{"id":2375,"date":"2022-02-01T08:28:51","date_gmt":"2022-02-01T08:28:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/contextual-onboarding-saas\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T22:47:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T22:47:43","slug":"contextual-onboarding-saas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/contextual-onboarding-saas\/","title":{"rendered":"Contextual Onboarding: What is it, and Why Should I Care?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">What is contextual <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/solutions\/user-onboarding-software\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">onboarding<\/a> and why is it important if you want to achieve product growth and user retention?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Today we&#8217;re going to tell you everything you need to know about contextual onboarding, why you need it, and how you can use it to grow your SaaS product.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">We\u2019ll also share some of the best <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/user-onboarding-examples\/\">user onboarding examples<\/a> along the way.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Let&#8217;s get started!<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>TL;DR<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Contextual onboarding is the process of introducing new users to the product features and showing the right things at the right time.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Unlike contextual onboarding, generic <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/user-onboarding-tools\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">onboarding<\/a> isn&#8217;t as effective as it doesn&#8217;t cater to different users and their needs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Contextual onboarding relies on two things: Triggers that are based on user behavior and custom events.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Contextual onboarding reduces the time to value as well as allows you to create personalized <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/saas-signup-flow\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">flows<\/a> and provide a great <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/solutions\/user-onboarding-software\/\">user onboarding<\/a> experience.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">To create a good contextual onboarding experience, you should scrap the introductory <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/interactive-walkthroughs-improve-onboarding\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">walkthroughs<\/a>, maximize the value of the <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/empty-state-time-to-value\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">empty states<\/a>, use onboarding checklists, segment customers to apply personalization later, and add interactivity to your entire onboarding process.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"poptin-embedded\" data-id=\"1d66c0f9f7f4d\"><\/div>\n<h2 id=\"bdhid\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 24px;\">What is contextual onboarding?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Contextual onboarding is making sure you show the right message to the right user at the right time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">In other words, contextual onboarding adapts to each individual user. Everyone will have their own <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/best-user-onboarding-experience\/\">onboarding experience<\/a> with your product.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">That might sound a little daunting. After all, you don\u2019t want to hand-craft an onboarding flow for every single user.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Fortunately, you can use triggers to customize the onboarding flow based on your user\u2019s in-app behavior.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">If, for example, a user starts using Feature B before Feature A, then they\u2019ll go through Feature B\u2019s onboarding flow first.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">The idea behind contextual onboarding is that the flow changes and reacts to each individual user. This makes it far more effective than a one-size-fits-all approach.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><!--ARCADE EMBED START--><\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: calc(58.93617021276596% + 41px); height: 0; width: 100%;\"><iframe style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; color-scheme: light;\" title=\"Experience Userpilot for User Onboarding\" src=\"https:\/\/sw11.userpilot.com\/DTTewl3dbjXoCMMg8gGY?embed&amp;embed_mobile=tab&amp;embed_desktop=inline&amp;show_copy_link=true\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><!--ARCADE EMBED END--><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"2vfki\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;\">Why you should avoid generic onboarding at all costs?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">The trouble with generic onboarding flows is that they don\u2019t cater to each user\u2019s needs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Consider an email marketing product, something like Mailchimp or Drip. Imagine if you signed up and were then presented with each major feature in turn.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\"><em>How to generate a sign-up form &gt; how to manage your list &gt; how to send emails.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">That might seem like a good onboarding flow, right? But imagine if you already had a sign-up form and a mailing list. You\u2019d want to skip to the emailing section.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Generic onboarding would mean sitting through tutorials and product tours that you don\u2019t need to sit through.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Contextual onboarding, on the other hand, would mean you could skip straight to the features you needed to use.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"610jk\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;\">What are the elements of contextual onboarding?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Contextual onboarding relies on two things: Triggers and custom events.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Triggers are based on a user\u2019s in-app behavior. Some examples include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Scrolling to a certain point on the page.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Clicking a button.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Activating a specific feature of your product.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Triggers enable you to adapt your onboarding to what the user is actually trying to achieve.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Custom events are what happens when a trigger is fired. Examples include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">A <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/how-to-create-tooltips\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tooltip<\/a> that draws attention to a button.