Ever bought a gadget and skipped the manual to dive right in? That's the user behavior Mary Beth Rosson and John M. Carrol noticed at IBM in the '80s. Users crave immediate results, not exhaustive feature user manuals. They are ready to learn by trial and error.
Welcome to the realm of digital user onboarding experiences!
Users typically prioritize their immediate goals over exploring a product's full feature setNeil on Adobe Stock Photos
Perils of Asking Users to 'Read' or 'Watch' First!
Your Users Are Coming From Different Contexts and Expectations
Many product teams often hesitate to move away from frontloaded instructions, associating "number of clicks" or added structure with good user experience. This old-school approach overlooks the fact that while unnecessary user effort can lead to abandonment, effective guidance doesn't equate to zero effort. A well-designed onboarding experience requires meaningful effort, helping users understand how your products, services and technologies integrate into their lives.
Here are several tips to refine your onboarding experience beyond simply bombarding users with information.
David: Check out this impressive video editing tool! It could help us add some transition animations to our current prototype.
Tina: Alright, let's see this new video editing tool. Oh, a tutorial? I guess I'll watch it. But why does it cover everything from importing to exporting? I just want to add transitions. Ugh, I feel like I'm decoding a secret message rather than editing a video. Can't they just let me dive in without this marathon of information?
Sound familiar? Imagine facing a lengthy tutorial for a new video editing tool when all you need is to add basic transitions. Tailor user onboarding to meet diverse user needs. Provide context-based help, solutions, or value, rather than overwhelming users or customers with too much information upfront.
Frustrated user during unboxing: Seriously, why must they cram so much information into the manual? I just want to use my new gadget, not memorize a user guide!
Front-loaded instructions, a term coined by Krystal Higgins, author of "Better Onboarding," often overwhelm users. Given that memory is limited, expecting users to remember everything from the start is unrealistic. Allowing users to learn at their own pace and using strategies like scaffolding or spaced repetition can greatly enhance the user onboarding experience.
3. User Onboarding: Resource Drain
Imagine this scenario:
Team Member 1: Launching in China is a great move, but it's going to be a challenge. We need to customize everything for the Chinese market, which means a lot of time spent on market-specific content, visuals and directives.
Team Member 2: Not this process again! It's like starting over. Remember the effort for the UK market? Making it culturally relevant took a huge amount of time and effort.
Team Member 3: And it's more than just translating. We have to grasp the local nuances, preferences and design elements. Localizing for China is a completely different challenge.
Scaling user onboarding for different user groups requires significant resources. Repeatedly creating market-specific content, visuals and directives is effort-intensive. Adopting a tailored yet scalable approach is more efficient.
4. User Onboarding: Nothing Beyond Awareness
Frustrated User: Ugh, I've heard a lot about this new app, but what do I do after signing up? Simply listing all these features isn't helping me understand how to use them. It feels like getting a toolbox without any guidance on how to build something specific.
Raising awareness is relatively easy. However, effective onboarding should encourage actionable behavior change. While front-loaded instructions might create awareness, they often fall short in guiding users toward the desired actions.
5. User Onboarding: Deep Dives Can Drown
User: Opens software for the first time.
Software: Welcome to our amazing software! Read all the instructions, or just dive in!
User: Oh great, just what I needed... Clicks around randomly.
User: Feeling disheartened, I thought this was supposed to be user-friendly.
Introducing complex information without context can overwhelm users. It's akin to explaining a complicated board game — initial guidance is crucial to prevent frustration.
6. User Onboarding: Turnoff for User Groups
First-time User: Why are they bombarding me with all this information? I just wanted to try this out, not get overwhelmed with so much detail!
Explorer: I enjoy exploring, but this is too much. I'd prefer to gradually dive in, not be force-fed everything at once!
Active User: I'm familiar with this, but do I really need a tutorial every time? I just want to access what I need without going through a tutorial.
Power User: I've been using this for a long time; I don't need a reminder every time I log in. Let me choose what I want to learn and when!
Different user groups — first-time users, explorers, active users and power users — require varied information. Front-loaded instructions can overwhelm and alienate some of these groups due to information overload.
Embrace Guided, Contextual Interactions
Rather than instructing users to simply "Read," involve them actively in the process. User onboarding isn't just a one-off procedure; it's an ongoing journey. Motivate users to engage in activities that help them grasp the product's mechanics.
Keep in mind, user onboarding is a dynamic process involving a range of activities over time. Front-loaded content is just one element, not the entirety. Employ tutorials, videos and slideshows strategically as part of a holistic onboarding UX strategy.
In the realm of CX/UX transformation, prioritize actions over mere words or slideshows!
Himanshu Sharma is an experienced UX consultant and product designer with over a decade of experience working for brands like HSBC, IBM, Michelin and startups. He is passionate about designing user-centric products and runs a small consulting firm, www.himanshuuiux.com. Connect with Himanshu Sharma:
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