If you’re trying to get new customers up and running without scaring them off in the first five minutes, you’re in the right place. This guide is for product folks, designers, or really anyone who wants to build an onboarding flow that actually helps people, instead of just ticking a box. We’ll walk through how to do this using Flowvella, a tool for building onboarding flows and guided product tours. You’ll get honest advice about what works, what doesn’t, and where you can skip the bells and whistles.
Why Onboarding Still Matters (Yes, Even Now)
Here’s the deal: most onboarding sucks. It’s either a condescending slideshow, a wall of text, or a maze of pop-ups that nobody reads. But when it’s done right, onboarding helps people get value from your product faster, which means more stickiness and fewer angry support tickets.
Flowvella makes it easier to build these flows, but it won’t magically fix a boring experience. Good onboarding is about showing, not telling, and getting out of the way when you’re not needed.
Step 1: Get Clear on What New Customers Actually Need
Before you even open Flowvella, stop and ask: “What is the one thing someone must do to get value from our product?”
If you’re not sure, talk to a few real users. Watch how they struggle with your app. You might be surprised at what trips them up (hint: it’s rarely what you think).
Don’t: - Dump every feature into onboarding. You’ll just overwhelm people. - Assume users read every word. They don’t.
Do: - Focus on the “aha!” moment—the smallest thing that makes them say, “Oh, that’s why this is useful.” - Map out a basic journey from signup to first success. Keep it short.
Step 2: Sketch Out Your Flow Before Touching Any Tool
A lot of people skip this and regret it later. Use pen and paper, a whiteboard, or whatever’s handy. List each step you want to guide the user through.
Example for a fictional task app: 1. Welcome message 2. Create first task 3. Mark task as done 4. See progress dashboard
Don’t make it longer than it needs to be. If you’re over five steps, you’re probably trying to do too much.
Pro Tip:
Limit yourself to one key action per screen. If you need more, you might be cramming your onboarding with too many details.
Step 3: Build the Flow in Flowvella
Now, fire up Flowvella and log in. The interface is straightforward, but here’s what matters:
a. Set Up a New Flow
- Click “New Flow” and give it a name you’ll recognize later.
- Choose your starting trigger (usually “After Signup” or “First Login”).
b. Add Steps (Don’t Overthink It)
- Each step is basically a screen or tooltip.
- Use Flowvella’s templates if you’re in a hurry, but don’t be afraid to start from scratch.
- For each step, add:
- A clear headline (not “Welcome to Our Platform!”—be specific)
- One action you want the user to take (“Create your first campaign”)
- Short, plain instructions (a sentence or two, max)
- A skip or “remind me later” option—nobody likes being trapped.
c. Pick the Right Step Type
Flowvella supports a few formats: - Modal: Good for welcome messages or big moments. - Tooltip: Best for pointing out buttons or features. - Slideout/Sidebar: For secondary info. Use sparingly.
What works: - Tooltips that point to real UI elements. - Modals for brief, celebratory moments (“Nice job, you did X!”).
What to skip: - Long video intros. Nobody watches them. - Sidebars stuffed with FAQs. That’s what help docs are for.
d. Wire Up the Actions
- Set up triggers for each step (e.g., “after clicking Create,” move to next step).
- Use Flowvella’s test mode to run through the flow yourself. If you get bored or confused, so will your users.
Step 4: Add Personal Touches (But Don’t Overdo It)
Personalization can help, but only if it’s real. Flowvella lets you use variables like the user’s name or company, but nobody’s impressed by “Welcome, John Doe!” plastered everywhere.
What helps: - Personalizing based on role or use case (e.g., “Since you’re a developer, let’s set up your API keys first.”) - Skipping irrelevant steps if you know the user has already done something.
What doesn’t: - Generic greetings. - Overly cheery copy that sounds like a chatbot.
Step 5: Test With Real Users—Not Just Your Team
Here’s where most flows fall apart. What makes sense to you probably won’t make sense to someone who’s never seen your product.
- Share the onboarding with a couple of new users (or even better, people who don’t work in tech).
- Watch them (in person or over Zoom) as they go through it. Don’t interrupt—just take notes.
- Where do they get stuck? Where do they click “skip”? Adjust your flow based on what you see, not what you think should happen.
Warning:
Don’t just test with your coworkers. They’re too polite (and too familiar with the product) to spot real problems.
Step 6: Measure What Matters, Ignore Vanity Metrics
Flowvella gives you analytics on completion rates, skips, and drop-offs for each step. Focus on these: - Where do users drop out? That’s usually where you’re confusing or annoying them. - Are they actually doing the key action? If not, rethink the copy or the flow.
What to ignore: - How many people clicked through every single step. If they’re just clicking “Next” to get rid of the onboarding, you’ve missed the point. - Time spent on onboarding. Shorter is almost always better.
Step 7: Keep It Updated (But Don’t Chase Every New Feature)
Your product will change. Your onboarding should too. But resist the urge to make onboarding a laundry list of every shiny new feature.
- Review the flow every few months. Is there a new “must-have” step? Did you add a feature that’s truly essential?
- Remove steps that aren’t pulling their weight.
- Don’t add steps just because marketing wants to highlight something.
Pro Tip:
If you’re constantly patching onboarding to cover bad UX elsewhere, fix the product instead. Onboarding shouldn’t be a crutch.
Common Pitfalls (and How to Dodge Them)
- Too much information: If you hear “That’s nice, but I just want to get started,” you’re doing too much.
- No opt-out: Always let people skip or dismiss onboarding. Forced flows breed resentment.
- No follow-up: If users bail halfway through, have a way to nudge them later (Flowvella supports reminder triggers).
- Ignoring mobile: If your product works on mobile, test your onboarding there too. It’s often an afterthought—and it shows.
Final Thoughts: Simple Wins, Fancy Loses
If you remember nothing else, remember this: onboarding is about helping people do one thing well, not dazzling them with animated slides. Flowvella is a solid tool for making this easier, but it can’t do the thinking for you.
Start small. Launch your flow. Watch real people. Iterate. Resist the urge to pile on more. You’ll be way ahead of most teams already.