Redesigning VEED’s Onboarding Experience
Redesigning VEED’s Onboarding Experience
Key contributions
Growth Design
Product Strategy
User research
Cross-functional Leadership
Workshop Facilitation
Growth team
Senior Product Designer (1)
Lead Product Manager (1)
Sr. Software Engineer (4)
Senior Engineering Manager (1)
Timeline
4 weeks
Year
2024/2025
Outcome
Improved onboarding drop-off and getting more users to onboard.
Improved onboarding drop-off and getting more users to onboard.
We improved the perception of questions by using progressive disclosure principles and ultimately saw a significant improvement in drop-off rates. By reducing the cognitive load of the flow and making the join workspace experience more intuitive, users were more successful in completing onboarding.
We improved the perception of questions by using progressive disclosure principles and ultimately saw a significant improvement in drop-off rates. By reducing the cognitive load of the flow and making the join workspace experience more intuitive, users were more successful in completing onboarding.
+35%
Improved drop-off rate
+135%
Increase in users who complete onboarding every month.
+14%
Increase in teams created and joining workspaces
Problem & Key findings 🔎
Data showed that less than 50% was not completing sign-up and onboarding.
Data showed that less than 50% was not completing sign-up and onboarding.
VEED’s SEO's strategy of offering as much as possible for free through 1000+ landing pages, especially through various landing pages and the homepage, worked very well in the beginning but caused friction to understand intent. The current onboarding was not designed with this intention and feels quite heavy and lengthy. We wanted to understand if other design directions could create less friction to users.
VEED’s SEO's strategy of offering as much as possible for free through 1000+ landing pages, especially through various landing pages and the homepage, worked very well in the beginning but caused friction to understand intent. The current onboarding was not designed with this intention and feels quite heavy and lengthy. We wanted to understand if other design directions could create less friction to users.
Problem 1 ❌
No clear onboarding, and too many outdated entry points from other landing pages leave new users without guidance.
Problem 2 ❌
The onboarding process was too lengthy and many users didn’t complete it.
Opportunity
How might we reduce friction and get more users to sign up?
How might we reduce friction and get more users to sign up?
We identified an opportunity to unify the user journey, ensuring that visitors arriving from various entry points—such as landing pages—experience a consistent and cohesive onboarding process. This presented the perfect moment to completely redesign the flow, enabling us to better understand user intent and minimize friction.
We identified an opportunity to unify the user journey, ensuring that visitors arriving from various entry points—such as landing pages—experience a consistent and cohesive onboarding process. This presented the perfect moment to completely redesign the flow, enabling us to better understand user intent and minimize friction.
Goal 1 🚀
Improve drop-off rates, align journeys and reduce friction in the flow.
Goal 2 🎯
Increase the amount of users that sign up and fully complete the onboarding.
Solution
Simplicity at the right time is key to reduce drop-off rates.
Simplicity at the right time is key to reduce drop-off rates.
We improved the perception of questions by using progressive disclosure principle and ultimately saw a significant improvement in drop-off rates. By reducing friction, cognitive load and simplifying the flow from 8+ steps to one single page step, we made the experience more intuitive. Users were a lot more successful in fully completing onboarding.
We improved the perception of questions by using progressive disclosure principle and ultimately saw a significant improvement in drop-off rates. By reducing friction, cognitive load and simplifying the flow from 8+ steps to one single page step, we made the experience more intuitive. Users were a lot more successful in fully completing onboarding.
Timeline & Process
Timeline
The design process
The design process
🔎 Investigate: First we did an audit and workshop to go through the current experience. From there, we gathered both quantitative and did user interviews to identify pain points.
🧠 Design & Iterate: With a clear problem in focus I created various design hypotheses with each a different focus to test.
📏 Measure & Adapt: We launched A/B/C tests and continuous research initiatives to gauge the design’s effectiveness to understand where to improve and further iterate.
