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While there are many factors coming into play when it comes to feature adoption, the feature setup page might be one of the most important.
It’s here that users make a final decision whether to set it up or not. And if:
- they don’t understand why they should use the feature,
- you don’t provide clear and timely guidance, or
- the setup seems too daunting
you can say Bye to decent adoption rates.
While feature adoption doesn’t impact the bottomline directly, it is one of the key processes to track and optimize. In many cases it has a central position in driving retention, which, in turn, is the very base of growth.
So let’s look at some onboarding ideas collected from various SaaS companies on what you can include on your feature setup pages to improve feature adoption.
But before we start, it’s worth to mention the difference between having the content directly on the page versus in a pop-up. While the latter has a few advantages in terms of low costs and flexibility (if created via a user onboarding tool), it does have one major drawback—pop-ups are shown usually once. It means that the next time a user returns to the setup page, they won’t be able to access the information anymore.
What to include on a feature setup page?
A clear description
Remind why one should use the feature. Not everybody signing up for your product will know what it does and why it’s worth spending time to set it up. Only then follow up with the what and how. You can also list possible use cases.
Use cases
List specifically what one can achieve with the feature. You are the expert, and your new users most likely are not. They might need ideas of what they can do with it.
Preview of the feature
Show, don’t tell. One image is worth a thousand words. We all know that. So why don’t you use images showing the final result on your feature setup page?
Sample data
Whenever you can introduce an “Aha! moment” during your user onboarding, don’t even hesitate. You don’t need to make people go through the whole feature setup before they can experience its value. Populating the app with their data may be a barrier they’ll never cross.
Help texts/links to help centre
Help texts are the most basic type of content all feature setup pages could use. In most cases, these are links to the help center, but you can also add there a short explanation or a video tutorial.
Progressive guidance
Even if you can talk for hours about your feature, how it works, describing all the 34 use cases, resist the temptation to say everything at once. It would do more harm than good.
Instead of overloading users with too much information, use progressive guidance. First, introduce the most basic ideas, and only later in the process add new pieces of information here and there.
Look how Smartlook creates a clear division between the basic steps and more advanced tips shown in a separate section on the feature setup page.
Step-by-step guides
If using a feature is not so straightforward, users may need constantly visible information on what to do. Hiding it in the help text won’t cut it.
Chart explaining the process
A similar approach to the previous one, utilizing just a bit different design elements.
Video guides
Links to courses
Customer reviews
Adding customer reviews might not be the first thing you think of when designing a feature setup page, but is worth trying out. In the end, human psychology doesn’t change after signing up for a product. Social proof is still an exceptionally powerful tactic that can help you drive feature adoption.
Templates
If using a feature involves a lot of work or requires skills that not everybody has, providing templates is one of the must-haves. Not only is it much easier to adjust existing content rather than create it from the ground up, but templates can also be a great source of inspiration.
Expandable tabs with additional information
Often there’s not enough space to include all the information on the page itself. Fleetio and Sendpulse solved this problem by adding expandable sections. This way they keep important information easily accessible without cluttering the UI.
Split feature setup into chunks
If your feature setup involves filling out numerous fields, don’t show them all in one view—it might be too “scary”. You can make the experience much smoother by using setup flows with one action per screen.
Additionally, divide the setup into two parts, as Wix does for their Mobile Editor. First, they introduce a few fun, easy-to-complete steps. And only when you’re excited to design your page do you land in the advanced editor. This kind of motivation boost might give the momentum necessary to complete the process.
Mention related features
Cross-promoting features is an often forgotten yet interesting tactic to experiment with. One of the best places to use it would be pages where your users fill in information manually, while you offer another feature that can automate the process in some respect. You can see it in action in Fresha’s example below.
