Onboarding talks

Onboarding is the part of a product experience that takes a new user from first contact to the point where they understand the product and get value from it. It can include sign-up, introductory tours, empty states that suggest a first action, sample content and gradual hints as features become relevant.

Onboarding matters because many people decide within their first sessions whether a product is worth their time. A good onboarding flow reduces effort, shows value early and builds the habits and motivation that keep people coming back. Poor onboarding, such as long forced tutorials or sign-up walls before any value, is a common reason users drop off.

The two talks here are “16 Design Patterns for User Engagement” by Nadya Direkova at GSummit in 2012 and “Beyond usability: Designing with persuasive patterns” by Anders Toxboe at GOTO in 2018. They are tagged with gamification, behavioral economics, design patterns, designing behaviors, intrinsic motivation and user engagement. Patterns such as guided tours, coachmarks and blank slates in the UI-Patterns.com library are common onboarding tools.