You’ve downloaded a new app. The description sounded great, the features seemed useful, and the reviews were decent. You excitedly open the app for the first time, and immediately, you realize this is not even close to what you were expecting. You go through the process of creating an account, but when you try to complete a few tasks, it’s hard to figure out what to do, and help is nowhere to be found. You give the app a few more tries, but a few days later, you give up and find a different app to use instead.
By some accounts, at least 80 percent of apps are abandoned within a month of being downloaded. While there are several reasons that apps are only used for a short time — for instance, location-specific apps that are only useful while one is on vacation — the most common reason that users quickly abandon apps is a poor onboarding experience.
Onboarding, in application terms, is the process of converting a first-time user into a regular user. When a user opens your app for the first time, what is the experience that they have? As it turns out, the first time that someone opens and tries to use your app is the most important use. If the experience isn’t what they are expecting, if the app is too difficult to use, or they can’t figure out how the app will benefit them, then they aren’t likely to try again. If that happens, then all the hard work you did to get customers to download the app will have been for nothing.
For that reason, it’s vital that you and your mobile app development company design your app to offer a stellar user experience from the very first time that it’s opened. You can do that by avoiding a few common stumbling blocks.
5 Common Onboarding Mistakes
In most cases, a poor onboarding experience comes down to at least one — usually several — of the following factors.
Complex registration process. Users are turned off when they must input a great deal of information to use an app. In most cases, all you need is an email address and password, so skip the long registration forms in favor of a “speed bump” approach that only asks for necessary information. Including a social login option can speed the process, but don’t make it the only option. Some users are wary of connecting their social accounts to a new app, and will leave if that’s the only way they can use the app.
- No “WOW” moment. New users need to see the value in your app from the moment they open it. You don’t have the luxury of time here. Sure, the more they use the app, the more they can discover its value and the benefit that it must their lives. But you don’t have days or weeks for users to explore the app. You have a few minutes, so you need to wow them and show them your value. Don’t get caught up in features, tutorials, or other stuff right now: Give them a wow moment. Show them what the app can do first, then move on to the other stuff.
- Lack of tutorials. Many app developers make the mistake of believing that their apps are so intuitive and easy to use, that even the most novice user can figure it out. This is not true. You absolutely need to explain the app’s functions and explain how it works. Even if it’s just simple animations — and you include an option to skip — you must hold users’ hands the first time out. Keep the content simple, and focus on one point per content page to avoid overwhelming people.
- No call to action. Once the user has gone through the registration process, and viewed the tutorials, what happens? Are they left to their own devices? This is your chance to show your stuff, so include a call to action that gets them using the app right away. For instance, if you’re a hotel app, invite users to search for their first hotel, walking them through the process.
- Onboarding ends after the first use. Keeping users engaged requires you to continue the onboarding process over time. Invite users to act every time they open the app; for example, LinkedIn does this by encouraging users to update or add to their information on every visit. Not only does this keep the initial registration process simple, but it keeps users engaged with the app and allows them to keep showcasing features.
How you welcome and onboard users to your app can have a profound effect on user retention and the ongoing growth of your app. By focusing on user experience from the minute the app is opened for the first time, you can prevent the dismal retention numbers that plague so many apps, and improve your performance.
