Onboarding that starts

A first-run flow that gets you writing, not reading.

Two phone screens for a first run flow with a goal picker and a first note

The problem

Seven in ten new users skipped a six-screen tour and then did nothing in the app.

Client

Tallow Notes

Year

2022

Role

Product designer

Team

1 PM, 2 engineers

Timeline

6 weeks

Discipline

Productivity · iOS and web

Context and constraints

Tallow is a notes app for people who hate heavy tools. The first-run tour was written before the app had its current shape, and nobody had touched it in two years.

We had six weeks and an instruction not to touch the editor.

Process

I read the tour analytics and ran five unmoderated tests. People tapped Skip in under two seconds, so nobody learned anything from the tour anyway.

Editor stays unchanged
iOS and web must match
No new onboarding tool or vendor

Old six screen tour next to a new write-your-first-note prompt

Decisions

Put the app first

The first screen asks for one goal, the second drops people into a new note. Tips show up when they matter, for example a shortcut after three lines.

A checklist instead of a tour

Three small tasks, visible for a week. Finishing them is optional and counts toward nothing but a tick.

Line chart of weekly activation rising after the new flow

Outcome

Activation rose 19 percent and day 7 retention went from 31 to 39 percent. The onboarding went from six steps to two. Invented numbers for this demo template.

+19%

activation

31 → 39%

day 7 retention

6 → 2

onboarding steps

Outcome numbers are made up for this demo.

Wireframe of a three step card checkout with an order summary and one red pay button

Fintech · Web app

Next case 01

Checkout in three steps

−34%checkout drop-off