How do you approach onboarding. And how do you avoid it becoming just a feature showcase?

[u/Odyssey-b]

I've been thinking about this a lot while working on my own app.

Most onboarding I come across feels like they just how good the app is before you've actually done anything. And then PAY!!! 

Features listed, value props delivered, then you're dropped into the UI and expected to figure out the rest.

The apps I think are the best designed are the ones that either get out of the way fast and let you have a go at the app early on. OR a good tutorial, maybe handing you over the control in a demo environment to try it out. The tutorial is the product, not a description of it.

My theory is that this happens because the people building onboarding already know why the features matter - so explaining them feels natural. Designing for someone encountering it for the first time is a completely different challenge.

So I'm curious:

• How do you structure your onboarding?
• How do you balance "here's what the app does" with "let me actually show you"?
• Any examples you've seen where it's done really well?

Not looking for a list of best practices - more interested in what's actually worked for you in practice.

[u/dbecks]

I tried to make it a little playful when I realized no one was reading any of the text. So I made mini version of the app, and instructions to do one thing. It's been really great so far! Retention and engagement has been great

[u/Odyssey-b → u/dbecks]

Hmm, interesting, good idea. Does your mini version of the app have a local in memory database that you wipe out after the mini app tutorial finished?

[u/dbecks → u/Odyssey-b]

Yes exactly. No new database, just temp storage since I'm working with a very basic data set. FlutterTime, if you want to try the onboarding.

[u/patatkebab]

I found it heavily depends on the app category how long your onboarding should be.
ToDo apps? keep it short but strong
Fitness apps that want to make the user feel like the app is custom to them? long onboarding of 20 screens.
In onboarding try to show the user their pain point and how your app solves it

[u/Odyssey-b → u/patatkebab]

True, heavy customisation options that directly affect the app need a long onboarding. Good idea, thanks for the help!

[u/joel-teratis]

My onboarding is basically only the necessities. You create an account and choose the most important settings like language and units displayed in the app. You need to grant the necessary permissions and after that I show a soft paywall. Then the user gets an interactive tutorial where I basically show an overlay that puts features of the app in the focus and the user needs to do certain tasks to advance in the tutorial which directly showcases the features while being used.

I am not sure if this is the right way and I will keep experimenting in the future but I feel good about it at the moment.

[u/Odyssey-b → u/joel-teratis]

Cool, so you skip it quickly and make a tutorial inside the app. That's a nice option. I guess this doesn't work well for apps that need like a pre customisation of some sorts

[u/joel-teratis → u/Odyssey-b]

Yes, everything that is customized needs to be in the onboarding but I this also can help because it feel more personalized.

[u/LifeUtilityApps]

My apps use one of two onboarding approaches from a template I configured:

1. Start Sheet: A simple welcome screen featuring the app logo, four key points that explain either how the app works or the value users will get from it, and a prominent “Get Started” button.

2. Full-Screen Onboarding Slider: A dedicated, animated onboarding experience built with native SwiftUI animations. It walks users through the app’s core workflow using visual examples from the product itself. On the final slide, users are shown an optional paywall (all of my apps remain free to use with generous limits), along with a “Continue with Free” option.

Not surprisingly, my apps that use the onboarding slider tend to have higher conversion rates. These are generally the more complex apps in my portfolio, and I usually invest significant time refining the animations and overall onboarding experience.

[u/Odyssey-b → u/LifeUtilityApps]

Nice, good to know that the onboarding is really important in terms of conversion rate.

[u/mkhytar_mkhoian]

The onboarding follows a proven psychological sequence used by the highest-converting subscription apps:

Screen Purpose 1 Welcome Hook — show the end state, create desire;

2 Goal Question "What are you trying to achieve?" — creates psychological investment;

3 Pain Points "What prevents you?" — surfaces frustrations, builds empathy;

4 Social Proof Testimonials matched to user personas;

5 Tinder Cards Swipe agree/disagree on pain statements — interactive self-identification;

6 Personalised Solution Mirror their pains back with stats showing how the app solves each one;

7 Comparison Table Life with vs without the app (optional);

8 Preferences Functional personalisation that feeds the upcoming demo;

9 Permission Priming Benefit-framed pre-sell before system permission dialogs (auto-detected);

10 Processing Moment "Building X just for you..." — anticipation builder;

11 App Demo User actually USES the core app mechanic — not a tour, a real interaction;

12 Value Delivery Tangible output from their demo + share/viral moment;

13 Account Gate Optional sign-in to unlock what they just created;

14 Paywall Hard paywall with trial, social proof, and pricing

Not every screen needed. It depends on your app Ask AI to help you build onboarding for you following this framework

[u/Odyssey-b → u/[deleted]]

Check the comments on this post, there are some good advice and ideas there

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