6 Inspiring Interactive Walkthroughs To Improve Your Onboarding

Successfully onboarding your users is fine art. As we’ll see from these 5 examples of interactive walkthroughs, engaging your users from the start is essential for driving user activation.

You’ll be able to take some of the techniques used in these examples and use them in your onboarding.

TL;DR

  • Interactive walkthroughs are on-screen tutorials that use interactive in-app guidance to educate users on how to use a product, new features, or a new platform.
  • Product tours are a series of modals or tooltips that show you the different aspects of web apps. Despite their popularity, product tours don’t work very well when it comes to activating your new users.
  • Product walkthroughs are beneficial because they improve user retention by personalizing user onboarding. They also result in higher user engagement with their simplicity and effectiveness.
  • Here are five businesses that offer their customers top-notch walkthrough experiences:
  • Rocketbots guides new users to their aha moment with a simple yet effective combination of contextual tooltips and an onboarding checklist.
  • Salesfare’s interactive walkthrough explains the benefits of the product. But it also shows new users how easy it is to use by having them do it themselves.
  • Demio uses a demo environment so users can fully play around with the product and see the main features.
  • Tallyfy attempts to lead new users to its aha moment (creating and organizing tasks for team members) literally minutes within signing up with easy-to-follow educational messages.
  • Trello uses a sign-up flow to understand the user persona and implement the right onboarding for them.
  • To create effective product walkthroughs, you need to decide on your product’s aha moment and funnel your new users toward it.
  • To measure the effectiveness of your product walkthroughs, add custom events and track their completion. You can also trigger an in-app survey once users complete your walkthroughs.
  • Simplify walkthrough creation with walkthrough software. Userpilot is a good choice if you want to create personalized experiences for different segments, collect in-app customer feedback, and create versatile walkthroughs. Book a demo and try it out yourself.

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What is an interactive walkthrough?

Interactive walkthroughs are on-screen tutorials that use in-app guidance, contextual tooltips, and other in-app onboarding UI/UX components to teach end users how to use a product, a recently introduced feature or a new platform.

Interactive walkthroughs guide users as they progress through their user journey helping them adopt new features and the key components of your product/service.

Guided walkthroughs provide a more personalized experience that accelerates time-to-value and guides users to achieve their “aha!” moment faster.

Interactive walkthroughs vs product tours

One of the most common forms of user onboarding you’ll come across is the product tour.
A product tour is essentially a series of modals or tooltips that show you the different aspects of the web app.

Despite their popularity, product tours don’t work very well when it comes to activating your new users. This is because they effectively dump a lot of information in one go. Most users won’t have the attention span or memory to retain it and will end up becoming even more confused.

Not only that, but simply showing us around a SaaS product that we can see for ourselves is a little pointless. It would be like going to a car showroom, choosing a car you liked, and then having the salesman point out where the steering wheel is.

Sure, that’s kind of useful, but most of us could probably have figured that out for ourselves.
Interactive walkthroughs encourage the user to interact (clues in the name!) with the web app. They learn by doing.

This would be like going to the showroom, choosing a car, and taking it for a test drive. When buying a car, taking it for a test drive would be more likely to seal the deal. The same can be said for your SaaS product. The more your new user engages with it as part of their onboarding, the more likely they are to reach activation.

To summarize, product tours aren’t very effective at onboarding your new users. Instead, you need to create interactive walkthroughs!

Why use an interactive walkthrough?

Among the most popular advantages of interactive walkthroughs are the following:

  • Personalized onboarding: Walkthroughs can be tailored to the role, customer segment, or other user categories. As a result, product walkthroughs aid users meet their needs and become active users of a product or service.
  • Faster product adoption: Instead of struggling to figure things out on their own, exiting the app to ask someone else, or combing through the help center to locate what they need, new clients can run a walkthrough. With a tutorial, they can begin utilizing a new tool right away, increasing user adoption.
  • Higher user engagement: Interactive walkthroughs can enhance the user experience by giving users an easy method to learn about a product or service.
  • Improve user retention: When users learn how to use your product with minimum effort, they are more likely to continue with you after the free trial ends.

