Onboarding Paths from Empty State to First Value
By Maksym Bardakh · Co-founder & President
In short
A new user lands on an empty screen and quickly judges whether the product is worth their effort. Good onboarding designs the empty state as a starting point, not a void, and finds the shortest honest path to a moment where the user experiences real value. That usually means deferring setup, demonstrating value with the user’s own first action, and resisting tours that explain instead of letting people do.
The empty state is a decision point
When someone opens a product for the first time, they meet an empty state: no data, no history, nothing yet done. This blank screen is where the person decides whether the effort ahead is worth it. An empty state treated as an afterthought, a bare list with nothing in it, communicates that the user is on their own. An empty state designed as a starting point shows what the product is for and how to take the first step.
The cost of getting this wrong is high because it happens before the user has any investment. There is no sunk cost to keep them, only the promise of value they have not yet seen. The empty state has to carry that promise and point clearly at how to realize it.
Find the shortest path to value
Onboarding should be designed backward from the first moment the user experiences something genuinely useful, then made as short as honestly possible. Every step before that moment is a step at which the person can abandon the product. Setup, configuration, and account details that are not needed to reach first value should be deferred until after the user has a reason to care.
- Identify the first moment of real value and design the path toward it.
- Defer setup and configuration that is not required to reach that moment.
- Let the user’s first real action be the demonstration, rather than explaining first.
Show by doing, not by touring
Product tours that explain every feature before the user has done anything tend to be dismissed and forgotten, because explanation without context does not stick. People learn the product by using it. A stronger pattern guides the user through their first real action and lets the value of that action be the lesson. Help can wait until the person is in a situation where it is relevant.
Key takeaways
- The empty state is where a new user decides whether the product is worth the effort.
- Design the empty state as a starting point that carries the product’s promise.
- Work backward from the first moment of real value and shorten the path to it.
- Defer setup and configuration not needed to reach first value.
- Guide the user through a real first action rather than explaining with a tour.
Frequently asked questions
- Why does the empty state matter so much?
- It is the first thing a new user sees, before any investment, so it must carry the product’s promise and point clearly at the first step toward value.
- How long should onboarding be?
- As short as honestly possible. Every step before the first moment of real value is a step where the user can abandon the product.
- Are product tours effective onboarding?
- Often not. Explanation before any action rarely sticks. Guiding the user through a real first action and letting its value be the lesson works better.
References
About the author
Maksym Bardakh
Co-founder & President
Maksym is a software engineer and product strategist focused on executive-function and behavioral system design. At BBMM he leads product direction across Flowo, TextPack, and Pillow, working at the intersection of human cognition and durable interface design.