5 ways to design an attractive onboarding for applications

An application is, among other things, an object of communication. It is part of a set of communication elements and an opportunity to extend the identity of your company or product. Through the different screens of the application, the colors, text fonts and backgrounds act as elements that reflect that identity. Clearly, one of the components of the identity is the brand. Although it is tempting to make recurrent and constant use of it, it is recommended to include it in the most appropriate places for this, such as introduction screens, login or user registration screens, or in the “About” section. In this way, you can ensure correct display of the identity without affecting navigation or the user experience. User experience is often underestimated. When we design a new technological product, some think that the most important thing is to jump to market as soon as possible. Presenting a specific functionality and trying for a “minimum viable” before investing more effort and money. This course of action is certainly entirely reasonable, as in the medium term, delaying the launch can be very costly, driven by the wait for the product to be completely finished and fully functional. However, this does not mean that we can afford a poor user experience or that our product is unsightly. On the contrary, it can be vital to know how users experience our application, as how they feel using it can mean whether the project goes ahead or notThey say that It's the first impression that counts. In the world of apps, that first impression is limited to two visual components: the launch icon and the splash screen, which will be displayed many times when opening the app. These elements will be seen first, before you start using the app. Don't underestimate their importance and give them the attention they deserve, it's the best way to get off to a good start. Now, taking all the elements, we have selected the different ways to achieve a nice design to incorporate into our final product, the app itself, so that the user experience is of a high level and therefore positively value what we are presenting.

1. A nice and simple visual design, which will be reflected in the onboarding

Your design doesn't need to have the latest visual effect dictated by trends, but It should be pleasant and consistent with the principles of visual design, such as harmony, balance, hierarchy, proportion, contrast or emphasis. And in each principle there are elements such as stroke, shape, text, and the color with which to create the composition. Our visual composition should help the user understand the application, make a good first impression and build trust. It should be clean and consistent with the brand's narrative.

2. Use an onboarding screen to showcase your unique value proposition

The onboarding screen appears when we open the application for the first time on our device. This introductory experience happens over three or four screens where we explain how the app solves a problem and adds value. Most users tend to skip these first screens quickly, so It is advisable to include only text that is easy to read and conveys the message clearly, if possible accompanied by a powerful image that draws attention and clearly explains the onboarding process of your app. An illustration or photograph can help you connect with the user, who will only have 3 or 5 seconds to “enter the application environment.”

3. Welcome and accompany the user in the onboarding of your app

Onboarding aims to be the ambassador of our brand on your smartphone, responsible for receiving the user and welcoming him with all possible comforts. When you get to the home screen, you'll find a welcome and a question about whether you need to take a guided tour to learn what the app is about. If the product is new and unique, make sure to walk the user through the entire onboarding process of your app. The goal is to provide a sense of success and accomplishment by understanding the concept of the application. Whether you decide to skip it, or if more questions arise than those answered in the introduction, it can be beneficial to design a FAQ screen.

4. Design the management of the micro-feedback

It is very valuable to know the user's opinion after using our application, especially if there is a service involved. In the user experience design we can simply add a simple question, not a long and tedious survey that scares the user. He micro-feedback It only seeks to collect a small but specific amount of information from users. For example, the Uber app (an app that offers a private transportation network) asks users to vote and comment on the driver immediately after using the service. Collecting this microdata from users, more related to the use of the service, can help you incorporate improvements in the next iteration and knowing if there is something that indicates that a functionality is working incorrectly will allow you to track it, solve it and satisfy users.

5. Design an attractive onboarding, but above all useful and instructive

Finally, remember that we not only create an onboarding to make our app more attractive or meet market requirements and trends, but in addition to that, We aim to improve the way the user interacts with the application, learning how to use it and gaining interest in it.