# Onboarding Flows

**Published by:** [Elizabeth Laraki](https://paragraph.com/@lillib/)
**Published on:** 2023-09-21
**URL:** https://paragraph.com/@lillib/onboarding-flows

## Content

Onboarding onto new services should be super easy. But most product teams build long, complicated flows that drop new users. I regularly coach founders on how to do this better. Here are 5 tips to create onboarding flows that actually work: — 1/ Keep it short + set expectations Clearly communicate how many steps are in your onboarding flow. Target no more than 5 steps. Common ways to show the number of steps in a flow include:Progress barsNumbered stepsStep 1 of N— 2/ Show progress Show people where they are in the flow. How far have they come/How far do they have to go? Keep it simple. These should just orient people and keep them motivated to complete the onboarding.— 3/ Provide one clear way to proceed Ask for only one action at a time. Do not bury steps inside of steps. Keep the ‘next’ button disabled until the action is complete.— 4/ Provide a consistent way to exit Nobody wants to feel locked into an onboarding flow. Front load the most important information. Build a consistent ‘ejection seat’ for every step of the flow. Common patterns are an X in the upper right corner or a “Skip” link. Clearly communicate if onboarding is mandatory to interact with your product.— 5/ Be concise Generally it’s easy to cut ~50% of text from the first versions of onboarding flows. User attention and space are limited. Do not over-explain things like:Usage terms for each settingCaveats to selectionsImplications of optionsYou can use things like hover states or “i” icons to help users understand trickier options. — Caveat: If you aren’t sure if you need an onboarding flow, skip it. You only need an onboarding flow if your product:Is complexIs a completely new paradigmRequires specific selections before a user can meaningfully interact with your product e.g., Setting access controls for your health data, Choosing what language to learn in Duolingo.— Your goal is to quickly set people up to use your app. These 5 tips will help you design clear, concise onboarding flows that work:Keep it short + set expectationsShow progressProvide one clear way to proceedProvide a consistent way to exitBe conciseFor more content on design for founders, follow @elizlaraki

## Publication Information

- [Elizabeth Laraki](https://paragraph.com/@lillib/): Publication homepage
- [All Posts](https://paragraph.com/@lillib/): More posts from this publication
- [RSS Feed](https://api.paragraph.com/blogs/rss/@lillib): Subscribe to updates