SmartPush Onboarding Redesign

SmartPush.ai is a web push notification platform that has sent over 30 billion push notifications monthly, helping websites re-engage visitors by sending secure and targeted browser notifications. It offers features like segmentation, scheduling, analytics, and pay-per-delivery pricing, no coding required.

As a methodology, we used the Lean UX Canvas in our processes for hypothesis validation. To activate the users, they needed to go through 7 steps, which caused a low activation rate and lost customers to our business.

We thought that AHA moments could give users some positive energy for completing the 7 steps.

We filled in the canvas to test the AHA moments. Look at the canvas below.

In another case, we used the Lean UX Canvas to validate the Pricing Plan for the market users.

For our team, updates were crucial for team alignment, progress tracking, and identifying potential roadblocks. Every week, we have updated the team's progress and achievements.

I improved the site integration flow and simplified the push notification setup process, making it easier for users to activate and manage notifications without technical barriers.

Heuristic Audit

Internal Interviews

User Feedback Collection

Targeted User Calls

Analytics Review via Metabase

Users didn’t understand the difference between code integration, WordPress, or GTM options

Developers and non-technical users had different needs, but were given the same path

Users needed inline guidance

Users needed the user-friendly push notification configurations

I was tasked with improving the onboarding experience for SmartPush. The original onboarding flow had unclear instructions, lacked user guidance, and resulted in a high drop-off rate during integration.

One of the biggest barriers to adoption was its bad onboarding flow.

Confusing and cluttered users didn’t know what steps to take or in what order

Unclear guidance there was no contextual help or clear explanation of technical steps

One-size-fits-all, it didn’t differentiate between technical and non-technical users

The team relied solely on Ant Design components without any customization or shared design guidelines. This created inconsistency and limited flexibility in the UI.

I initiated the process of defining a structured UI kit, building on top of Ant Design, to bring consistency, improve handoffs between design and development, and align visuals across the product.

I analyzed multiple competitors and studied user feedback to identify what works, what confuses users, and what they expect. This research helped me to create a flow that feels intuitive, supportive, and scalable, and then I redesigned the onboarding experience at SmartPush to move away from a flat, generic setup flow and toward a modular, guided experience that adapts to different user types and levels of technical expertise.

Step-by-step structure that walks users through adding their site, configuring notifications, and preparing for launch

Progressive customization, so users only see advanced options when needed — this helps avoid overwhelming them

Real-time preview, giving users instant visual feedback on how their push notifications will look

Branding and appearance controls directly in the setup flow, users can now add icons, colors, and welcome messages without hunting for these settings later

Behavior settings like subscription triggers, display durations, and targeting, all configurable during onboarding

Segment logic introduction, giving users a head start on campaign strategy

I redesigned the dashboard to help users easily track and manage their push campaigns. The updated version includes real-time status indicators, CTR performance metrics, campaign stage filters (Active, Draft, Completed), and quick actions like CSV export, making campaign management faster, clearer, and more efficient.

Based on user feedback, I redesigned the billing and upgrade flow to address confusion around pricing and plan selection. In the previous version, users couldn’t easily compare plans or understand what they were paying for. The new experience introduces a clear step-by-step structure, highlights usage stats, and makes plan differences easy to compare, helping users upgrade with confidence.

I tested two onboarding approaches to better understand user motivations during sign-up:

New version: Simple screen asking users to select their main reason for choosing SmartPush

Old version: More detailed, dynamic onboarding that collected role, platform switch, audience size, frequency, and estimated pricing

We spent a lot of time designing and developing Old version expecting it to deliver a more tailored and impactful experience. In contrast, New version was implemented quickly with minimal effort.

My goal with Old version was to better understand who our users are and why they choose SmartPush.

The questions: Their role (e.g. marketing specialist, developer)

The tool they switched from

How many subscribers they manage

How often they send notifications

What motivated them to try SmartPush (e.g. pricing, features, migration)

This information would help us shape clearer user personas and better tailor our product, messaging, and onboarding strategy.

The Result Version A outperformed in both completion rate and user engagement. Users preferred the faster and simpler flow.

Even with more advanced logic and personalization, simplicity won. This validated the importance of testing assumptions early and reminded us that speed and clarity often matter more than complexity, especially in onboarding.