How to Create a User Onboarding Strategy: An Expert's Guide

Onboarding is where your product meets its users—and where they decide whether to stay. A great onboarding strategy is a guided tour showing users exactly how your product solves their problems while making them feel like they’re a natural pro at using it.

If you’re building your first strategy, the choices can feel endless. Should you roll out tutorials? Highlight features? Throw in some celebratory confetti for milestones? The secret lies in creating a journey that’s as functional as it is delightful. And, it’s a fine line to find.

This guide will take you through the essentials of creating a user onboarding strategy that works—practical steps, proven principles, and everything on that line.

User onboarding is the process of guiding new users to their first success with your product. It highlights key features, simplifies complex steps, and helps users achieve their goals quickly. 

A great onboarding strategy ensures users feel confident and supported from the start, making it easier for them to see the value your product offers.

User onboarding is more than just a first impression—it’s the foundation for engagement, retention, and long-term success.

• Keeps users hooked from day one: Onboarding walks new users through your product, showing them exactly how it solves their problems. First impressions count!

• Cuts down on churn: Confused users quit. Onboarding clears the confusion, giving users a reason to stay and explore.

• Fast-tracks their “aha!” moment: Help users connect the dots between their goals and your product’s value—and fast. The sooner they get it, the sooner they’ll love it.

• Makes your product easier to adopt: Good onboarding simplifies even the most feature-packed tool, making users feel like pros from the start.

• Turns users into advocates: Satisfied users stick around, share your product with others, and maybe even leave that five-star review you’ve been hoping for.

You want to guide users without overwhelming them. Give too much information, and they check out. Too little, and they’re left guessing. Let’s look at five actionable steps to help build an onboarding strategy that informs and engages without losing their attention. 

Do not let the responsibility for user onboarding fall through the cracks. Without ownership, your product’s onboarding will be an uninspired afterthought.

Teams assign accountability depending on their size and maturity. For early-stage startups, it might be one of the founders. For mid-stage teams, it could be a product manager, marketing team member, customer success rep, designer, or someone else. Later-stage teams may have a dedicated team.

Ideally, the same person or team works on all aspects of onboarding. This includes the first experience after signup and for new features or redesigns etc. This will ensure a consistent experience for users and better alignment with company objectives.

User behavior doesn’t just happen—it’s the result of motivation, ability, and triggers working together. BJ Fogg’s behavior model explains this perfectly:

• Motivation drives the user to achieve a goal

• Ability ensures they have the tools and knowledge to take action

• Triggers prompt them to act at the right moment

Mapping the user journey in onboarding means understanding how these elements interact at each step. 

Start by identifying what motivates your users. Is it solving a specific problem? Exploring new features? 

Next, ensure they can act—clear instructions, intuitive navigation, and the right resources are key. 

Finally, use triggers like prompts or notifications to guide them.

For example, if your onboarding goal is to get users to upload their first file:

1. Motivation: Highlight the benefits of having their files organized in one place.

2. Ability: Provide a one-click upload button with clear instructions.

3. Trigger: Use an in-app prompt like “Start uploading your files now!”

Getting to “aha” should be the goal of your user onboarding. This applies to both product onboarding and also feature or redesign onboarding.

The “aha” moment is the time when a user internalizes the value your product provides. It’s when they are ready to buy (if on a free trial) or deepen their relationship with the product (become a product ambassador/share with friends/give access to more data/etc.)

If you’re not sure what your “aha” moment is, start with a hypothesis. Ask yourself:

• What’s the core benefit of your product?

• Which feature do users love most?

• What excites your most loyal users?

Test your hypothesis with surveys or user interviews to validate it. Once identified, map out the steps users need to take to reach this moment. Then, refine the process by asking:

1. Is the path clear? Are unnecessary steps causing drop-offs? What’s the shortest route to that “aha”?

2. Do users know what to do next? Are the directions obvious? Do users have the motivation, ability, and triggers to move forward?

Answering these questions ensures two things. First, your product design removes barriers to success. Second, your onboarding flow actively guides users to their “aha” moment with clarity and purpose.

Effective onboarding doesn’t rely on a single channel—it uses a mix of tools to motivate, educate, and engage users. The three most common channels are emails, in-app messages, and product tours. 

• Emails are your follow-up champions. Use them for transactional updates (like signup confirmations) or to bring inactive users back into the fold. But remember, they’re out of context—users might read them anywhere. Stick to motivating them with benefits, not a laundry list of features.

• In-app messages hit users right where it matters—inside your product. These are perfect for introducing new features, sharing tips, or giving updates while users are already engaged. Keep them short, clear, and relevant to spark curiosity and exploration.

Product tours are like a guided walk-through of your product’s highlights. With well-placed tooltips or hotspots, you can nudge users toward key actions without overwhelming them. Focus on what helps them succeed, not what looks good for you.

Monika, VP Marketing at Zuora, recounts: “We’ve been trying multiple channels, including email and webinars, but they don’t provide the value that product tours do.”

This may require coordination between teams in your organisation. You could set up a regular “user education” meeting or group to build greater coherence. Start by setting out clear objectives for each channel; what is the goal and how does it relate to new user activation.