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">A <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/ui-modal-examples\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">modal<\/a> that drives you to a new feature.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Redirecting you to a different page.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">As you can see, contextual onboarding is completely customizable. It enables you to create an interactive onboarding experience.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"6fq85\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 24px;\">Why contextual onboarding will take your product to the next level?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">The biggest problem that most companies face when it comes to onboarding is making sure that their users see it through to the end.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">It\u2019s far too easy for users to fall off halfway through your carefully crafted onboarding flow. Short attention spans, and other priorities \u2014 these are your enemies.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">With contextual onboarding, there\u2019s no danger of a user leaving before the end of the onboarding flow. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">In fact, there isn\u2019t really an end. Or a start. <\/span><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">You onboard your users as they start using your product. This is really important.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"fgs2j\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;\">Reduce the Time-to-value<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">The ideal product would have a time-to-value of zero. A user would sign up and instantly start seeing value from your product.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">They\u2019d be hooked. They\u2019d shout from the rooftops. They\u2019d probably even cry tears of joy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">But, as you probably already know, there\u2019s no way you can ever achieve a time-to-value of zero.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-17205 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Average-Time-to-Value-1024x597.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"597\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Average-Time-to-Value-1024x597.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Average-Time-to-Value-450x263.png 450w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Average-Time-to-Value-768x448.png 768w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Average-Time-to-Value.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">That means you need to aim for the shortest time possible. The quicker your users see value in your product, the more likely they are to stick around long-term. The longer it takes to see the value, the more chance a user has of leaving.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Making your user sit through <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/create-better-product-tours\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">product tours<\/a> and walkthroughs that don\u2019t apply to them? Well, that\u2019s adding more time to value. That\u2019s adding more friction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Contextual onboarding, however, enables your users to start using the product right away. Maybe they need a short introduction, sure, but otherwise, they\u2019re free to go and use your product.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">This means they\u2019ll start seeing value far sooner. It means they\u2019ll experience your product\u2019s Aha! Moment quicker. Essentially, it means they\u2019ll have a better time using your product.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"1odfl\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;\">Provide personalized experiences<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Personalization has quickly become the default. We expect marketing to be personalized to us. We expect a personal touch from customer support.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">For some reason, the product is yet to keep up.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">We\u2019re slowly starting to see personalization creep into the products we use.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Some products now ask you some questions when you sign up. Your answers are then used to personalize your experience.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">This is a step in the right direction, but it still places users into \u201csilos\u201d and forces them down a certain onboarding flow.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Contextual onboarding enables you to provide actual personalization to your product.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">The onboarding flow adapts and changes in response to your users\u2019 actual <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/user-behavior-analytics-software\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">in-app behavior<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">This gives your users the feeling that the product is genuinely helping them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Contextual onboarding is incredibly effective when it comes to providing value to your users. So how do you go about adding it to your product?<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"71qvk\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 24px;\">How to get started with contextual onboarding?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">There are several steps you can take to embrace contextual onboarding in your product.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"dj4tn\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;\">Scrap the introductory walkthrough<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Unless your product is about as complicated as a New York Times crossword, there\u2019s really no reason for having a long drawn-out tutorial when a user signs up.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Most users are savvy enough to click around and try things out. If your product looks scary and unusable, then that\u2019s probably an issue with your product, rather than your onboarding.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">As we\u2019ve already mentioned, a tutorial at the start adds more friction and means a longer time-to-value.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">The best step you can take, therefore, is to remove it altogether.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Ultimately, most users aren\u2019t going to pay much attention to it anyway. And even those who do won\u2019t remember everything you\u2019ve told them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Instead, let your users start exploring the product from the moment they sign in.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">This works really well for Airtable. You\u2019re able to sign up and start using the product in whichever way you choose.