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Every minute, thousands of people download new apps to their phones—but here's what most app developers don't want to admit: the majority of those users will never make it past the first few screens. Building a mobile app is one thing; keeping people engaged long enough to see its value is something else entirely. That's where your onboarding flow comes in, and getting it right can be the difference between a thriving app and one that gets deleted faster than you can say "user retention".
We've worked with hundreds of apps over the years, from simple productivity tools to complex social platforms, and there's one pattern we see time and again. The apps that succeed aren't necessarily the ones with the most features or the flashiest designs—they're the ones that understand how to guide new users through those critical first moments. App abandonment rates are brutal; most apps lose 80% of their users within the first three days. But don't let that scare you off—it just means there's a huge opportunity for those who get onboarding right.
The best onboarding flows feel like a helpful friend showing you around, not a pushy salesperson trying to impress you with every feature at once
This guide will walk you through everything we've learned about creating onboarding experiences that actually work. We'll cover the psychology behind why users abandon apps, how to build flows that feel natural rather than forced, and the testing methods that separate successful apps from the ones gathering digital dust. Most importantly, we'll show you how to avoid the common mistakes that kill user engagement before it even starts.
Understanding App Abandonment—When Users Leave Before You Want Them To
App abandonment happens when someone downloads your app, opens it once or twice, then never touches it again. The numbers here are pretty brutal—most apps lose around 80% of their users within the first three days. That's not a typo; it really is that high across nearly every category of mobile app.
What makes this even more frustrating is that these people already showed interest in your app. They searched for it, read the description, looked at the screenshots, and decided to download it. Then something went wrong in those first few minutes of using it.
The Two Types of App Abandonment
There's immediate abandonment—where users open your app and close it within seconds—and gradual abandonment, where they use it a few times over several days before giving up completely. Both hurt, but immediate abandonment is often the most preventable because it usually comes down to confusing onboarding or unclear value.
Users abandon apps for loads of reasons: the app crashes on startup, the sign-up process takes too long, they can't figure out what to do next, or they simply don't understand what value the app provides. Sometimes the app works perfectly fine but doesn't match what they expected from the app store listing.
Why This Matters More Than You Think
Every abandoned user represents money down the drain—you've paid to acquire them through marketing or app store optimisation, but you're getting no return on that investment. Worse still, they might leave negative reviews before disappearing, making it harder to attract new users.
The good news? Most abandonment happens during onboarding, which means it's fixable. By understanding exactly when and why users leave, you can redesign those first few screens to keep more people engaged and turn downloads into active users.
The Psychology Behind First Impressions—Why Those Opening Seconds Matter Most
Your brain makes judgements about things in milliseconds. That's not me being dramatic—it's actual science. When someone opens your mobile app for the first time, their brain has already started forming opinions before they've even worked out what button to tap first. This snap judgement happens whether we like it or not, and it plays a massive role in app abandonment rates.
Think about how you feel when you open an app and you're immediately hit with five different pop-ups asking for permissions, notifications, and your email address. Annoying, right? Your users feel exactly the same way. That overwhelming first experience triggers what psychologists call cognitive overload—basically, your brain saying "this is too much work" and looking for the exit.
The Trust Factor Starts Immediately
Trust doesn't build over time with mobile apps like it does with relationships. Users need to feel confident about your app within seconds, or they'll delete it and move on to something else. A clean, simple first screen tells users "we know what we're doing here"—whilst a cluttered, confusing interface suggests the opposite.
Show users one clear action they can take on your opening screen. Multiple options create decision paralysis, which leads straight to app abandonment.
Making Users Feel Smart, Not Stupid
Nobody wants to feel confused or lost, especially when they're trying something new. Your onboarding should make users feel clever for choosing your app, not frustrated because they can't work out how to use it. Small wins early on—like successfully completing a simple task—release dopamine in the brain, which makes people want to keep going. Miss this opportunity and you've lost them before they've seen what your app can actually do.
