Onboarding UX: ditch the carousels

Onboarding is not a tour. It’s a conversation

Smarter onboarding UX: guide action, not attention

01/07/2025

No one reads your onboarding carousel

Let’s be honest — most users skip onboarding carousels.
They’re tapping “Next” before the animation even finishes loading.

Why?
Because people don’t open your product to read — they come to do something.

They arrived for a reason.
They probably want to try it out quickly, complete a task, or just see if it works for them. But instead of helping them act, you slow them down with five generic slides and a “Let’s get started” button.

That’s where most onboarding fails — not because it’s badly designed, but because it’s disconnected from what the user actually wants to do.

Another common mistake I see in small teams?
They don’t think about where users are coming from.
Did they just sign up after reading a landing page? Did a friend invite them into a shared workspace? Are they returning after a break?

If you don’t know this, you can’t meet them with the right message, action, or level of guidance.

So the result is a product that feels confusing, slow, or empty — even if it works great under the hood.

But onboarding doesn’t have to be perfect.
It just has to do one thing well: help users take their first step confidently.

Let’s be honest — most users skip onboarding carousels.
They’re tapping “Next” before the animation even finishes loading.

Why?
Because people don’t open your product to read — they come to do something.

They arrived for a reason.
They probably want to try it out quickly, complete a task, or just see if it works for them. But instead of helping them act, you slow them down with five generic slides and a “Let’s get started” button.

That’s where most onboarding fails — not because it’s badly designed, but because it’s disconnected from what the user actually wants to do.

Another common mistake I see in small teams?
They don’t think about where users are coming from.
Did they just sign up after reading a landing page? Did a friend invite them into a shared workspace? Are they returning after a break?

If you don’t know this, you can’t meet them with the right message, action, or level of guidance.

So the result is a product that feels confusing, slow, or empty — even if it works great under the hood.

But onboarding doesn’t have to be perfect.
It just has to do one thing well: help users take their first step confidently.

Let’s be honest — most users skip onboarding carousels.
They’re tapping “Next” before the animation even finishes loading.

Why?
Because people don’t open your product to read — they come to do something.

They arrived for a reason.
They probably want to try it out quickly, complete a task, or just see if it works for them. But instead of helping them act, you slow them down with five generic slides and a “Let’s get started” button.

That’s where most onboarding fails — not because it’s badly designed, but because it’s disconnected from what the user actually wants to do.

Another common mistake I see in small teams?
They don’t think about where users are coming from.
Did they just sign up after reading a landing page? Did a friend invite them into a shared workspace? Are they returning after a break?

If you don’t know this, you can’t meet them with the right message, action, or level of guidance.

So the result is a product that feels confusing, slow, or empty — even if it works great under the hood.

But onboarding doesn’t have to be perfect.
It just has to do one thing well: help users take their first step confidently.

What to do instead?
1. Guide them in context

Your goal isn’t to explain everything — it’s to help them take the first step.

Here’s what works better:

Replace the tour with a strong, focused empty state

Instead of:
"This is your dashboard."
Use:
"You haven’t added any products yet. Click ‘Add Product’ to get started." (With a big clear CTA right there.)

Use contextual hints where the user is already looking

Like a tooltip that says:
“Drag images here to upload” — next to the upload field.
Or a microcopy inside an input:
“e.g. Cozy Mountain Cabin” in a listing name field.

Highlight the next action visually
Show only one clear primary button.
Use progress indicators or checklists if the flow has multiple steps.
Keep everything else minimal until that action is done.

2. Guide with clarity, not cleverness

Your interface might be clean.
Your layout might be beautiful.
But if your copy doesn’t help users act, it’s not doing its job.

Too often, onboarding says things like:

“Welcome to your dashboard!”
Cool — but now what?

What users actually need is:
→ What is this?
→ What am I supposed to do here?
→ How do I start?

What if your product has multiple actions — like a dashboard full of widgets?