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Airtable includes a very subtle onboarding flow:<\/span><\/p>\n<figure class=\"image regular\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/contextual_onboarding_airtable1_313729d0fbb68046fe947c7bfe8a04f1_800.png 1x\" media=\"(max-width: 768px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/contextual_onboarding_airtable1_313729d0fbb68046fe947c7bfe8a04f1_800.png 1x\" media=\"(min-width: 769px)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/contextual_onboarding_airtable1_313729d0fbb68046fe947c7bfe8a04f1_800.png\" alt=\"airtable contextual onboarding flow\" \/><\/picture><\/span><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">It\u2019s so subtle we needed an arrow to point you in the right direction!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Each of those icons relates to a different Airtable feature. Clicking on them opens the onboarding flow for each one.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">This means new users can access the onboarding whenever they need a helping hand.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"1cuti\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;\">Make the most of empty states<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Empty states are often the first thing your users will see when they sign up for your product.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Generally, these are dashboards that would usually show certain data. Of course, this is the first time a user has logged in so that data will be non-existent.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">A lot of empty states are often, well, empty. But you can actually use them to onboard your users.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Instead of leaving them empty, include a message that briefly explains: a) what the user will normally see here, and b) how they can start filling this page with data.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">The message will often include a CTA, directing the user to the relevant feature.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Here\u2019s a perfect example from Airtable:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-17199 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/airtable-product-marketing-example-saas-empty-state-1024x600.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/airtable-product-marketing-example-saas-empty-state-1024x600.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/airtable-product-marketing-example-saas-empty-state-450x264.png 450w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/airtable-product-marketing-example-saas-empty-state-768x450.png 768w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/airtable-product-marketing-example-saas-empty-state-1536x900.png 1536w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/airtable-product-marketing-example-saas-empty-state-2048x1200.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">This is what you see when you first log in to the product.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">A quick explanation of what you can do with the product and then a CTA encouraging you to create your base.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">It\u2019s not complicated, but it\u2019s so much better than having an empty screen with no explanation.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"7plqn\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;\">Use onboarding checklists<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">That introductory walkthrough we asked you to scrap earlier on? It\u2019s time to repurpose it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">The information in that walkthrough is great. The problem was with the timing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Instead of having all the guidance at the start, you need to spread it out and have it appear at the right time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">So, when is the right time?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">To figure that out you need to think about the different areas of your product, and what your users need to know to get started with each one.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">This ensures that the user receives the <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/in-app-messaging\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">messaging<\/a> right as they need it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">You essentially have to predict how your users will interact with your product, and then make sure you\u2019re delivering the message at the right time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Another good way to encourage users to do things in the right order is to use <a href=\"\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/user-onboarding-checklist-tips\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">checklists<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Here\u2019s a good one from <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/\">Userpilot<\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-16523 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/userpilot-checklist.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"437\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">This checklist focuses on the key actions a user needs to take to start seeing value in the product. <\/span><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">It ensures new users go ahead and get set up before worrying about the rest of the features.<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">As you can see, there is also a progress bar that indicates that you&#8217;re showing progress and the end is near.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">With Userpilot, you can create <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/onboarding-checklist-template\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">checklists<\/a> without having to code.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\"><span class=\"ng-star-inserted\">You can also create <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/userpilot-for-mobile-onboarding\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">mobile-first onboarding flows<\/a> with Userpilot, customizing welcome screens, carousels, and slideouts to deliver personalized messaging.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"e2o2t\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;\">Segment your users<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">If you think right back to the start you\u2019ll remember we explained that contextual onboarding was sending the right message at the right time to the right user.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">We\u2019ve covered how to send the right message, and you know how to find the right time. So how do you make sure you\u2019re sending it to the right user?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">There are two approaches you can take to this. One is a behavioral approach.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">For this, you simply trigger your onboarding based on the in-app behavior of the user.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-16672 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/custom-trigger-segments-interactive-user-guides-1024x915.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"915\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/custom-trigger-segments-interactive-user-guides-1024x915.