onboarding

A temporary message anchored to a control that teaches what it does, often chained into a numbered sequence across a screen.

A full width introduction shown on first entry to a feature, listing what is new or what to set up, with a way to skip it for good.

The screen a container shows when it holds nothing, naming the absence and offering the action that ends it.

A one-time announcement pointing at something newly added, shown in place next to the feature and dismissed for good once acknowledged.

Everything shown only on the very first open, from a welcome sequence to seeded sample content, and never shown to that person again.

Replacing a sign-up form at the front door with a first useful action, so the reader experiences value before being asked for anything.

Letting someone use a product and accumulate state anonymously, and asking for an account only when that state needs to survive the session.

A one or two question survey placed inside the product at the moment being asked about, answered in place rather than on a separate page.

A persistent list of setup tasks with completion state and a progress meter, kept available so the reader can return to unfinished steps.

A short sequence of pointers layered over a live interface, each naming one control, advanced by the reader and skippable at any point.

Explaining why access is needed in the product's own dialog first, and only firing the operating system prompt once the reader has said yes to that.

Collecting profile details a few at a time across separate visits, instead of demanding the whole record in one long form at registration.

Simplifying a control as the same person uses it more, dropping the label once the icon has been learned and restoring it after a long absence.

An in-product request to rate or review, usually timed to a moment of success and often filtered so only positive responses reach the public store.

A strip pinned to the top of a mobile web page urging the reader to open or install the native app instead, with an install or open action.

The first-run screen a feature shows before any data exists, written to teach the feature rather than to report emptiness.

A self-playing loop an idle screen falls into to demonstrate itself, inherited from arcade cabinets and reused by kiosks and product demos.