 

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Examples of the best interactive walkthroughs for user onboarding

Building a good walkthrough can be challenging. You run the risk of losing the user if you make it too long. If you keep it brief, people might not learn enough about your product to adequately use your features. Too dull? Gone. Too showy? Distracted.

Here are five businesses that offer their customers top-notch walkthrough experiences.

Example 1: Rocketbots’ interactive walkthrough for new users

Rocketbots is a messaging platform that enables users to connect all of their inboxes in one app.
When the user first signs up to Rocketbots, they are greeted with this screen:

Rocketbots sign up process.

Rocketbots sign up process.

This welcome screen prompts them to take their first action. In this case, the first action is setting up a “space”. This is crucial to the running of the app, so Rocketbots makes sure you do this.

The user then is taken to the dashboard. There’s quite a lot going on here, but fortunately, Rocketbots provides a handy onboarding checklist.

Rocketbots onboarding checklist.

Rocketbots onboarding checklist.

The new user onboarding checklist contains a couple of key events that Rocketbots wants new users to complete.

First of all, they are shown a quick tutorial so that they know their way around messages.

The aha moment for Rocketbots, however, is realizing you can add practically any messaging service. The interactive walkthrough takes users to the relevant page and then points them to the button they need to press to add a service.

Feature discovery with contextual tooltips.

Feature discovery with contextual tooltips.

Rather than simply showing users the product, Rocketbots’ interactive walkthrough leads them to the aha moment.

Adding this interactive walkthrough to the product’s digital transformation efforts, doubled Rocketbots’ activation rate from 15% to 30%!

Example 2: Salesflare’s product walkthrough

Salesflare is a CRM enterprise software that automates most of the work involved with keeping your contacts up to date.

CRMs can be complicated, but the strength of Salesflare is their simplicity. That’s the aha moment it tries to funnel you towards with its interactive walkthrough.

It starts by asking the new users to take the product walkthrough.

Salesflare welcome screen.

Salesflare welcome screen.

Giving users the choice works well, as it means those who prefer to find their own way around won’t have to sit through a tour and risk switching off.

Once users start the tour, they are introduced to some of the key components of Salesflare.

Salesflare introduces its key features.

Salesflare introduces its key features.

As users progress through the app, an interactive walkthrough explains the benefits of Salesflare. But it also shows them how easy it is to use by pushing users to do it themselves.

Interactive walkthrough explaining Salesflare's benefits.

Interactive walkthrough explaining Salesflare’s benefits.

Once the user finishes the interactive guide, they are prompted to connect different services and web apps.

A modal asking users to connect different services and web apps.

A modal asking users to connect different services and web apps.

This is a good way of ending the walkthrough as it comes right as you experience the aha moment. And connecting these services is a good activation metric for Salesflare.

Example 3: Demio’s product tour and walkthrough

Demio is a webinar hosting service, designed to make it even easier to share your webinars with the world.

When you first sign in to Demio, you actually receive a product tour. This isn’t interactive and doesn’t actually onboard you all that much. As mentioned earlier in the article, product tours aren’t very effective when it comes to user onboarding, and it’s a shame that Demio doesn’t start with its interactive walkthrough because it is brilliant.

So when you enter the product, there is a webinar set up for you to join.

Demio's demo environment.

Demio’s demo environment.

When you join the room, a Demio employee explains via a video that this is an example of the kind of webinar you can host.

After a brief introduction, she hands the reins over to you. You are now in charge of this fake webinar. You can share your webcam, or even use the slides that Demio has added for you.

Demio's fake webinar.

Demio’s fake webinar.

There are also fake attendees who chat in the box at the side.

This is a great way of trying out the different features that Demio offers, and getting to grips with hosting your own webinar.

Demio’s aha moment is realizing just how simple it is to host a webinar with them. By letting you experience and try the product with an interactive walkthrough, Demio makes sure you’re ready to activate.

