Users who reach a first success quickly tend to stay. Onboarding is the work of getting them there with as little friction as possible.
Define the first success
Decide the one thing a new user must do to see value, such as sending a first invoice or inviting a colleague. Shape everything around reaching it.
Reduce the friction
Small changes help a lot.
- Ask only for what you need at sign up
- Offer sample data so the screens are not empty
- Show a short checklist of next steps
- Send a helpful email on day one and day three
Watch where people stop
Look at where new users give up and fix that step first. A simple conversation with a few users often shows the problem faster than data.