How UX Research Improved Onboarding Completion Rates

By Philip Burgess | UX Research Leader

Getting new users to complete onboarding is a challenge many digital products face. When users drop off early, it means lost opportunities and wasted resources. UX research offers a clear path to understanding why users struggle and how to fix those issues. This post explores how UX research helped improve onboarding completion rates by uncovering user pain points and guiding design improvements.

User engaging with onboarding screen on a smartphone

Understanding the Onboarding Problem

Onboarding is the first experience users have with a product. If it feels confusing, slow, or irrelevant, users often quit before finishing. Many companies see completion rates below 50%, which means half of their new users never fully engage. To improve this, it’s essential to know exactly where users get stuck and why.

UX research uses methods like user interviews, usability testing, and analytics review to gather this information. Instead of guessing, teams get real feedback from real users. This helps identify specific barriers in the onboarding flow.

Key Insights from UX Research

When UX researchers studied onboarding for a popular app, they found several common issues:

• Too much information at once: Users felt overwhelmed by long forms and multiple steps.

• Unclear instructions: Some screens lacked clear guidance, leaving users unsure what to do next.

• Lack of motivation: Users didn’t understand the benefits of completing onboarding, so they lost interest.

• Technical glitches: Slow loading times and occasional errors frustrated users.

  
  

These insights came from watching users complete onboarding while thinking aloud, combined with data showing where drop-offs happened most.

How Research Guided Design Changes

With clear problems identified, the design team made targeted changes:

• Simplified steps: They broke onboarding into smaller, manageable chunks with progress indicators.

• Clearer language: Instructions were rewritten to be direct and easy to follow.

• Added value messaging: Each step explained how it helped users get more from the app.

• Improved performance: Developers fixed bugs and optimized loading speeds.

  
  

These changes focused on making onboarding feel easier, faster, and more rewarding.

Simplified onboarding screen showing progress and clear steps

Measuring the Impact

After implementing these improvements, the team tracked onboarding completion rates over three months. The results showed:

• Completion rates increased from 42% to 68%

• Average time to complete onboarding dropped by 30%

• User feedback became more positive, with fewer complaints about confusion or speed

  
  

This data confirmed that UX research-driven changes made onboarding more user-friendly and effective.

Practical Tips for Using UX Research to Improve Onboarding

If you want to boost onboarding completion rates, consider these steps:

• Observe real users: Watch how people interact with your onboarding flow. Note where they hesitate or get stuck.

• Ask open questions: Conduct interviews to understand users’ feelings and motivations.

• Use analytics: Identify exact drop-off points and patterns in user behavior.

• Test changes early: Prototype new onboarding steps and test them with users before full launch.

• Communicate benefits clearly: Help users see why completing onboarding matters for their experience.

• Keep it simple: Avoid overwhelming users with too much information or too many steps.

  
  

Final Thoughts

Improving onboarding completion rates requires more than guesswork. UX research provides the evidence needed to make smart, user-centered changes. By focusing on real user needs and behaviors, teams can create onboarding experiences that feel clear, quick, and valuable. This leads to higher completion rates, better user engagement, and stronger product success.