MobileAction

Designing a Scalable Onboarding Experience for a Powerful ASO & Ad Management Platform.

Goal

To design a user-friendly solution that optimizes training for runners, enables seamless progress tracking, and boosts motivation. The final design will provide intuitive navigation and data-driven insights, catering to both amateur and professional runners.

Role

Senior Product Designer

Industry

SaaS

Duration

3 Days

User Research

Mobile Action is a platform that helps mobile app marketers increase visibility, optimize App Store performance, and manage Apple Search Ads campaigns with data-driven insights.

The company offers a comprehensive suite of tools to analyze app performance, track competitors, and automate ad operations. However, the onboarding experience lacked clarity and personalization, especially for first-time users who needed to quickly understand the platform’s capabilities and align it with their goals.

Problems and Goals

The goal was to design a new interactive onboarding flow that would help new users:

Understand what Mobile Action can do for them.
Customize their experience based on their individual needs (e.g., ASO, Search Ads, or Competitor Research).
Set up their app, market preferences, and ad budgets.
Get a smooth transition into the dashboard with contextual tips and a quick-start setup.

The main problems identified were:

The onboarding lacked goal-based personalization.
Users weren’t clearly guided on how to integrate their app or data.
Key features were introduced too late in the journey.
The initial steps didn't reflect the user's strategic intent (install growth vs. campaign optimization, etc.)

Solution Must Include

To solve these problems, the onboarding redesign was built with the following principles:

Goal-Based Entry – Let users define their primary purpose (ASO, Ads, Competition).
Step-by-Step Setup – Break down the onboarding into digestible steps with a progress indicator.
App Integration & Data Input – Provide forms to add app details, markets, and budgets in a user-friendly way.
Smart Suggestions – Use the data to guide users toward actions like tracking keywords or analyzing competitors.
Quick Feature Highlights – Use a short feature tour to introduce core capabilities before entering the dashboard.

The redesigned onboarding aims to create a balance between clarity, engagement, and efficiency—helping product teams onboard faster and align their growth strategies with Mobile Action’s tools.

User Flow

As a UX designer, I mapped a streamlined user flow that balances clarity, engagement, and efficiency—ensuring users can seamlessly transition from registration to active product usage.

The journey begins when a user signs up via the main website, after which they are redirected into the core application environment. Upon entry, the user is welcomed with a clean interface and gains a high-level view of the platform’s capabilities.

The next step involves product creation, which is essential for users to start exploring the value of the platform. To keep the process focused and lightweight, I broke this down into four guided steps, each designed to collect key information about the user’s mobile app—such as app name, store links, target markets, budget preferences, and goals.

Once the core product setup is complete, users are directed to an onboarding experience tailored to help them understand the platform more deeply. Here, they are introduced to actionable features through contextual tips, helpful suggestions, and quick wins, enabling them to realize the platform’s full potential quickly.

At the end of the onboarding, users are fully equipped to begin managing their app performance, analyzing competitors, optimizing search ads, and making data-driven decisions—all within a highly intuitive environment.

This flow ensures that first-time users are not only guided step by step but also gradually empowered to take ownership of their product strategy within the platform.

Welcome Screen – Setting the Tone for the Experience

The welcome screen serves as the user's very first point of interaction after entering the app environment. Its primary goal is to establish clarity and motivation by introducing key capabilities of the platform in a concise, engaging format.

This screen highlights four core value propositions of MobileAction:

Boost App Installs
Understand Market Trends
Conduct Competitor Research
Optimize Paid Campaigns

Each feature card is accompanied by a minimal icon and a short, action-oriented explanation to foster quick comprehension without overwhelming the user.

To support progressive onboarding, users are given the flexibility to either explore these features further or skip directly to the next step — maintaining momentum while respecting user autonomy.

The left section integrates MobileAction's brand voice and positioning, emphasizing growth and effortless control, while a custom rocket illustration reinforces a sense of forward motion and innovation.

This screen was strategically placed to:

Set a positive tone
Quickly communicate product value
Guide users into the core product experience with clarity

By blending strategic messaging, visual hierarchy, and interaction options, this welcome step reduces cognitive load and increases user engagement from the very beginning.

User Research

Mobile Action is a platform that helps mobile app marketers increase visibility, optimize App Store performance, and manage Apple Search Ads campaigns with data-driven insights.

Problems and Goals

The goal was to design a new interactive onboarding flow that would help new users:

Understand what Mobile Action can do for them.
Customize their experience based on their individual needs (e.g., ASO, Search Ads, or Competitor Research).
Set up their app, market preferences, and ad budgets.
Get a smooth transition into the dashboard with contextual tips and a quick-start setup.

The main problems identified were:

The onboarding lacked goal-based personalization.
Users weren’t clearly guided on how to integrate their app or data.
Key features were introduced too late in the journey.
The initial steps didn't reflect the user's strategic intent (install growth vs. campaign optimization, etc.)

Solution Must Include

To solve these problems, the onboarding redesign was built with the following principles:

Goal-Based Entry – Let users define their primary purpose (ASO, Ads, Competition).
Step-by-Step Setup – Break down the onboarding into digestible steps with a progress indicator.
App Integration & Data Input – Provide forms to add app details, markets, and budgets in a user-friendly way.
Smart Suggestions – Use the data to guide users toward actions like tracking keywords or analyzing competitors.
Quick Feature Highlights – Use a short feature tour to introduce core capabilities before entering the dashboard.

