users set up an account or log in with Facebook or Google+. You can give instructions on how to log in with these social media accounts so that they're ready to go once they're done with onboarding.
-Personalize their journey: It’s proven that users love specialized content provided just for themselves. Also, many popular apps use it as an effective tool for retention like Spotify. Try to collect related information about them to create a personalized journey for them.
Why shouldn't you overwhelm the app users?
You want to show off the features of your app, not overwhelm them with information. When you are designing an onboarding process for your app, you need to strike a balance between showing off features and giving users a chance to explore the interface. You want to make sure they know how to use the most important parts of your app before you start bombarding them with more information.
Always prioritize presenting your value in the onboarding process but not board them with lots of details. Users will be happy to see fruitful benefits, discounts, and reviews when they first open your app. Lots of texts, screens are strongly effective that they may give up on using your app or delete it at some point.
