Onboarding Flow Redesign (PLG Approach)
The Challenge
Activation rates were solid, but too many users signed up and never came back.
The “aha” moment was buried behind setup steps, and most new users dropped off in the first week.
The team needed a faster, simpler onboarding experience that helped people feel the value before asking for commitment.
The Result
+32% higher activation
+7% increase in trial-to-paid rate
–15% drop in early churn
The Action
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Mapped the full first-week journey, from the welcome email to the first key action, and identified friction points.
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Introduced in-app guidance to show value earlier: tooltips, quick wins, and short walkthroughs.
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Created quick-start templates that matched user goals (“create your first avatar appearance”, “create your first text-to-video in 3 mins”) to shorten the path to success.
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Aligned activation metrics around real engagement, not just sign-ups.
What Happened There?
The onboarding flow was rebuilt to help new users get value faster.
Before, people signed up but dropped off in the first few days, too many steps, too little clarity.
We mapped their first-week journey, removed friction, and added small in-app wins: tooltips, quick-start templates, and clear next steps.
Within four months, activation jumped by 32%, trial-to-paid conversions went up, and churn dropped.
The same number of sign-ups turned into more engaged users, which meant higher retention and smoother growth without extra marketing spend.
The Takeaway
Onboarding isn’t just UX.
When users find value in minutes, not days, retention takes care of itself.