Reflection: Onboarding of Different App Types
Onboarding always requires a balance between friction and value, but the right balance depends on context. In a social app like Beli, the core value lies in connections and shared content. To make the network feel alive, Beli forces users to join through invite, to bring in friends and state preferences early, even at the risk of losing many users. It’s a bet: better to have fewer, high-engagement users than many empty shells. But that kind of requirement trades acquisition volume for downstream engagement quality.
Conversely, productivity tools like Slack acknowledge that users will tolerate little friction before finding value. Slack lets you try messaging, channels, and integrations first, then layers in setup. That reduces drop-off and lets users self-discover value. Its onboarding feels more like guided exploration than a direct gate.
Finance may be the hardest terrain, with legal, trust, and identity considerations. Rocket Money allows limited exploration before requiring you to link your bank account, handing over sensitive data first, before delivering its real value. That’s a high-friction barrier, and many users bail, especially if they joined out of curiosity. Yet, if you cross it, the payoff is big: finance apps often monetize more per user. So the onboarding funnel must persuade, signal trust, and minimize surprises; hiding pricing until after data entry is dangerous. The cost of friction here is not just user drop-off, but reputational and regulatory risk.
Ultimately, onboarding should reflect the minimum barrier needed to reach the “first meaningful moment.” In social, that’s seeing friends’ picks; in Slack, sending a first message; in Rocket Money, seeing your financial snapshot. Ask too much before that moment, and you lose users; ask too little, and they stay shallow. The art lies in pushing just enough for value to hook.
