Best Practices for Mobile App Onboarding in 2020

Onboarding: User Retention in Mobile Apps | Scandiweb

You might remember the days before the brilliant concept of onboarding was introduced.

How puzzling it was to figure out an app on your own. As if it was a game of guessing about which option directs to where, what it does, how to do certain things, etc. – the list runs long.

In a hurry? Jump directly to –

Table of Content:

  • What is Mobile App Onboarding?
  • How many types of Onboarding are there?
  • Benefits of using App Onboarding
  • Mobile App Onboarding Best Practices Checklist [2020 Updated]
  • Live Examples of App Onboarding Done Right

However, the ordeal was over when mobile app onboarding started to gain momentum. It assisted users in navigating through the app with ease and explored its features and functions. Almost all the industry-giants are having a sip of this elixir of a concept and are obtaining remarkable conversion rates.

Wait, did we just lost you there?

No problem, let’s take it from the top, starting from what is on-boarding to what are the best onboarding practices for 2020.

What is Mobile App Onboarding?

Onboarding designs, themes, templates and downloadable graphic elements on Dribbble

App Onboarding is an efficient method used by organizations to enable users to comprehend your app and its functions. It is a walkthrough process or a tutorial that is meant to help users interact with the app and easily figure out what that particular app does and what they can achieve by continuing to use it.

Essentially, it is a series of screens that guide users through the app’s interface. Now, the mobile app onboarding screens typically have three purposes for which they are being used rigorously:

  1. To enlighten the users about the utilitarian functions and benefits of the app.
  2. To enable the users to register on the app via a login option.
  3. It is aimed to gather useful profile data of the users, later used to offer personalized notifications and content.

How many types of Onboarding are there? 

There are essentially three types of best mobile app onboarding that help fulfill these distinct objectives.

1. Progressive

38 Progressive Onboarding ideas | onboarding, customer experience, progress

This is one of the app onboarding best practices that displays new information on the screen while users progressively navigate through the app. It is in a way a step by step process directing and encouraging the users to take actions. The information depicted is relevant to the specific page.

2. Function-oriented

ESSENTIAL ONBOARDING TACTICS — PART 3: FUNCTION-ORIENTED ONBOARDING | by Appsee | The User Onboarding Journal | Medium

It is a mobile application onboarding approach that is typically focused on app functionality and explaining users the ways to operate the app. The function-oriented approach ensures the demonstration of common and rudimentary actions performed in the app to the users.

3. Benefits-oriented

6 User Onboarding Flows for Mobile Apps | by The Manifest | Medium

As the name clearly states, this approach is employed to showcase the benefits of the app or the value the users are expected to gain by using the app. The basic aim of this approach is to increase conversions. It helps in describing what the app does without elaborating on how to use the app.

Now as you know the types of mobile applications onboarding prevailing in the market, let’s take a look at the benefits they offer before moving to the core part of the article. Aka, Mobile application onboarding best practices checklist.

Benefits of using App Onboarding

1. Positive User Experience

User Experience — Mindshare Advantage

You wouldn’t want your app to just lay there in the user’s phone not being used for months, or worse yet, being uninstalled. To ensure active users on your app, onboarding comes in handy. As the first user interaction plays a pivotal role in deciding whether the user will use your app again or not, you need to give them the best app onboarding experiences.

Guiding the users via onboarding on how to use the app and what features it possesses, will help them navigate with ease and they won’t feel lost. They get a fair idea of why they should use the app and most importantly how to use it efficiently.

Once you get this right, you will see how amazing the benefits of onboarding are.

2. Proper utilization of features

How Does Resource Utilization Help To Improve Business Performance?

It is a given that it takes some time for users to get used to your app and figure out their way around it. Sometimes, users are unable to make themselves familiar with certain features on their own, which is a great impediment in our view for your app to increase conversion. Practicing the best onboarding approaches resolves this issue before it has a chance to arise.