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/custom-trigger-segments-interactive-user-guides-450x402.png 450w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/custom-trigger-segments-interactive-user-guides-768x687.png 768w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/custom-trigger-segments-interactive-user-guides-1536x1373.png 1536w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/custom-trigger-segments-interactive-user-guides-2048x1831.png 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">If a user reaches a particular page, it triggers a modal. If a user clicks a specific button, it triggers a tooltip.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">This approach is the most effective, as it essentially personalizes the onboarding for each and every individual user.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Having said that, it requires a bit more work.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">A quick win is to opt for <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/customer-segmentation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">segmentation<\/a>. This involves splitting your users into different groups (usually based on persona). You can then give each group a different onboarding flow.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">With <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/userpilot-demo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Userpilot<\/a>, you can segment customers based on user, company data, feedback, features, events, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-16674 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/userpilot-smarter-segmentation-10-1024x461.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"461\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/userpilot-smarter-segmentation-10-1024x461.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/userpilot-smarter-segmentation-10-450x203.png 450w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/userpilot-smarter-segmentation-10-768x346.png 768w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/userpilot-smarter-segmentation-10-1536x691.png 1536w, https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/userpilot-smarter-segmentation-10.png 1800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<div class=\"poptin-embedded\" data-id=\"618c1b5231472\"><\/div>\n<h3 id=\"23kf7\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 20px;\">Make your onboarding interactive<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">The best way to learn a new piece of software is by using it. It beats reading help docs, it beats scrolling through walkthroughs, and it beats demo calls.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">There\u2019s nothing as effective as having your users play around with your product as part of the onboarding process.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Adding a layer of interactivity to your onboarding flow will drastically improve your adoption and activation rates.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">The best way to do this is with an <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/blog\/interactive-walkthroughs-improve-onboarding\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">interactive walkthrough<\/a>. This serves as an introduction to your product. However, unlike a simple product tour, this walkthrough lets your users do the work.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Perhaps one of the best examples of this we\u2019ve seen comes from Trello.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">For those new to Trello, the way a board is structured can be a little confusing. It\u2019s such a versatile tool that it\u2019s easy to be overwhelmed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">That\u2019s where the interactive walkthrough comes into play:<\/span><\/p>\n<figure class=\"image regular\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/contextual_onboarding_trello1_ff8f31c9837f397b5324416b80de8bd1_800.png 1x\" media=\"(max-width: 768px)\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/contextual_onboarding_trello1_ff8f31c9837f397b5324416b80de8bd1_800.png 1x\" media=\"(min-width: 769px)\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/contextual_onboarding_trello1_ff8f31c9837f397b5324416b80de8bd1_800.png\" alt=\"trello contextual onboarding\" \/><\/picture><\/span><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">As you progress through this walkthrough, you enter the details as you go along.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">This teaches you how the different elements of a Trello board work.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">The best part, however, is that you end up with a Trello board based on what you entered.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">In other words, you\u2019ve been guided into building your first board, without even realizing it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">In just a couple of minutes, this interactive walkthrough teaches new users everything they need to know, and instantly provides value.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"poptin-embedded\" data-id=\"867424ebce466\"><\/div>\n<h2 id=\"60pue\"><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 24px;\">Key takeaways about contextual onboarding<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">It\u2019s safe to say that contextual onboarding is only going to become more and more popular as time goes on.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Eventually, your users are going to demand that they be onboarded in this way. Why not get ahead of the curve?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Let\u2019s recap:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Contextual onboarding is sending the right message to the right user at the right time.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">It utilizes triggers (eg. clicking a button) and custom events (eg. a modal popup).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">Contextual onboarding is far more effective when it comes to driving activation and adoption of your product.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">If you need a helping hand with contextual onboarding, then why not give Userpilot a try? Book a <a href=\"https:\/\/userpilot.com\/userpilot-demo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">demo<\/a> to get started!<\/span><span style=\"font-family: verdana, geneva, sans-serif;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><!-- End strchf script --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Contextual onboarding is the most effective way to drive product adoption and activate new users. Here&#8217;s how to get started&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":17212,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[293,289,290,48],"tags":[172,621,173,381,311,50],"class_list":["post-2375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-product-marketing","category-saas","category-updated","category-user-onboarding-category","tag-contextual-onboarding","tag-interactive-product-onboarding","tag-personalized-onboarding","tag-product-onboarding","tag-saas-onboarding","tag-user-onboarding"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Contextual Onboarding: What is it, and Why Should I Care?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Contextual onboarding is the most effective way to drive product adoption and activate new users. 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