Demio is a great example of how you can utilize walkthroughs and a product tour and create something entirely different from traditional training methods.

Example 4: Tallyfy’s contextual guidance with a checklist

Tallyfy is designed to streamline and automate business workflows. The aha moment for Tallyfy is realizing how simple and efficient it is to create and organize various tasks for your teams to complete.

Tallyfy, therefore, attempts to lead the new user to that conclusion almost instantly, literally minutes after signing up. After a modal presents the option to watch a brief introductory video, the user lands on this screen.

Tallyfy's interactive walkthrough.

Tallyfy’s interactive walkthrough.

There are two tasks already set up for them, as part of the onboarding workflow. Tallyfy essentially creates tasks inside the product that show users the product’s functionality.

Clicking on the first task as instructed opens it up and explains briefly what Tallyfy can help users to do. They can watch the video and then click “Complete”. Just like that, users learn about the product by completing their first task on Tallyfy, and it couldn’t have been easier.

Completing this first task hints at the aha moment. Tallyfy then drives new customers further with the second task.

Tallyfy educates new users about its product.

Tallyfy educates new users about its product.

This one is even more interactive. It educates customers about the benefits of Tallyfy and aims to encourage users to select an option from the drop-down menu. While the choice is fairly meaningless, it works because of its capacity to engage users as they streamline through product adoption.

Finally, once both onboarding tasks are complete, users are left with this CTA to create their own task.

Tallyfy prompts users to create their first task.

Tallyfy prompts users to create their first task.

Tallyfy uses the product itself to engage new users with an interactive walkthrough.

Example 5: Trello’s gamified walkthrough

Trello is a task management app that lets you organize your tasks and collaborate with other team members.

The difficulty that Trello has when it comes to onboarding is that there are so many different segments of its user base. It can be used by large teams wanting to separate their work, by freelancers to organize their current projects, or even by couples planning their wedding.

Trello’s aha moment is both the ease of use and the aforementioned versatility. By using an interactive walkthrough, Trello is able to show both of those qualities. When users first sign up, Trello asks them to name their first board. Right away it emphasizes the fact that you can create a board for literally anything.

Trello's welcome screen.

Trello’s welcome screen.

Next, it explains how Trello boards are structured in Lists. But of course, it doesn’t simply tell users, it empowers customers to create some of their own.

Trello uses a welcome survey to segment its customers.

Trello uses a welcome survey to segment its customers.

It then explains the concept of Cards, and how they form the Lists. It encourages users to create some, thus, driving feature adoption.

Trello introduces its feature in their welcome screen.

Trello introduces its feature in their welcome screen.

At this point, new users understand the hierarchy of a Trello board. They now know how it works. But not only that they also have been working to create their first board. The interactive walkthrough ends with a final tip. This drag-and-drop interface is one of Trello’s key selling points when it comes to ease of use.

Trello's CTA taking users to their pre-built board.

Trello’s CTA taking users to their pre-built board.

That CTA then takes the users to the Trello board that they just created. Trello uses a product walkthrough to guide new users through setting up their first board so they can get started right away.

Example 6: Asana’s product walkthrough helps users create their own project

Project management tool Asana helps teams organize, track, and manage their workload. Asana’s clear, simple interface characterizes the app with simple gamification elements. Asana’s aha moment is clear – it makes working with teams easier.

Asana’s product walkthrough starts by showing new users how to create their first task.

Asana uses hotspots to prompt action.

Asana uses hotspots to prompt action.

Then it simply walks users through the process with hotspots without aggravating the user onboarding.

Asana uses hotspots to prompt action.

Asana uses hotspots to prompt action.

The product walkthrough ends with a tooltip that shows users where they can find self-service help in the future, emphasizing user education.

Asana uses a tooltip to showcase its self-service modal.

Asana uses a tooltip to showcase its self-service modal.

This easy-to-follow interactive walkthrough is effective because it nudges the user to make use of valuable features without overloading them.