3. Increases App Retention

How to increase app retention: 10 strategies | Adjust

Onboarding is highly crucial for making your app an absolute favorite of the users. You ask how it does it? Well, when you provide users with insights into your app and direct them towards effectively using its features and functions, the users are inclined to stay with your app. Hence, it improves the app retention rate by multi-folds.

Mobile App Onboarding Best Practices Checklist [2020 Updated]

Here are the top app user mobile onboarding best practices that will point the scale in your direction.

1. Prioritize Value Proposition

Prioritization by Business value | ScrumDesk, Meaningfully Agile

It is a belief that by displaying all the right cards to the users, you can convert them into active users. Meaning, by showing all the best features of your app you can entice users into using your app. However, it will be more effective if you first highlight the value proposition of your app.

Rather than flaunting your app’s features first, start with explaining what the user will gain by using your app. It will not only encourage them to use your app in the future but also will assure them that the app is useful and serves what it claims.

After this, you can go on with showing the prominent features and functionalities of your app that will assist in completing the tasks the users plan to accomplish.

2. Request Only Mandatory Information

request information - Clip Art Library

It wouldn’t make sense if your app is about, say learning languages, and you are asking questions about their favorite books, would it? In this case, you would need to ask for relevant and most crucial information. A report supports this statement as it shows almost 60% of the users do not install an app or uninstall it later once they feel the app is asking for too much personal information.

Also, make sure not to bombard them with excessive questions. In short, try to make your question’s list as concise and precise as possible. This is one of the most effective onboarding techniques to boost app user engagement.

3. Compact Onboarding Screens

10 Mobile App Onboarding Best Practices For Businesses In 2020

A tediously long and extensive user onboarding process may overwhelm the user to an extent that they might not use your app or end up finding a substitute. You neither should use text-heavy explanations nor add a foray of screens.

What you should do is to employ progressive onboarding approach and use app screenshots and illustrations to convey the message. Also, see the fact that you only introduce a single feature on each screen. In fact, you can use coach marks to help users understand how the app works and how to steer in it.

You can also make this approach more attractive by placing tutorials and gamifying the whole user experience.

4. Concise and Simple Sign-Up Process

How to Make Your Sign Up Process Sing in 8 Steps. | by Ben Luby | Medium

No one likes to spend excess time on the application onboarding process which is also mentioned in the report by The Manifest. So, the more concise your login process, the better.

Providing the options of logging in with other accounts such as Facebook or Google is a major time saver and a popular strategy among the users. It decreases a significant amount of friction in the user onboarding process introduced by the sign-up mandate.

5. Request for Permissions

How to Request Permissions in Android Application? - GeeksforGeeks

Asking for permission is an important part of business ethics, especially when it is about users’ personal data and information. Now, if you have an app that requires a camera or microphone facility, then instead of just taking things into your hand, it should be a mandate to first ask for the consent.

If the user trusts your app or wants to continue using its features, they will agree. Moreover, users are more likely to respond positively to permissions requests if they understand what they will gain by doing so.

6. Promote App Content Preview

What are the Best Ways to Promote an App? | The Branch Blog

Promoting app content preview is also one of the onboarding app best practices to consider in 2020 and beyond. This is because a sign up option can act as a barrier between your app and the user. And therefore, it is always better to give the users access to the features of your app before flatly asking them to sign up.

For instance, if you own an eCommerce app, then let the users go through the products offered on your website, and when they want to make a transaction, they can simply login then. Or, you can enable the login option after the users have discovered your app.

7. Make Use of Empty States

Empty States Design Best Practices | by Cadabra Studio | Medium

Empty states refer to the screens which show when users have not performed any activity or no content has been added yet. You can use these empty states to your advantage by making them encouraging. Instead of leaving a blank space, you can educate, guide, and promote users to take action.

For instance, Instagram displays “No posts yet” instead of just leaving it blank. This way it encourages users to initiate any action and use the app further.

8. Use Visual Hints for Guidance

Instead of hand-holding customers, while helping them explore the app you can employ progressive visual hints. All you have to do is strategically place the hints on the places where you predict users may get stuck while browsing the app. This way, you not only avoid tedious and monotonous instructions but save the time of users in reading them, which can rather be spent on using the app.

