Andy Merskin

Denver, CO

The anatomy of great onboarding

August 28, 2025

Onboarding isn’t about features—it’s about transformation. Users don’t want to learn your product; they want to achieve their goals faster.

I structure onboarding around outcomes: What will users accomplish in the first 5 minutes? First hour? First week?

I focus on progressive disclosure: just enough information at each step, with clear next actions and success indicators.

The best onboarding creates momentum. Each step builds confidence and capability, leading to the “aha” moment when users see the value.

Great onboarding doesn’t teach—it enables. It removes friction and creates flow toward user goals.

Successful products don’t require great onboarding—they make onboarding effortless through intuitive design.