User onboarding isn’t a one-and-done task—it’s an ongoing process. If you’re waiting six months to revisit it, you’re already falling behind.

Start by defining what success looks like. Do you want users to complete a specific action, reach their “aha” moment, or engage with a key feature? Once you have clear goals, map your onboarding flow. Identify the moments where users need help, motivation, or direction.

But don’t let perfection hold you back. Build a simple first version and launch it. Then, analyze the results—where do users hesitate? Where do they drop off? Use data, feedback, and user behavior to fine-tune your process.

Onboarding best practices bridge the gap between theory and action. Instead of reinventing the wheel, these practices offer a structured approach to designing experiences that work.

Personalized onboarding makes users feel seen and understood. It tailors the onboarding process to someone’s needs, goals, or preferences instead of offering a generic experience.

Take the example of FullStory. During onboarding, they ask questions like where you work, your industry, and the websites where their tool will be installed. This information helps them customize the experience from the start, ensuring the setup process feels relevant and aligned with the user’s goals.

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Lumosity applies a similar technique. Before a user even enters an email address, they’re asked to answer a few questions. Lumosity creates a personalized training program, showing users exercises and games that apply specifically to what the user said they wanted to see. 

Start by defining clear metrics to evaluate success. Look for data points like:

• Completion rates: Are users making it through your onboarding flow?

• Time to first value: How quickly do users reach their “aha” moment?

• Drop-off points: Where do users lose interest or get stuck?

Once you have a baseline, test your onboarding flow. Use A/B testing to experiment with different formats, steps, or messaging. For example, test whether a tooltip or a product tour drives better engagement. Gather feedback through surveys or in-app prompts to understand user pain points.

With user onboarding tools like Chameleon, you can easily track user interactions and engagement during onboarding. The dashboard provides actionable insights into user behavior, helping you identify bottlenecks and optimize flows in real time. 

Plus, Chameleon's in-app feedback tools let you collect user opinions, so your onboarding process stays user-focused and effective.

One big mistake product teams make is trying to teach everything or hand-holding new users through every single obscure feature and aspect of the product. Don’t do this! Embrace self-discovery!

Users that are motivated will explore the product and figure out many things. Therefore it’s important to focus first on ensuring they understand the core value proposition to motivate them to explore.

Here’s how to apply these fundamentals effectively:

• Break onboarding into stages: Users don’t need to learn everything at once. Start with essential actions—like account setup or completing a task. Gradually introduce advanced features as they become familiar with your product.

• Make onboarding continuous: Onboarding shouldn’t stop after the first session. Use contextual prompts like tooltips or in-app messages to introduce new features when users are ready for them. For example, LinkedIn guides users to discover features like endorsements or groups only after they’ve built their profile.

• Prioritize relevance: Avoid overwhelming users with irrelevant information. Tailor the onboarding experience based on their behavior or goals to keep it meaningful and engaging.

• Focus on retention and growth: Retaining users means constantly showing them more value. Highlight how premium features or upgrades can enhance their experience. Tools like modals or interactive tours are great for educating users about features they might have missed.

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One of the hardest things about having great user onboarding is the framework you apply to ensure consistency and continual improvements.

This should consist of: 

• who (responsible people)

• when (cadence of experiments)

• why (clear metrics and goals)

• where (channels used)

• what (content)

• how (design style)

For more sophisticated teams this can contain more specific guidelines on how and how much to target each group of users.

User onboarding should grow with your product. A flexible framework for reiteration ensures your onboarding stays as dynamic as your product.

Here’s how to keep it evolving:

• Update onboarding with every product change: Added a new feature? Launched a redesign? Make sure your onboarding reflects those updates. Use contextual nudges, like modals or tooltips, to introduce users to what’s new without overwhelming them.

• Let user data lead the way: Use Chameleon to track where users engage—or get stuck. If everyone’s abandoning a flow halfway, that’s your cue to revisit and tweak it.

• Test like a scientist: Don’t guess what works—test it. A/B test onboarding flows or messages to see what gets the best results. Does a tooltip get users clicking faster than a walkthrough? Find out and optimize accordingly.

• Ask users what they need: Add in-app surveys or quick feedback forms to learn where users want more help. Then, act on what they tell you.

• Build with flexibility in mind: Products change and onboarding should too. Use modular designs that let you swap in new steps or remove irrelevant ones without breaking the entire flow.

Creating in-product guidance can be complex—but it doesn’t have to be. Platforms like Chameleon make it easy to build intuitive onboarding flows and interactive experiences right inside your product. With Chameleon, you can deploy tooltips, modals, product tours, and hotspots that guide users step-by-step, so they discover the features that matter most.

Want to see it in action? Try the interactive demo below!

User onboarding is about approaching your product with a philosophy that the more users learn and discover, the more value they will get from a product. A great onboarding strategy ensures users feel supported not just at the start but throughout their journey with your product.

With Chameleon, you can create onboarding experiences that adapt as your product evolves. From building product tours tailored to specific user needs to providing contextual guidance that keeps users engaged, Chameleon makes it easy to design flows that drive retention and growth.

If you’d like to learn what product tours you should be building based on your goals, our product specialists are here to help. Book a demo today or start exploring Chameleon for free to see how you can transform your onboarding process into a tool for lasting success.