Project Overview: Podverse is a podcast manager app available on both iOS and the Play Store. I helped to redesign the onboarding process to make it intuitive for a new user to see the app's features. The Problem: The current design has a launch approach such that after downloading the app as a first-time user, there is no onboarding, and the first thing that displays after the splash screen is an empty homepage.

From user feedback gotten, the stakeholders wanted this corrected, so I set out to solve the problem.

Solution 1: Onboarding a first-time user The current design has no onboarding at all, so I researched the best approach to use for designing a new onboarding flow and used the "Nickel Tour" since it shows a first-time user the benefits of the app and important features. I also gave room for user control as the user can decide to "skip" the process and move to the in-app screens.

Solution 2: Designing an Empty State as the Homepage

Since they don`t have to sign up to use the app, immediately after onboarding, a new user who hasn`t added any podcast to their feed sees an empty screen saying they have no added podcast with no further instructions on how to proceed. I solved this by adding a fun illustration, clear copy, and CTA which makes the empty state helpful and informative as seen below.

On clicking the "Subscribe to a Podcast" button, this takes the user through a short, two-step tour using tooltips to show them how to add a podcast from the different categories and filters available.

Conclusion: User onboarding is a critical part of a product`s design and can either make a user interested in exploring a product further or drop off when they`re frustrated with the experience. When done right, it increases user retention and helps users get acquainted with the product easily. This onboarding redesign flow was presented to the app stakeholders who loved it and will be implementing it in the coming months. Do you have a project idea or looking for a stellar designer to help design your amazing product? Check out my services below.