Building Your Onboarding Strategy—Planning Before You Start Creating
Right, let's get one thing straight from the start—you cannot wing your onboarding strategy. I've seen too many apps fail because someone thought they could just throw together a few screens and call it done. That approach is like building a house without blueprints; it might stand up, but it won't be pretty.
Before you even think about wireframes or fancy animations, you need to answer three fundamental questions. What does your user want to achieve? What's stopping them from getting there? And how can you remove those barriers without making things more complicated?
Start with Your User's Goals
Your onboarding isn't about showing off every feature you've built—it's about getting users to their first moment of value as quickly as possible. This means understanding what success looks like from their perspective, not yours.
Think about it this way: someone downloads your fitness app because they want to track their workouts, not because they want to learn about your premium subscription tiers. Lead with what they came for.
Map Out the Critical Path
Once you know where users want to go, identify the absolute minimum steps needed to get them there. Everything else can wait. Here's what should guide your planning:
- What information do you absolutely need to collect upfront?
- Which permissions are required for core functionality versus nice-to-have features?
- What setup steps can be delayed until after the user sees value?
- How will you handle users who want to skip parts of the process?
Remember, every additional step you add increases the chance someone will give up. Be ruthless about what makes the cut—your completion rates will thank you for it.
Creating Smooth User Flows—Making Each Step Feel Natural and Easy
After years of building mobile apps, I can tell you that most app abandonment happens because users get stuck or confused somewhere in the flow. They open your app, ready to give it a try, and then—boom—they hit a wall they can't figure out how to climb over.
Think about it from your user's perspective. They've just downloaded your mobile app and they want to start using it right away. They don't want to fill out twenty form fields or watch a five-minute tutorial video. They want to feel like they're making progress towards their goal with every tap.
Keep Each Step Simple
The best user flows break complex processes into tiny, manageable chunks. Instead of asking for someone's full profile information on one screen, spread it across three or four screens. Yes, this means more screens, but each one feels easier to complete. Users get that little dopamine hit of progress with each step forward.
I've learned that people will abandon your mobile app faster than you can say "user retention" if they feel overwhelmed. One form field per screen works better than you might expect—it feels almost too simple when you're designing it, but users love it.
The moment a user has to think about what to do next is the moment you risk losing them forever
Make Progress Visible
Progress bars, step indicators, and completion percentages aren't just pretty design elements—they're psychological tools that keep people moving forward. When users can see they're halfway through setup, they're much more likely to finish than if they have no idea how many steps remain.
The key is making each step feel natural and obvious. Users should never have to guess what comes next or wonder if they're doing something wrong. When you get this right, reducing app abandonment becomes much easier because people actually complete your onboarding process instead of giving up halfway through.
Personalisation Without Overwhelm—Showing Users What They Actually Want to See
Here's the thing about personalisation—everyone talks about it like it's the holy grail of app development, but most people get it completely wrong. They think personalisation means asking users twenty questions about their favourite colour and what they had for breakfast. That's not personalisation; that's an interrogation!
Real personalisation starts small and builds gradually. When someone opens your app for the first time, you know practically nothing about them—and that's fine. Start with one or two simple questions that directly relate to what your app does. If you're building a fitness app, ask about their main goal. If it's a news app, maybe ask about their interests. But keep it to the bare minimum.
Start with Behaviour, Not Surveys
The smartest apps I've worked on learn more from what users do than what they say. Watch which buttons they tap, which screens they spend time on, and which features they ignore completely. This behavioural data tells you far more about their preferences than any survey ever could.
After a week of usage, you'll have enough information to start showing more relevant content. Someone who always skips your video tutorials probably doesn't want to see another one on day eight. Someone who spends ages reading product descriptions might appreciate more detailed information.
The Progressive Personalisation Approach
Think of personalisation as a conversation that develops over time rather than a form they need to fill out immediately. Each interaction teaches you something new, and you can gradually refine what you show them. This approach feels natural rather than invasive, and users are much more likely to stick around when they feel like the app is learning alongside them rather than demanding answers upfront.