The redesigned onboarding aims to create a balance between clarity, engagement, and efficiency—helping product teams onboard faster and align their growth strategies with Mobile Action’s tools.

User Flow

As a UX designer, I mapped a streamlined user flow that balances clarity, engagement, and efficiency—ensuring users can seamlessly transition from registration to active product usage.

This flow ensures that first-time users are not only guided step by step but also gradually empowered to take ownership of their product strategy within the platform.

Welcome Screen – Setting the Tone for the Experience

This screen highlights four core value propositions of MobileAction:

Boost App Installs
Understand Market Trends
Conduct Competitor Research
Optimize Paid Campaigns

Each feature card is accompanied by a minimal icon and a short, action-oriented explanation to foster quick comprehension without overwhelming the user.

This screen was strategically placed to:

Set a positive tone
Quickly communicate product value
Guide users into the core product experience with clarity

By blending strategic messaging, visual hierarchy, and interaction options, this welcome step reduces cognitive load and increases user engagement from the very beginning.

App Setup Flow — Understanding the Product to Personalize the Experience

To ensure that users receive insights tailored to their product and growth goals, I designed a 4-step flow that captures the essential context of their app. Each step is purposefully structured to reduce cognitive load and maintain a sense of progress.

Step 1 — Define Your Goal

Objective: Align the platform’s intelligence with the user's expectations.
In the first step, users are asked to define the primary goal they want to achieve using the platform — such as increasing installs, optimizing ad strategy, or analyzing market competition. This selection guides the personalization of recommendations and dashboard focus.

Step 2 — App Information

Objective: Gather key metadata to connect external data sources.
Here, users provide basic but critical details like the platform (iOS/Android), app name, and store URL or ID. This information allows the system to automatically retrieve relevant data (ratings, downloads, category) and prepares the groundwork for benchmarking and competitive analysis.

Step 3 — Target Market

Objective: Identify the app’s primary audience and regional focus.
To refine market trend insights and user acquisition strategies, users are prompted to select their key target regions and user personas. These inputs are used to filter trends and benchmark performance against relevant markets.

Step 4 — Ad Budget

Objective: Provide budget visibility for strategic planning.
Finally, users define their expected advertising budget range. This enables the system to suggest feasible campaign strategies, allocate resources efficiently, and compare performance metrics against similar-scale competitors.

Congratulations Screen — Summary and Seamless Transition to Action

After completing the multi-step app setup flow, users land on a congratulatory screen that not only celebrates their progress but also offers a quick summary of the data they’ve just provided. This helps users feel confident that their input has been registered correctly, and it eliminates ambiguity about what comes next.

Key Functions of This Screen

Progress Confirmation: A concise summary of the app details the user has just submitted (e.g., app name, platform, market info, budget) gives them clarity and closure.
Actionable Next Steps: Users are now offered three distinct pathways based on their intent:
- Go to Dashboard – For those who want an overview and to begin deeper exploration.
- View Report – For users ready to dive into insights and analytics right away.
- See App Details – To review or refine the specific app data they’ve just entered.

Design Rationale

This screen is designed to act as a soft landing into the product experience, converting a setup completion into a meaningful starting point. It also reduces cognitive load by summarizing key information before handing users off to more complex views.

UX Consideration

The availability of multiple navigation choices empowers users with flexibility and supports different usage motivations — whether they are insight-driven, exploratory, or detail-oriented.

App Tour — Helping Users Feel Oriented and Empowered After First Launch

After completing onboarding and creating their first app, I designed a brief, contextual App Tour to familiarize users with the platform’s interface and key navigation points.

Why an App Tour?

Even the most intuitive platforms can benefit from quick, purposeful guidance. Since this product offers multi-level data and competitive insights, the App Tour helps reduce cognitive load and encourages user exploration by highlighting essential features.

App Tour Steps

Step 1: Left Main Menu

Users are first introduced to the main navigation menu — the command center of the product.

I used the existing MobileAction menu structure as a reference.
The tour briefly explains where users can find modules like Reports, ASO, Market Intelligence, Campaign Management, and more.
A tooltip highlights the icons, providing a short description of each.

“This is your main control panel — quickly access every major module from here.”

Step 2: App Switcher

Next, users are guided to the App Switcher, located typically in the top-left area.

This feature allows users to seamlessly switch between multiple apps they manage.
Especially useful for users handling multiple products across markets or platforms.
Encourages exploration and centralizes control.

“Switch between your apps effortlessly — manage each product’s data from a single place.”

Step 3: Top Bar Notifications

Lastly, users are shown the notification center in the top bar.

This is where they'll receive alerts about data anomalies, competitor movements, budget alerts, or report completions.
Ensuring visibility here keeps users informed and proactive.

“Stay up to date with real-time alerts and reports — all your notifications live here.”

Design Approach

Tooltip-based navigation was preferred over modal walkthroughs to avoid interrupting the user’s flow.
Non-intrusive skip option included in every step.
Progress indicator and subtle animations guide user attention without overwhelming them.

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