⚖️ Balance Constraints & Stakeholders: This cross-functional project required alignment across multiple teams due to data dependencies.
🔎 Investigate: First we did an audit and workshop to go through the current experience. From there, we gathered both quantitative and did user interviews to identify pain points.
🧠 Design & Iterate: With a clear problem in focus I created various design hypotheses with each a different focus to test.
📏 Measure & Adapt: We launched A/B/C tests and continuous research initiatives to gauge the design’s effectiveness to understand where to improve and further iterate.
⚖️ Balance Constraints & Stakeholders: This cross-functional project required alignment across multiple teams due to data dependencies.
Audit & current experience
Too many questions, steps and distractions.
Too many questions, steps and distractions.
Researched showed users found the onboarding quite lengthy and didn't what workspace they would land and what features were relevant to them.
❌ Confusion between joining a workspace vs. creating a new one.
❌ High cognitive load from too many steps.
❌ Visuals added little to no value.
❌ No personalisation before entering the editor.
❌ No progress indicator or step count.
❌ Pricing page felt disconnected; “Skip” was hard to find.
❌ Post-survey marketing pop-up was disruptive; <2% opted in.
Researched showed users found the onboarding quite lengthy and didn't what workspace they would land and what features were relevant to them.
❌ Confusion between joining a workspace vs. creating a new one.
❌ High cognitive load from too many steps.
❌ Visuals added little to no value.
❌ No personalisation before entering the editor.
❌ No progress indicator or step count.
❌ Pricing page felt disconnected; “Skip” was hard to find.
❌ Post-survey marketing pop-up was disruptive; <2% opted in.
Strategy & principles
Guiding principles for a more simplified experience to improve perception of length.
Guiding principles for a more simplified experience to improve perception of length.
Principle 1
Simplicity 🔍
Focus on showing users what they need at the right time.
Principle 2
Personalization ✨
Every user has a different need and JTBD.
Principle 3
User control 🙋♀️
Guiding users through the flow with ease.
Constraints & Challenges
Dealing with trade-offs around data of existing questions.
Dealing with trade-offs around data of existing questions.
Constraint 1 🤔: A major constraint was that we couldn’t change the questions yet, as other teams and stakeholders relied on that data for business and sales leads.
What did we do? ✅: Before starting the redesign, I proposed small experiment with fewer questions, which improved results. This was zero effort and helped us get buy-in and encourage teams to be more critical about the data we really need as the company evolves.
Constraint 1 🤔: A major constraint was that we couldn’t change the questions yet, as other teams and stakeholders relied on that data for business and sales leads.
What did we do? ✅: Before starting the redesign, I proposed small experiment with fewer questions, which improved results. This was zero effort and helped us get buy-in and encourage teams to be more critical about the data we really need as the company evolves.
Constraint 2 🤔: Transitioning to a new Design System during ongoing design and development was challenging, especially with tight deadlines.
What did we do? ✅: To ensure a smooth process, I held numerous 1:1 co-creation sessions with the developer, collaborating in real-time to quickly refine the code and balance speed vs. quality by advising where we could make trade-offs to ship first MVP.
Constraint 2 🤔: Transitioning to a new Design System during ongoing design and development was challenging, especially with tight deadlines.
What did we do? ✅: To ensure a smooth process, I held numerous 1:1 co-creation sessions with the developer, collaborating in real-time to quickly refine the code and balance speed vs. quality by advising where we could make trade-offs to ship first MVP.
Approach
Testing different designs with the same questions.
Testing different designs with the same questions.
As various teams were still using that data, this meant we first decided to prioritize how we could change the perception by redesigning the survey without changing most of data set up around the questions. We devised an A/B/C Experiment to test various formats with the same amount of questions with the following hypothesis;
As various teams were still using that data, this meant we first decided to prioritize how we could change the perception by redesigning the survey without changing most of data set up around the questions. We devised an A/B/C Experiment to test various formats with the same amount of questions with the following hypothesis;
Hypothesis
"We believe that if we positively change the perception of the users regarding the length of the onboarding and redesign the flow to a better design format, we will reduce the amount of users who drop-off at this stage of the journey."
