
Web Apps Onboarding: How to Treat Your New Users - taigeair
http://blog.kera.io/post/40920774387/web-apps-onboarding-how-to-treat-your-new-users
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radq
Relevant: patio11 made a 45 minute video about improving software's first-run
experience which I found very useful. I cannot recommend it strongly enough.

You can get it by signing up here: <https://training.kalzumeus.com/>

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taigeair
Thanks! Will take a look.

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artursapek
Meh, I really don't like the "Virtuous Cycle of Web Applications" [1]. It
claims that retaining users amounts to doping them up every now and then with
a "new functionality" to excite them and get them to use it again. Basically,
feature spam.

This is a novelty approach, and it has no longevity. It doesn't last, and
those aren't the users you want anyway. The webapps I use the most are the
ones that actually offer something valuable to me. This sort of value is
timeless. Google Docs is the first thing that comes to mind. I open Docs all
the time on my own accord. Google don't whore themselves out with shiny new
features because they don't have to. They wrote good software. It's a useful
product.

I could see this strategy being more valid with web games, but as long as your
webapp is a utility there's no dopamine burst you need provide users. Just
help them get something accomplished and they'll be back.

[1]
[http://media.tumblr.com/600e20abfacc231409d9a715fd985b86/tum...](http://media.tumblr.com/600e20abfacc231409d9a715fd985b86/tumblr_inline_mgu8pmshc11rw2osw.png)

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maxcameron
What about when Gmail moved to the new compose format? They totally did an
overlay style walkthrough to get existing users accustomed to it.

Doesn't that undermine your argument and example?

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artursapek
No, it didn't convince me to keep using Gmail. It was a change I embraced, but
I don't use Gmail anticipating what they're going to introduce next.

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ianstallings
I love this term in general (on-boarding) and I love these overlays. Unless
your UI is so simple it can explain itself these walk throughs can be very
handy. Good stuff.

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DenisM
The entire article can be summarized as: "depending on your user base you may
or may not benefit from tutorials". I was expecting to see practical advice,
and came away disappointed.

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taigeair
That's in the next post...