 

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What you need to know about interactive walkthroughs

Hopefully, by now you understand how powerful interactive guides and walkthroughs can be when it comes to onboarding and activating your users.
Here are the key things you need to remember:

  • Product tours are not very effective. This is because they simply dump a load of information at you, but don’t engage you in any way.
  • Your interactive walkthrough should focus on a few major activation events. It should lead up to the aha moment.
  • The best interactive guides and walkthroughs teach users about the product by having them use the product itself. Learning by doing is the best approach. Start building your interactive walkthrough from a welcome screen segmenting the users by role and Job-To-Be-Done, followed by a series of tooltips triggered by custom events.

 

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How do you create interactive walkthroughs?

Now, let’s learn about the creative process and how you can design an effective interactive walkthrough that will drive product adoption and user retention.

Decide on your product’s Aha moment

The key is to stick to two to three central events – the so-called key activation events. These will lead your users towards activation – the moment when they actually derive value from your product.

In other words, you don’t want to spread their attention around your product. You want them to focus on one key event, that will guide them toward activation. That key event is often referred to as the aha moment. This is the moment when a user understands the value that your product can provide.

Funnel your new users toward the Aha moment

Now, when you build your interactive walkthroughs, have that aha moment in mind. Then use your product to funnel your users towards it, making sure they take the steps required to experience it.

You can use different UI elements to create walkthroughs – tooltips, modals, hotspots, etc. You can either build your walkthroughs from scratch or be more efficient with your time and use walkthrough software.

Measure the effectiveness of your interactive walkthroughs

How do you know your user has actually completed the action required and is following the predefined steps for user activation? Through custom events or feature tags.

Simply use custom events to match the predefined steps in your walkthrough and see how many users progress through it.

Create custom events to measure the effectiveness of your walkthroughs.

Create custom events to measure the effectiveness of your walkthroughs.

Collect customer feedback and improve your walkthroughs

Creating the perfect walkthroughs that don’t bore customers and provide enough guidance for them to reach your product’s aha moment is a long run.

To improve your efforts, simply trigger an in-app survey once the walkthrough is over and ask your users about their experience. Remember to leave a space for them to add their concerns. Afterward, use this information to improve your walkthroughs accordingly.

Create in-app surveys to collect customer feedback.

Create in-app surveys to collect customer feedback.

Build interactive walkthroughs code-free with Userpilot

It’s super easy to build product walkthroughs with Userpilot. And you won’t need any code to do it! Here’s what Userpilot’s functionality offers.

Optimize product walkthroughs for each customer segment

Any successful walkthrough begins with working out which user segment the new customer belongs to.

Userpilot offers a wide range of metrics by which you can segment, including:

  • user attributes (plan, ID, email, signup date, web sessions, etc)
  • custom events and event attributes
  • NPS score
  • individual vs company account
  • location and app language
  • whether or not a user has interacted with a UI element or experience flow, or a specific feature (using feature tags).
Userpilot segmentation

Userpilot segmentation.

Create walkthroughs with different UI elements

Where Userpilot really excels is through the level of personalization it allows in your walkthroughs.

Whatever UI element you want to build, whether it’s a tooltip, a slider, a modal, or anything else, Userpilot will let you do it in just a few clicks.

Userpilot UI/UX patterns.

Userpilot UI/UX patterns.

All of these elements are interactive, and you can even combine them in branched sequences as well.

It’s very easy to customize the look and color of these elements to your brand too.

Collect customer feedback with user feedback features

You can create welcome screen micro surveys to collect customer data and segment them accordingly to deliver a personalized experience.

With Userpilot, you can also trigger in-app surveys once new users complete their interactive walkthrough and experience the aha moment to see how they feel about your product.

Create and customize in-app surveys code-free with Userpilot.

Create and customize in-app surveys code-free with Userpilot.

You can customize your surveys how you wish: add videos or long forms, change the design to match your brand, and much more.

Conclusion

We hope you found value in these examples of interactive walkthroughs and now will find inspiration to create one for your product.

If you’re looking for walkthrough software, we hope you’ll consider Userpilot. It offers a diverse range of features for a very competitive price.

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