"We believe that if we positively change the perception of the users regarding the length of the onboarding and redesign the flow to a better design format, we will reduce the amount of users who drop-off at this stage of the journey."
Treatment B: Modal
In-editor modal, so users would already see context of the editor.
In-editor modal, so users would already see context of the editor.
Implemented several key enhancements and iterations to improve the overall user experience.
In-editor modal that launches directly within the editing space, helping users stay visually connected to the UI and project while onboarding.
Modal design intentionally preserves the editor’s visual context, reinforcing where new features live and how they integrate into the user's workflow.
Designed call-to-action flows that are visually consistent with the editor UI, setting clear expectations and easing the transition back into active editing.
Simplified the visual aesthetic to 3D icons, to keep users focused on the task at hand.
Implemented several key enhancements and iterations to improve the overall user experience.
In-editor modal that launches directly within the editing space, helping users stay visually connected to the UI and project while onboarding.
Modal design intentionally preserves the editor’s visual context, reinforcing where new features live and how they integrate into the user's workflow.
Designed call-to-action flows that are visually consistent with the editor UI, setting clear expectations and easing the transition back into active editing.
Simplified the visual aesthetic to 3D icons, to keep users focused on the task at hand.
Treatment C: Single page progression
Single-page survey to progressively disclose and improve perception.
Single-page survey to progressively disclose and improve perception.
Leveraged progressive disclosure principle by presenting one question at a time, reducing cognitive load and making the onboarding process feel more manageable.
Utilized Zeigarnik effect by adding a progress bar, providing users with a visual cue of their advancement.
Used dropdown patterns, allowing users to select answers quickly and intuitively, speeding up the response process.
Minimized visual clutter by limiting the amount of information displayed at once, helping users focus on the task at hand.
Created a more personalized experience by dynamically addressing users by name, enabling users to add a profile picture, and tailoring the copy.
Added delightful simpicity by making the gradient dynamic and interactive depending on cursor movements.
Leveraged progressive disclosure principle by presenting one question at a time, reducing cognitive load and making the onboarding process feel more manageable.
Utilized Zeigarnik effect by adding a progress bar, providing users with a visual cue of their advancement.
Used dropdown patterns, allowing users to select answers quickly and intuitively, speeding up the response process.
Minimized visual clutter by limiting the amount of information displayed at once, helping users focus on the task at hand.
Created a more personalized experience by dynamically addressing users by name, enabling users to add a profile picture, and tailoring the copy.
Added delightful simpicity by making the gradient dynamic and interactive depending on cursor movements.
Use case modal for a more personalised experience.
Use case modal for a more personalised experience.
Previously, users were dropped in the editor without any personalization. To change that I proposed a use case modal to better understand intent;
Previously, users were dropped in the editor without any personalization. To change that I proposed a use case modal to better understand intent;
Introducing design options for use cases that tailored onboarding different segments within our ICP.
Streamline where users would land in the editor to get them closer to their JTBD.
Introducing design options for use cases that tailored onboarding different segments within our ICP.
Streamline where users would land in the editor to get them closer to their JTBD.
Unified sign-up + low hanging fruits.
Unified sign-up + low hanging fruits.
Since this was low effort for the team, we also dedicated time to refresh our sign-up pages so the overall flow would look more consistent and matched the rest of the experience. After that we unified sign-up journeys so onboarding was consistent across all entry points. As a follow-up experiment we considered adding social proof to entice more people to sign up.
Since this was low effort for the team, we also dedicated time to refresh our sign-up pages so the overall flow would look more consistent and matched the rest of the experience. After that we unified sign-up journeys so onboarding was consistent across all entry points. As a follow-up experiment we considered adding social proof to entice more people to sign up.