Testing and Measuring Success—How to Know If Your Onboarding Actually Works
Here's the thing about onboarding—you can spend weeks perfecting what you think is brilliant, only to discover that users are still leaving your mobile app faster than you can say "welcome screen." That's why testing isn't optional; it's the difference between guessing and knowing whether your onboarding reduces app abandonment.
Start with the basics: track your completion rates. How many people who start your onboarding actually finish it? If you're losing half your users on step two, that tells you exactly where to focus your attention. But don't stop there—look at time spent on each screen, tap patterns, and where people get stuck. These metrics paint a picture of what's working and what isn't.
What Numbers Actually Matter
User retention is your north star here. Check how many people return to your app after one day, then seven days, then thirty days. A smooth onboarding should improve these numbers significantly. You should also measure feature adoption—are users actually engaging with the key features you introduced during onboarding?
Run A/B tests on individual onboarding screens rather than testing the entire flow at once. This way, you can pinpoint exactly which changes improve user retention without getting overwhelmed by too many variables.
Beyond the Numbers
Qualitative feedback matters just as much as quantitative data. Set up simple feedback prompts at the end of onboarding or use session recordings to watch real users navigate your flow. Sometimes a confused tap or a long pause tells you more than any metric could.
Testing never really stops—what works today might not work tomorrow as your app evolves and your user base grows. Regular testing keeps your onboarding sharp and your abandonment rates low.
Common Onboarding Mistakes—What We've Learned from Apps That Failed
After eight years of building apps, I've seen plenty of onboarding flows that looked great on paper but completely missed the mark with real users. The most common mistake? Trying to show off every single feature during those first few minutes. I get it—you're proud of what you've built and want users to see everything your app can do. But here's the thing: people don't want a grand tour when they first open your app; they want to accomplish something quickly and feel good about it.
Too Much Information, Too Soon
One app we worked on had a seven-screen tutorial that explained every button, menu, and setting before users could even see the main interface. The abandonment rate was brutal—over 80% of people left before completing the onboarding. Users don't have the patience for lengthy explanations when they haven't experienced any value yet. They're thinking "show me, don't tell me" and we were doing the complete opposite.
Asking for Everything Upfront
Another big mistake is demanding too much personal information before users understand why they should share it. I've seen apps ask for location access, camera permissions, contacts, and notification settings all within the first 30 seconds. That's overwhelming and frankly a bit creepy. Users need to trust your app first, and trust builds gradually through positive experiences—not through permission requests.
The apps that succeed keep their onboarding lean and focused. They get users to that first "aha moment" as quickly as possible, then gradually introduce features and ask for permissions only when they're actually needed. Sometimes the best onboarding is barely noticeable because it feels so natural.
Conclusion
After working with hundreds of apps over the years, I can tell you that getting your onboarding right is one of the most important things you can do to keep users around. It's not just about making a good first impression—though that matters too—it's about setting up your entire relationship with users from day one.
The data doesn't lie: most people will decide whether to keep or delete your mobile app within the first few minutes of using it. That's a scary thought, but it's also an opportunity. When you create an onboarding flow that actually helps people understand your app's value, you're giving yourself the best possible chance to reduce app abandonment and build lasting user retention.
I've seen apps go from terrible retention rates to industry-leading numbers just by fixing their onboarding. The difference between success and failure often comes down to whether you've made it easy for people to get started, shown them what's in it for them, and avoided overwhelming them with too much information too quickly.
The best onboarding flows feel invisible—users don't even notice they're being guided through a process because everything feels natural and helpful. That's what you should aim for. Not a lengthy tutorial or a series of confusing screens, but a smooth journey that gets people to their first moment of success as quickly as possible.
Your onboarding isn't finished when you launch it. Keep testing, measuring, and improving based on real user behaviour. The apps that win are the ones that never stop making it easier for new users to discover why they should stick around.