9. Preach Personalization

The Path to Personalization | O3 World

Why wait to show your personalization to customers in your app’s features, when you can give them a taste of it in the onboarding process only. Many popular apps personalize the content of their app based on individual preference in the starting.

Let’s take Spotify for instance. No wonder it is huge among the users as

it provides them with choices based on language, genre, artists, etc. to start personalizing the content referred to them since the start.

10. Take advantage of Success States

Remove "You Won Congratulations" Pop-ups (Virus Removal Guide)

Just like the Empty States, Success States prove to be a great leverage for engaging the user on your app. They create a positive impression of your app in the users’ minds. These states refer to the screens or popups that show appreciation after a task is performed.

For example, pop-ups including emoticons or animations congratulating the users once they achieve something in the app or complete an action for the first time.

11. Test before Final Implementation

8 Usability Testing Methods That Work (Types + Examples)

Anything is the sum of its whole. Your app will be considered remarkable when it is perfect overall. How different elements seem together once integrated is what makes an app great and appealing. In which case, it is crucial to test and measure the user onboarding flow for your mobile app on different screens and monitors to make sure the transition to each screen is seamless and smooth.

12. Include A Balanced Mix Of Multiple Channels

Using several channels to enhance the effectiveness of your onboarding procedure is an ideal way to encourage users to come back to your app, especially in the case of Retail apps. You can use channels like emails, push notifications, and in-app messages to remind the users of any incomplete action on the app like an unattended cart or simply send gentle reminders.

13. Monitor and Track (liquid state)

Keeping tabs on app usage and analytics is an incredible way to determine where users are facing problems in the onboarding flow and app.

Tracking these problems will provide you insights on where you need to improve in order to provide a smooth app onboarding experience. One should not ignore it as it is one of the prominent deciding factors whether your app is preferred by the users or not.

14. Provide CTA

Once your onboarding is about to complete, it is recommended to incorporate a CTA at the end. It provides a natural step for users to take the next step. A contextual and well-designed CTA would ensure the involvement of the users in the app.

15. Offer the choice to Skip

Skip, skip button, skip icon, skip symbol icon - Download on Iconfinder

Providing different and alternate choices is what users around the world appreciate the most. Some users might like to skip the whole app onboarding process for some reason, so giving them this choice will instantly improve your app’s reputation and they might continue to use it in the future.

Live Examples of App Onboarding Done Right

1. Slack

Mac | Downloads | Slack

Slack is an app designed specifically to facilitate communication between teams of small and large enterprises alike. It displays its features right when users open the app. Slack practices value-oriented onboarding which can be seen in the four walkthrough screens. It allows users to see how they can establish communication and share data among teams via the app.

2. Reddit

Reddit is experiencing another outage: Here's what we know - SlashGear

Reddit is one of the most famous QnA apps ever. Its onboarding process is exemplary –  the reason why the app is here in our list.

It provides the “Skip for now” option which allows users to skip the process of account creation and login, immediately allowing them to explore the app and have an amazing user experience.

Moreover, Reddit also performs another one of the onboarding process best practices, which is asking for permission for sending notifications.

3. Calm

Calm - Meditate, Sleep, Relax - Apps on Google Play

Calm is a popular meditation app helping users around the world with problems such as stress, irregular sleeping patterns, anxiety and more. The first onboarding screen in the app familiarizes users with its features and value-proposition such as sleep stories, breathing programs, guided meditation and so on.

Then it smoothly takes the user to another screen which allows them to set goals, for instance, choosing the top areas of improving, developing, building, learning, etc. It is after two screens that it asks users to signup via different platforms and asks for permission.

Higher conversion and retention rates of your app are certain once you hone these best app onboarding practices for 2020 and successfully implement them in your app. By imbibing incredible features along with the onboarding flow into the app, you double the chances of your app’s popularity.

How much does it cost to create an app for event ticket booking?