Improved flows and edge cases for joining workspaces.
Improved flows and edge cases for joining workspaces.
Previously, users trying to join an existing workspace were forced to create a new one and were redirected there instead. This caused confusion and frustration since it wasn’t clear why a new workspace was being created rather than joining the intended one, making the process inefficient.
Previously, users trying to join an existing workspace were forced to create a new one and were redirected there instead. This caused confusion and frustration since it wasn’t clear why a new workspace was being created rather than joining the intended one, making the process inefficient.
Introduced tailored onboarding flows for free, paid, and business users to ensure seamless workspace joining.
Introduced ability to upload a workspace picture for personalization.
Automatically direct users to the correct existing workspace after sign-up, eliminating the need to create unnecessary new workspaces.
Addressed previously unhandled edge cases to prevent user confusion and improve overall experience.
Enhanced UI cues and guidance during the join process to clarify next steps and reduce friction.
Introduced tailored onboarding flows for free, paid, and business users to ensure seamless workspace joining.
Introduced ability to upload a workspace picture for personalization.
Automatically direct users to the correct existing workspace after sign-up, eliminating the need to create unnecessary new workspaces.
Addressed previously unhandled edge cases to prevent user confusion and improve overall experience.
Enhanced UI cues and guidance during the join process to clarify next steps and reduce friction.
Designed a more effective opt-in for marketing.
Designed a more effective opt-in for marketing.
The old marketing screen had very low opt-in rates, likely because the toggles were off for transparency, which made the setup unappealing. We improved this by using a more user-friendly tone, clearer focus on the desired action and benefits, while still maintaining transparency and user choice.
Improved the UX copy.
Focused on value & benefits.
Designed more effective CTA's that nudge enthusiasm to opt-in.
Made the whole design a lot more simple to digest and got rid of the toggles.
Separated the data processing part, as this screen should focus on marketing.
Monitoring & Learning
How did we measure succes?
How did we measure succes?
Because this was a cross-functional initiative that involved Product Marketing, Acquisition and Data teams we made sure to understand the positive as well as the negative impact.
Primary metrics:
# of users who signed up
# of users who completed onboarding
# of users who completed first export
New ARR
Guardrail metrics:
# of users who drop off
Traffic from users who sign up from homepage CTA
Because this was an initiative impacting many teams like Product Marketing, Acquisition and Core teams, we made sure to understand the positive as well as the negative impact.
Primary metrics:
# of users who signed up
# of users who completed onboarding
# of users who completed first export
New ARR
Guardrail metrics:
# of users who drop off
Traffic from users who sign up from homepage CTA
Business Impact
Increased completion rates and reduced drop-off rates.
Increased completion rates and reduced drop-off rates.
Combining all the implementation and design we delivered, we managed to achieve a significant increase in completion & activation rates, and reduced drop-off in our treatment, compared to control.
Combining all the implementation and design we delivered, we managed to achieve a significant increase in completion & activation rates, and reduced drop-off in our treatment, compared to control.
🚀
The experiment significantly improved competion rates by +135% in users onboarding every month.
🎥
Activation rates in the treatment group saw positive trends showing +11% higher export rates.
✨
We observed a +35% improvement in drop-off, and increased marketing opt in by +25%
Learnings
Simplicity is effective at the right time in the journey.
Simplicity is effective at the right time. 💗
Simplicity is effective at the right time in the journey.
This initiative was a powerful reminder that impactful design isn't always about adding more—it’s often about knowing what to take away.
This initiative was a powerful reminder that impactful design isn't always about adding more—it’s often about knowing what to take away.
Impactful design isn't always about adding more. 💗
A clean, simple yet delightful design drastically improved completion rates.
Progressive disclosure helps the user focus. 👀
Through progressive disclosure users were more able to focus on the main task at hand.
Help users understand their progress 🎯
By leveraging Zeigarnik Effect users were more likely to complete by showing steps.