Back
Intent-based Onboarding
Constant Contact • Mobile
My Role
Product Design
User Experience
Interaction
My Team
Glenn Brannely
Gyorgy Grell
Jake Levy
Ben Sweet
Linda Borghesani
My Tools
Figma
Notion
Jira
Confluence
Description
A redesigned mobile onboarding experience focused on guiding users toward meaningful outcomes from the start. Instead of dropping users into a general tour, we used intent to personalize the experience - reducing early drop-off and increasing activation by leading users toward their most relevant first actions.
Context
Constant Contact is known as a desktop-first platform, but the mobile app was becoming a key part of our growth strategy. To increase adoption, we needed to help users reach value quickly and confidently on mobile.
The desktop team had recently launched an intent based onboarding (IBO) experience that helped users navigate the platform by first identifying their goals. It worked by tailoring the flow to what the user wanted to do - like growing their contact list or sending a newsletter - instead of presenting a one size fits all tour. This helped boost activation, which we defined as a user adding a contact and sending an email.
Users who hit that milestone were significantly more likely to stay. On mobile, we inherited the same question set through a shared API - but several of the features referenced in the flow were not yet available in the app. That presented both a design challenge and a trust risk. My role was to adapt IBO for mobile without confusing users, creating dead ends, or breaking alignment with desktop.
We were excited to bring intent based onboarding to mobile — but from day one, something felt off.
The structure of the questions made sense for desktop, where users had access to every feature and plenty of screen real estate to explore. But on mobile, we were working within a tighter footprint - and a thinner feature set. Some of the onboarding prompts were referencing tools that didn't exist in the mobile app yet. If we shipped this as is, users would be guided toward features they could not actually use. That was a fast way to lose trust.
I worked closely with product and engineering to audit the entire flow. We identified two key opportunities to make the experience smarter without overhauling the backend logic.
First, we added clear labeling to manage expectations. If a user selected a goal that referenced a feature not yet in the mobile app, we let them know immediately - not with a warning, but with soft context. Users appreciated the honesty and felt more grounded, instead of confused.
Second, we dynamically removed the final step in the flow - the “What is your website?” prompt - if the user had not indicated they had one earlier. This step was originally required by the API, but we worked around it by injecting conditional logic that simply skipped it when it did not apply. That small change eliminated a common point of drop-off and gave the experience a more tailored, confident feel.
Beyond that, we proposed a smarter dashboard structure. Instead of the same static homepage for everyone, we explored customizing the dashboard based on what the user said they wanted to do, rearranging feature cards so the tools they needed most were front and center. Even though this portion was not fully built in this round, the concept tested well and laid the foundation for future personalization.
Constraints
• The onboarding flow was delivered through a shared API designed for desktop
• Several of the features referenced in the flow were not available in the mobile app
• The experience needed to align with the broader Constant Contact system while feeling native to mobile
• Changes had to preserve backend logic without disrupting existing trials or data structures
Results and User Feedback
• Activation increased by 18 percent among mobile users who completed onboarding
• Mid flow drop off decreased by 27 percent after removing irrelevant steps
• Users were 2.3 times more likely to complete onboarding when shown the revised flow
• Qualitative feedback included phrases like “this helped me know where to start” and “it felt more like a setup guide than a form”
Takeaway
This project highlighted the value of clear, goal based onboarding that respects the user’s context. Instead of overwhelming people with choices or asking irrelevant questions, we focused on clarity, simplicity, and alignment with what the app could actually do.
The result was an experience that felt faster, more personal, and more trustworthy. When onboarding reflects real user goals and removes unnecessary steps, people move forward with confidence.
Back
Intent-based Onboarding
Constant Contact • Mobile
My Role
Product Design
User Experience
Interaction
My Team
Glenn Brannely
Gyorgy Grell
Jake Levy
Ben Sweet
Linda Borghesani
My Tools
Figma
Notion
Jira
Confluence
Description
A redesigned mobile onboarding experience focused on guiding users toward meaningful outcomes from the start. Instead of dropping users into a general tour, we used intent to personalize the experience - reducing early drop-off and increasing activation by leading users toward their most relevant first actions.
Context
Constant Contact is known as a desktop-first platform, but the mobile app was becoming a key part of our growth strategy. To increase adoption, we needed to help users reach value quickly and confidently on mobile.
The desktop team had recently launched an intent based onboarding (IBO) experience that helped users navigate the platform by first identifying their goals. It worked by tailoring the flow to what the user wanted to do - like growing their contact list or sending a newsletter - instead of presenting a one size fits all tour. This helped boost activation, which we defined as a user adding a contact and sending an email.
Users who hit that milestone were significantly more likely to stay. On mobile, we inherited the same question set through a shared API - but several of the features referenced in the flow were not yet available in the app. That presented both a design challenge and a trust risk. My role was to adapt IBO for mobile without confusing users, creating dead ends, or breaking alignment with desktop.
We were excited to bring intent based onboarding to mobile — but from day one, something felt off.
The structure of the questions made sense for desktop, where users had access to every feature and plenty of screen real estate to explore. But on mobile, we were working within a tighter footprint - and a thinner feature set. Some of the onboarding prompts were referencing tools that didn't exist in the mobile app yet. If we shipped this as is, users would be guided toward features they could not actually use. That was a fast way to lose trust.
I worked closely with product and engineering to audit the entire flow. We identified two key opportunities to make the experience smarter without overhauling the backend logic.
First, we added clear labeling to manage expectations. If a user selected a goal that referenced a feature not yet in the mobile app, we let them know immediately - not with a warning, but with soft context. Users appreciated the honesty and felt more grounded, instead of confused.
Second, we dynamically removed the final step in the flow - the “What is your website?” prompt - if the user had not indicated they had one earlier. This step was originally required by the API, but we worked around it by injecting conditional logic that simply skipped it when it did not apply. That small change eliminated a common point of drop-off and gave the experience a more tailored, confident feel.
Beyond that, we proposed a smarter dashboard structure. Instead of the same static homepage for everyone, we explored customizing the dashboard based on what the user said they wanted to do, rearranging feature cards so the tools they needed most were front and center. Even though this portion was not fully built in this round, the concept tested well and laid the foundation for future personalization.
Constraints
• The onboarding flow was delivered through a shared API designed for desktop
• Several of the features referenced in the flow were not available in the mobile app
• The experience needed to align with the broader Constant Contact system while feeling native to mobile
• Changes had to preserve backend logic without disrupting existing trials or data structures
Results and User Feedback
• Activation increased by 18 percent among mobile users who completed onboarding
• Mid flow drop off decreased by 27 percent after removing irrelevant steps
• Users were 2.3 times more likely to complete onboarding when shown the revised flow
• Qualitative feedback included phrases like “this helped me know where to start” and “it felt more like a setup guide than a form”
Takeaway
This project highlighted the value of clear, goal based onboarding that respects the user’s context. Instead of overwhelming people with choices or asking irrelevant questions, we focused on clarity, simplicity, and alignment with what the app could actually do.
The result was an experience that felt faster, more personal, and more trustworthy. When onboarding reflects real user goals and removes unnecessary steps, people move forward with confidence.
I design for teams that care about doing it right
Get in touch, or send me a cat video
