What is an onboarding survey?
An onboarding survey asks new users about their first steps with your product: why they signed up, how easy getting started was and where they got stuck. It runs at milestones in the first days or weeks, so each answer describes one step of getting started.
Why the first days matter
New users decide quickly whether a product is worth the effort. An onboarding survey asks them at the moments that shape that decision: right after sign-up, when setup is done, and when they stop halfway. Each answer comes while the step is still fresh.
There are two common kinds. A welcome survey on the first screen learns who the person is and what they came to do, so the rest of onboarding can fit them. A check-in after a milestone, such as the first project or the first import, measures how easy that step was and what got in the way.
Software companies use onboarding surveys most, though the idea fits any business with a first stretch to get through: a new bank account, the first week of a course or a new employee's first month.
- Asked when
- Right after sign-up, after setup, a few days into a trial
- Asks about
- Role and goal, setup effort, blockers, first value
- Common metric
- Customer effort (CES) for each setup step
- Also called
- Welcome survey, new user survey, setup check-in
When to send an onboarding survey
Tie each question to a milestone or to a sign of trouble instead of a page load. A question right after the first invite is about inviting, and its answers say exactly which step to fix.
- Right after sign-up: a welcome survey of two to four quick choices
- When setup is done: how easy it was, on an effort scale
- When setup stalls: what got in the way, for someone idle on a step
- A few days into a trial: whether they have tried what they came for
- After about a month: whether the product is clearly useful yet
Onboarding survey questions
Keep the welcome survey to choices that take a tap, and save open questions for later check-ins. Ask about effort right after a step ends, and about value a few weeks in, once the person has had time to see it.
- “What's your role?”
- “What brings you here today?”
- “How easy was it to get started?” on a 1 to 7 effort scale
- “Have you been able to try what you signed up for?”
- “What could make getting started easier?”
Welcome survey vs onboarding check-in
Both belong to onboarding, but they do different jobs. The welcome survey shapes what the person sees next, and the check-in tells your team which step to improve.
| Welcome survey | Onboarding check-in | |
|---|---|---|
| Asked | On the first screen after sign-up | After a milestone, such as finishing setup |
| Length | Two to four quick choices | One score and one open question |
| Learns | Role, team size, goal | How easy the step was and what got in the way |
| Used for | Fitting onboarding to the person | Fixing the hardest steps |
An onboarding survey example
Say 300 new users answer “How easy was it to get started?” on a 1 to 7 scale in a month. 186 pick 5 to 7, 69 pick 4, and 45 pick 1 to 3, so 62% found getting started easy.
The 45 who found it hard matter most. Read their comments first and reach out the same day, since they are the users closest to giving up before they see any value.
- Easy, 5 to 7
- 186 answers, 62%
- Neutral, 4
- 69 answers, 23%
- Hard, 1 to 3
- 45 answers, 15%
- Share who found it easy
- 186 ÷ 300 = 62%
How to use onboarding feedback
Onboarding answers are most useful in the first hours after they arrive. A user who says they are stuck can still be helped, and a welcome answer can still change the next email they get. Later, the same answers show which steps of setup to fix first.
- Reach out the same day to users who report a blocker
- Send role and goal to the tool that sends your onboarding emails
- Compare the effort score before and after each change to setup
- Read the comments from the hardest step before you redesign it
Running onboarding surveys in Usertick
Start from the Welcome survey, Onboarding feedback or Trial check-in template, and add the script tag to your web app. Call identify with the signed-in user and traits such as plan and days since sign-up, and from Starter, show the survey only to users whose traits match your rules.
On every plan, a survey can open on a chosen page or when someone sits idle on a setup step. It can also open when a form is left half filled or when your app sends a custom event such as setup completed, on 1 survey on Free and on every survey from Starter. Set the repeat rule to Once, so a check-in shows a single time in each browser.
Results shows the average effort score and the share who found getting started easy against the period before, and each welcome answer as a share of all answers. On every plan, workflows post answers from users who sound stuck to Slack or Microsoft Teams.
Mistakes to avoid with onboarding surveys
Small choices that keep the results useful.
- 01
Asking on every page load
A survey that opens before anything has happened gets guesses. Ask after a step is done, so the answer is about that step.
- 02
A long welcome survey
Every question on the first screen delays the product the person came to try. Keep it to a few taps.
- 03
Asking long-time users too
Onboarding questions confuse people who have used the product for years. Limit the survey to new users with a trait or a visitor rule.
- 04
Waiting to help stuck users
A new user who says they are stuck is easiest to help right away, while they still remember the step. Reach out the same day.
Frequently asked questions
A few quick choices: the person's role, the size of their team and what they came to do. Those answers let you route people into the right onboarding, and open questions can wait for a later check-in.
One to four questions. A welcome survey works as a few taps, and a check-in as one score and one optional open question.
In Usertick, the visitor type rule limits a survey to new visitors on every plan, which means a first visit in that browser. From Starter, pass a trait such as days since sign-up with identify and show the survey only while it stays under a number you choose.
Yes, in Usertick on 1 survey on Free and on every survey from Starter. Your app sends a custom event such as setup completed, and the survey opens when it arrives, on the pages where the survey can show.
No. A product tour shows people how to use the product, and an onboarding survey asks them how getting started went. Add the survey at the tour's milestones to learn where people stop.
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