If your dashboard shows 5–10 different cards — stats, tasks, calendar, earnings, setup progress — users can easily feel overwhelmed.

Don’t try to explain everything at once.
Instead, use microcopy and structure to prioritize one clear action at a time.

Use copy to focus their attention

Instead of:

“Explore your dashboard to get started”

Use:

“Connect your calendar to start booking clients.”
(Placed inside the calendar widget)

Or:

“You’ll see traffic stats here once your shop is live.”
(Empty state of the analytics card)

Guide with hierarchy and scannability

People don’t read — they scan.
So give them:

Short, descriptive widget titles
One or two actions that stand out visually
Friendly hints right where they need them

You don’t need to hide complexity — just reveal it gradually.

Your interface might be clean.
Your layout might be beautiful.
But if your copy doesn’t help users act, it’s not doing its job.

Too often, onboarding says things like:

“Welcome to your dashboard!”
Cool — but now what?

What users actually need is:
→ What is this?
→ What am I supposed to do here?
→ How do I start?

TWhat if your product has multiple actions for example like dashboard with lt of widgets

If your dashboard shows 5–10 different cards — stats, tasks, calendar, earnings, setup progress — users can easily feel overwhelmed.

Don’t try to explain everything at once.
Instead, use microcopy and structure to prioritize one clear action at a time.

Use copy to focus their attention

Instead of:

“Explore your dashboard to get started”

Use:

“Connect your calendar to start booking clients.”
(Placed inside the calendar widget)

Or:

“You’ll see traffic stats here once your shop is live.”
(Empty state of the analytics card)

Guide with hierarchy and scannability

People don’t read — they scan.
So give them:

Short, descriptive widget titles
One or two actions that stand out visually
Friendly hints right where they need them

You don’t need to hide complexity — just reveal it gradually.

A trick I often use:

If a widget can’t be used yet, turn it into a mini onboarding step:

“You haven’t added any products yet — click here to create your first one.”
“Invite a teammate to see your collaboration stats.”

This way, onboarding is part of the interface, not something separate users forget the moment they click “Close tour.”

From experience:

“I worked on a dashboard with 6+ widgets on first login. We skipped the carousel and focused on one key action per card. Each widget had its own microcopy and empty state — and that was enough to keep users moving.”

Your interface might be clean.
Your layout might be beautiful.
But if your copy doesn’t help users act, it’s not doing its job.

Too often, onboarding says things like:

“Welcome to your dashboard!”
Cool — but now what?

What users actually need is:
→ What is this?
→ What am I supposed to do here?
→ How do I start?

TWhat if your product has multiple actions for example like dashboard with lt of widgets

If your dashboard shows 5–10 different cards — stats, tasks, calendar, earnings, setup progress — users can easily feel overwhelmed.

Don’t try to explain everything at once.
Instead, use microcopy and structure to prioritize one clear action at a time.

Use copy to focus their attention

Instead of:

“Explore your dashboard to get started”

Use:

“Connect your calendar to start booking clients.”
(Placed inside the calendar widget)

Or:

“You’ll see traffic stats here once your shop is live.”
(Empty state of the analytics card)

Guide with hierarchy and scannability

People don’t read — they scan.
So give them:

Short, descriptive widget titles
One or two actions that stand out visually
Friendly hints right where they need them

You don’t need to hide complexity — just reveal it gradually.

A trick I often use:

If a widget can’t be used yet, turn it into a mini onboarding step:

“You haven’t added any products yet — click here to create your first one.”
“Invite a teammate to see your collaboration stats.”

This way, onboarding is part of the interface, not something separate users forget the moment they click “Close tour.”

From experience:

“I worked on a dashboard with 6+ widgets on first login. We skipped the carousel and focused on one key action per card. Each widget had its own microcopy and empty state — and that was enough to keep users moving.”

