suede-onboarding

Limit the checklist to 3-7 items ordered by value, starting with quick wins that build momentum. Each item should be a real value action rather than a settings toggle, with progress indication and a dismiss option so users are never trapped.

Compare what retained users do that churned users do not, then pick the earliest action that correlates with future engagement. Examples include creating a first project in project management tools or completing a first transaction in marketplaces.

Tooltips suit contextual feature discovery, tours work for complex UI but should stay at 3-5 steps and be dismissable, and wizards fit products requiring structured setup. Combining approaches and testing variations usually outperforms any single pattern.

An empty state should explain what the area is for, show what it looks like with data, and present one clear primary action to add the first item. Optionally pre-populate with example data to avoid blank canvas paralysis.

Do not use it for signup form or registration optimization, which belongs to suede-signup, or for lifecycle email sequences and paywall prompts, which belong to suede-emails and suede-paywalls. It covers only post-signup activation and first-run experience.