Event Ticket Booking Mobile App Development Cost & Features

  • Revenue in the Event Tickets segment amounts to US$73,424m in 2019.
  • Revenue is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2019-2023) of 9.4%, resulting in a market volume of US$105,359m by 2023.
  • The market’s largest segment is Music Events with a market volume of US$34,410m in 2019.
  • In global comparison, most revenue is generated in the United States (US$30,579m in 2019).

These are the two factualities that the events planning and specifically event ticket booking market is based on.

People love going out and having fun. Not everyone can afford a weekend trip out of station.

The factualities that are single-handedly holding the uprising demand for online event ticket booking market on applications and websites.

Let’s talk about the industry in detail in this piece, specifically from the front of technicalities and the event management and ticket booking app development cost.

The statistics that we saw at the beginning of the article, powered by statista are only a peek into the high demand of the flourishing market.

In a way, the demand that the online event management applications are witnessing in the market are drawn by a few companies that have emerged as the leader of the domain.

These brands have not just helped maintain the constant demand that the sector is witnessing. They also have set a growth tangent that a number of entrepreneurs are willing to be a part of.

Now that we have peeked into the event industry on a digital capacity and the top players who have entered the space, the next thing to attend to is a lot more technical.

We are now going to look into the ground level of how ticket booking app development services work.

Starting with the must-have features list first.

The Must-Have Features of Event Management and Ticket Booking App

The feature set that entrepreneurs work around to develop event planning and ticket booking apps like Eventbrite or Ticketmaster while different on the most intricate level contains elements which are not common but also must-haves.

The starting point of all the features is that when you develop an event planning application, you don’t develop one but two versions of the application –

1. For the users

2. For the App Admin.

Let us look at both of them individually.

1. Filter

Behind the screens: How BookMyShow.com keeps it ticking - The Economic Times

The functionality surrounds giving the users’ filter events or movie according to their varied preferences like location, timing, ratings, etc.

2. Event Listing

Design nuances of BookMyshow homepage and listing pages | by Kedar Nimkar | We Are BookMyShow

The screen would contain the list of all the events and movies happening or showing in a particular city or state.

3. Details of Event

Promote Your Events Online | How to List & Market Events - BookMyShow

For all the individual events there would be screens containing the details – the details of the event, the price of the ticket, terms and conditions, etc.

4. Rating

This is the section of the event page where users can give a rating to the event after having attended it. This is also where they can see what people are talking about the event.

5. eTicket and mTicket

What is an e-ticket, really?: AirTreks

Every event planning and ticket booking app gives users the functionality to enter their mobile number and email addresses where the ticket gets sent automatically after they have purchased it.

6. Download Ticket

In addition to the automatic generation of tickets in the face of SMS and emails, users are also given the ease to download the ticket for a much quicker find.

7. GPS

Using the feature users are easily able to locate the venue and also see the distance between their current location and the venue.

8. Booking History

Booking History « Event Organiser Docs

Using this feature user will be able to view the history of their bookings from inside their application.

9. Settings

The option that is mainly present in the menu option enables the users to view and modify their profile details, check the option of whether they want to be sent a notification or not and also select their preferred ticket type.

10. Booking Screen

BookMyShow Booking Confirmation Screen Re-design - singh.am

The ticket booking app solution should also factor in a booking screen that would help them select a seat of their choice.

1. Dashboard

The dashboard feature gives the admin the ease to get a comprehensive look of how the application is performing – the download rate, engagement count, events genre that are getting maximum hits, etc.

2. User Management

This part of the admin side of the app deals with managing the users base. It shows the business what issues users are sharing with the support team and the individual ways they are interacting with the application.

3. Shows Management

One of the most important elements that answer how much does it cost to build event management and ticket booking app is the management of shows. Through the feature, admins are able to add in events and modify their details.

4. Venue Management

The one thing your partnered mobile event app experts should specialize in creating a provision for the admins to keep the venue details updated in real-time.

5. Booking Manager

The next crucial part of ticket booking app development on the admin side is booking management. This is the feature that helps keep admin updated with the number of bookings happening on the application and the timing of them.

