Thinking about building an interactive product demo, but not sure where to start? Maybe you’ve heard of Navattic, but you’re wary of spending hours fiddling with a new tool, only to end up frustrated. This guide is for you: marketers, product folks, founders—anyone who wants a real walkthrough, not just marketing fluff.
I’ll break down exactly how to get a working demo live with Navattic, what actually matters, and which “fancy features” you can skip. You’ll also get some honest takes on where Navattic shines, and where it can get a bit fiddly.
Step 1: Get Access and Set Up Your Navattic Account
First, you’ll need an account. Navattic isn’t free forever—they have a free trial, but expect to talk to sales if you want to go beyond basic use. Sign up, poke around the dashboard, and ignore the urge to try every feature right away.
- Pro tip: Don’t spend ages customizing your profile or reading docs. You can always circle back. The goal is to get a basic demo up and running.
Step 2: Decide What You Actually Want to Show
Before you build a single step in Navattic, figure out which parts of your product you want people to interact with. Overstuffing demos is a rookie mistake.
- Pick 1–3 flows: For example, “how to create a new project” or “invite a teammate.”
- Keep it short: 3–5 minutes of demo is plenty. Most folks won’t finish if it’s longer.
- Ignore the edge cases: Don’t stress about showing every possible feature. Highlight the “aha!” moments.
What works: Tight, focused demos that make the user do something simple and satisfying.
What doesn’t: Long, meandering tours that try to show off every button.
Step 3: Capture Your Product Screens
Here’s where Navattic starts to feel a bit different from regular video demos. You’re not recording a screencast—you’re capturing screenshots of your app, step by step, and Navattic turns those into clickable, interactive “slides.”
How to do it:
- Open your app in Chrome. Navattic’s Chrome extension is the easiest way to capture screens.
- Install the extension (there’s a prompt in the dashboard, or find it in the Chrome Web Store).
- Start a new capture session. Click through your app as if you’re a new user, pausing to capture each key screen.
- For each step:
- Click the Navattic extension and capture.
- Try to keep UI clean—close stray tabs, hide test data.
- Don’t worry about perfection; you can retake steps later.
What to ignore: Don’t obsess over pixel-perfect captures. You can blur sensitive info or recapture if you need to, but speed is more important than polish at this stage.
Step 4: Build the Demo Flow
Now you’ve got a bunch of screenshots, it’s time to stitch them into an actual demo.
In Navattic’s editor:
- Arrange your steps: Drag and drop your screens into the right order.
- Add clickable hotspots: These are the “next step” triggers—where you tell the user to click to move forward.
- Write copy for each step: Keep instructions short and clear. “Click ‘New Project’ to get started.” No need for essays.
- Test as you go: Click through your flow in preview mode. If it feels clunky, simplify.
Pro tips: - Don’t add text boxes or guidance to every single screen—only where the user might get stuck. - Navattic supports branching (if you want to show different paths), but skip this until you’ve got a basic linear demo working.
What works: Clear, obvious actions. The user should always know what to do next.
What doesn’t: Overcomplicating with too many options or instructions.
Step 5: Polish and Edit (But Don’t Overdo It)
Once your basic flow works, it’s tempting to “just tweak a few things.” Here’s where it pays to be ruthless.
- Blur or hide sensitive info: Use Navattic’s built-in blur tools for emails, customer data, etc.
- Fix typos and unclear instructions. Read your copy out loud—it should sound like something you’d say in person.
- Set up analytics if you care: Navattic can track clicks and drop-off, but don’t get lost in the numbers right away.
Don’t bother with: - Custom branding and CSS—unless your company insists, default Navattic styling is good enough to start. - Embedding videos or GIFs inside steps. Focus on making the demo work; bells and whistles can wait.
Step 6: Publish and Share
Happy with your demo? Time to get it in front of people.
- Publish in Navattic: This generates a shareable link. You can also get an embed code for your website.
- Test it live: Open the link in an incognito window or send it to a friend. Make sure nothing’s broken.
- Share it smartly:
- Add the link to your homepage or product page.
- Use it in sales emails or onboarding flows.
- Don’t spam it everywhere—watch where people actually engage.
What works: Putting the demo where real prospects will see it, not buried in a random help doc.
What doesn’t: Forcing everyone to watch the demo before they can sign up. Make it optional.
Step 7: Get Feedback and Iterate
Don’t assume you nailed it on the first try. Watch how people actually use your demo.
- Look for drop-off points: Where do people quit? Is your copy confusing? Are there too many steps?
- Ask a few real users for feedback: Not just your teammates. Prospects or new hires are ideal.
- Update the demo: Navattic makes it easy to swap out steps or edit instructions.
Warning: Don’t chase perfection. The goal is a demo that’s “good enough” to help people understand your product, not an Oscar-winning experience.
Honest Takes: What’s Worth Your Time (And What Isn’t)
- Navattic is best for: Short, self-serve demos on marketing sites or in sales. It’s not a full product simulator.
- Where it gets awkward: If your UI changes often, you’ll be recapturing screens a lot. Not fun.
- What to ignore: Overdoing customization. Most users care about clarity, not theme colors.
Got a complex product? Stick to one flow per demo. You can always make more later.
Wrap Up: Keep It Simple and Ship Early
Building an interactive demo in Navattic isn’t rocket science, but it’s easy to get bogged down in details. Focus on helping someone experience the “aha” moment in your product, not showing off every feature. Make it short, clear, and let real users guide your next tweaks.
You can always update your demo later. The important thing is to get something live, see what works, and improve from there.