A trick I often use:

If a widget can’t be used yet, turn it into a mini onboarding step:

“You haven’t added any products yet — click here to create your first one.”
“Invite a teammate to see your collaboration stats.”

This way, onboarding is part of the interface, not something separate users forget the moment they click “Close tour.”

I worked on a dashboard with 6+ widgets on first login. We skipped the carousel and focused on one key action per card. Each widget had its own microcopy and empty state — and that was enough to keep users moving.

Design smarter defaults to reduce friction

The best onboarding doesn’t require a lot of explaining — it just works.

If your product asks users to make too many choices up front — or fill in too many blank fields — they’ll either get overwhelmed or give up.

Good onboarding means removing decisions where you can.

Use defaults that get users to the “aha” moment faster

Instead of asking:

“What’s your preferred layout style, timezone, and category tags?”

Try:

Pre-selecting popular settings — and letting them change them later
Showing a starter template instead of a blank page
Skipping steps that don’t block progress

Progressive disclosure is your friend

Show only what’s necessary in the moment.
Don’t reveal advanced settings until users need them.
Keep the focus tight — especially in the first session.

This creates momentum instead of fatigue.

The best onboarding doesn’t require a lot of explaining — it just works.

If your product asks users to make too many choices up front — or fill in too many blank fields — they’ll either get overwhelmed or give up.

Good onboarding means removing decisions where you can.

Use defaults that get users to the “aha” moment faster

Instead of asking:

“What’s your preferred layout style, timezone, and category tags?”

Try:

Pre-selecting popular settings — and letting them change them later
Showing a starter template instead of a blank page
Skipping steps that don’t block progress

Progressive disclosure is your friend

Show only what’s necessary in the moment.
Don’t reveal advanced settings until users need them.
Keep the focus tight — especially in the first session.

This creates momentum instead of fatigue.

The best onboarding doesn’t require a lot of explaining — it just works.

If your product asks users to make too many choices up front — or fill in too many blank fields — they’ll either get overwhelmed or give up.

Good onboarding means removing decisions where you can.

Use defaults that get users to the “aha” moment faster

Instead of asking:

“What’s your preferred layout style, timezone, and category tags?”

Try:

Pre-selecting popular settings — and letting them change them later
Showing a starter template instead of a blank page
Skipping steps that don’t block progress

Progressive disclosure is your friend

Show only what’s necessary in the moment.
Don’t reveal advanced settings until users need them.
Keep the focus tight — especially in the first session.

This creates momentum instead of fatigue.

I worked on a project where we removed half of the setup questions by using smart defaults. The onboarding completion rate jumped — and users still had full control later.

Offer help at the right moment — not all at once

Users do need support. But not all at the beginning.

When you dump too much info upfront — in a tour, in a doc, in a wall of microcopy — users tune out.

Instead, give them just-in-time guidance:

A quick tooltip on a tricky input
A subtle “Need help?” link near a form
Example text inside fields or as gray helper copy
A dismissible hint in the corner

Tip: Design your UI as if support won't be needed

That means:

Clear labels
Logical groupings
Predictable patterns

I often add 1–2 inline hints or helper labels to key forms. Not because users can’t figure it out — but because it gives them confidence and saves them time.

Wrap-up: Onboarding isn’t a feature — it’s a first impression

Your product may be powerful.
Your branding may be beautiful.
But if users don’t know what to do in the first few minutes, none of it matters.

You don’t need a perfect onboarding flow — just a smart one:

Guide users with clear, actionable copy
Focus attention one step at a time
Use your interface as the onboarding — not a separate layer
Reduce friction with defaults and contextual help

When onboarding is done right, it doesn’t feel like a tutorial — it feels like progress.

Want help designing a better onboarding experience?

Whether you’re launching a product, fixing an empty dashboard, or just tired of long tours no one finishes — I help teams design onboarding that guides, not overwhelms.

Let’s make your product feel intuitive from the very first click.

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