6. Content Management

This part of the admin app deals with the management of all the content that is live in the application – details of the event, ensuring terms and conditions are updated, etc.

7. Push Notification

This is the section wherein admins enter the notification content and schedule the timing of when it will go out.

Now that we have looked into the must-have feature set that goes into answering how much does it cost to build an event management and ticket booking app, it is time to look into the next functional element.

Toolset to Follow to Answer How to Build an Event App like Eventbrite or Similar Apps

8 Factors That Makes Eventbrite a Successful App

The tool set or tech stack that we follow to offer Eventbrite like app development services include a range of robust backend tools and intuitive frontend stack. In addition to those, we add APIs that are designed to offer your users a seamless experience throughout.

All of these tool sets that we use add up to answer how do you build an event planning app.

Well now that you have looked at all the must-have features and the ways to create an app for your events using the right tech stack, it is time to get down to what we majorly came here for. To answer how much does it cost to build event management and ticket booking app.

Well, let us get down to answering how much event app builders in USA and India charge for Eventbrite like app development services.

So here’s the section that answers development cost of apps like Eventbrite and similar event planning and ticket booking apps.

How Much Does it Cost to Build an Event Management and Ticket Booking App?

Event management mobile app by Kavi Aarun on Dribbble

The most honest answer to cost to make a mobile app like Eventbrite, which looks into both management and ticket booking is dependent on a number of factors. Just like your usual mobile app development cost estimate.

But with that said, if you are looking for an event management app that works around the exact list of features that we enlisted above, the cost range can be estimated.

Even if it’s an approximate level.

Now without beating around the bush, let’s give you a clear answer.

The event management and ticket booking app development cost range will fall somewhere in the range of USD 50K and USD 80K Considering you are creating the application in the lines of the technology and feature set that we shared.

This cost range is one that includes everything from design to development and maintenance of your mobile app.

Now that we have looked at the event planning software features and prices, it is time to delve into the ways you can earn back the invested amount.

How to Make Money On Your Event Ticket Booking App?

After spending a whopping range as the one we estimated above, it becomes a little obvious for entrepreneurs to look for ways to make the money back and then grow it.

But how do you go about it?

What are the different ways to make money off of your event booking application app?

Well, there are multiple methods that you can apply to earn back the invested money and that too at a much greater valuation. Methods that are followed by a number of event management industry’s entrepreneurs are following.

A. Commission on Ticket:

Free PNG Train Ticket Clip Art Download - PinClipart

You can add an additional commission charge on the price of the ticket that your users pay – an amount that the partnered event organizers or cinema halls’ managers would have to pay.

This is one of the most stable ways to make a profit on your event booking application for organizers and hall managers are always willing to invest in ways to fill in the seats.

B. Advertisement:

How to Write a Small Advertisement

You can introduce an advertising model inside the app which would allow you to earn money in return for showing videos or event ads to the customers. You can even introduce an additional mode of in-app advertising payment based on the clicks that the app gets.

C. Event Management Charges:

Match Experience at the PEPSI IPL VIP Box | Mission Sharing Knowledge

Although not very common but many businesses offer event management services to their partnered organizers in return of an amount. The idea behind this is that they will deploy their in-house team to manage the event for their partners. Also, they give the option to promote the event for their clients as well

D. Merchandise Distribution:

Amazon.com: Paladone Marvel Comics Playing Cards and Tin - Officially Licensed Disney Merchandise: Home & Kitchen

While this would require expansion on your front, but it can prove to be a great option when you have partnered with organizers who have established themselves immensely in the market.

The way it works is that the official merchandise is put in to be promoted and sold inside your application. The money that the businesses make is on the basis of the commission that they make on every sale.

So here were the four commonly used ways you can earn money at the back of all the efforts and money that your partnered event management app development company and you have put in.

And it doesn’t end here.

There are a number of other direct and indirect channels for you to make money off your application. Get in touch with our team of app builders for events & conferences to know what they are.

Well, with this you are now officially ready to enter the market of event booking software with the knowledge of how much does it cost to build an event app and the ways you can earn back the invested amount.

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