Onboarding questions that show where new users get stuck
Ask new users about sign-up, the tutorial, the permissions you request and their first five minutes in the app. Each question below comes with when to ask it and what the answer tells you.
What app onboarding survey questions tell you
App onboarding survey questions ask new users how the first minutes in your app went: sign-up, the tutorial, the permissions you asked for and how sure they felt at the end. Users who struggle at the start rarely write in. They close the app, so asking soon after install is how you hear from them.
Ask within a day or two of install, while the first screen is fresh. Usertick doesn't run inside phone apps, so email new users the survey's link, open it from a welcome message in the app, or ask on your web app. Pick four or five questions and start with the effort score.
Each written answer gets a theme, a type such as bug or question, and a sentiment, so the same stumbling block shows up as one theme in Results. On every plan, a workflow can post new answers to Slack or Microsoft Teams for the team that owns onboarding.
- Questions
- 13
- Best asked
- Within a day or two of install
- Industry
- Mobile apps
- Where to find them
- From library in the Usertick survey editor, on every plan
The 13 app onboarding questions, with when to ask each
Grouped by what they tell you. Use them as they are or change the wording.
How the first minutes went
Lead with the effort score and the feeling, then the time it took and how sure users were that it worked.
- 01Customer effort
How easy was it to get started in the app?
The effort score for the whole start, on a 7 point scale. Ask it within a day of install. Results shows the average and the share who found it easy, a number to follow from one onboarding change to the next.
- 09Mood dial
How did the first five minutes feel?
How the first five minutes felt, on a mood dial. Results shows each face with its share, which catches frustration that the effort score alone can miss.
- 02Ruler
How many minutes did setup take?
How many minutes setup took, on a ruler from 0 to 30. Results shows the median and the middle half, so a few users who left the app open for half an hour don't skew the number.
- 07Big scale
How confident are you that you set the app up correctly?
How sure users are that setup worked, from 1 to 10. A low score means users finished unsure, so read these answers with the open question about the first screen to find what left them in doubt.
Sign-up and the first screen
These questions split the account form from the first screen after it, so you know which one to fix.
- 06Stars
How clear was the sign-up flow?
Rates the sign-up flow alone, on five stars. Read it beside the effort score: a clear sign-up with a hard start points past the account form to the first screens.
- 10Yes / No
Did you sign in with an existing account?
Splits new accounts from users who signed in with one they already had. Select each answer in Results to compare the two groups, since returning users skip most of the sign-up.
- 08Text
What was confusing on the first screen?
The first screen in the user's own words. AI reading files each answer under a theme, so repeated confusion about one button or label is easy to find with the theme filter.
The tutorial and permissions
Ask who skipped the tour and why, and which permissions users granted, before you change either.
- 03Yes / No
Did you skip the tutorial?
A plain yes or no on the tutorial. Select Yes in Results to see whether users who skipped found the start harder or easier than users who watched it.
- 04Multiple choice
Why did you skip it, if you did?
Gives the reason for skipping in one tap. A high share for Too long or Not helpful asks for a shorter tour, and a high share for I knew the app already points to returning users who need a way past it.
- 05Multiple choice
Which permissions did you allow?
Which permissions users granted during setup. Results shows a bar with the share for each, so you can see which request users refuse and whether None is common enough to rethink when you ask.
Where users came from and what they prefer
Where the install came from and how users like to start shape the first run, and the last question asks permission to follow up.
- 11Dropdown
How did you install the app?
Where the install came from: a store, your own link or a colleague. Results shows each share, and selecting one filters the page, so you can see whether invited users start more easily.
- 12This or that
When you open a new app, you prefer
Two pairs: a tour or jumping right in, and sample data or an empty start. Results shows a split bar per pair, a quick read before you redesign the first run.
- 13Consent
Can we send you tips during your first week?
A checkbox that records permission to send tips, kept with the response. Usertick email sends to a list now or on a date you schedule and doesn't run a series, so send a first-week series from your own tool.
Tips for asking about app onboarding
Small choices that get honest, useful answers.
- 01
Ask within two days of install
Send the survey while the first screen is still fresh. A week later, users remember little more than whether they kept the app.
- 02
Send new users a link in batches
Usertick has no automatic send at sign-up. Add each day's new users to a contact list and send in daily or weekly batches.
- 03
Compare skippers with watchers
Select Yes on the tutorial question in Results, and the whole page shows only users who skipped. Compare their effort score before you shorten the tour.
- 04
Change one step at a time
Ask the same questions before and after each onboarding change. Results compares each card with the period before, so the effect of one change is easy to read.
Add these questions to a survey
From the library to the first answers.
- 1
Open the library
In the Usertick survey editor, choose From library, filter by industry and topic, and add several questions at once.
- 2
Or paste your own list
Paste questions reads up to 10 questions from any text on Free, 100 on Starter and 200 on Pro and above, keeps your wording and picks an answer type for each.
- 3
Choose where it runs
Show the survey on your website, send it by email, share its link and QR code, or switch it to a conversation.
- 4
Read the answers
Results counts every score and choice, and Usertick reads each written answer and files it by topic, on every plan.
Templates and more questions about app onboarding
Full surveys that ask about the same things, and neighboring topics in the library.
Templates
Browse all templatesFrequently asked questions
Within a day or two of install or sign-up. Usertick sends to a contact list now or on a date you schedule, so send to each day's new users in a batch, or open the survey's link from a welcome message in your app.
Usertick doesn't run inside phone apps. The app can open the survey's link, and on a web app the survey can show as a popup, a side button or inside the page, triggered by pages viewed or time on site.
Four or five. Start with the effort score, add the setup time and the tutorial question, and end with the open question about the first screen.
Yes. Add logic to the tutorial question so users who answered No skip the reason question and move straight to the next one.
Yes. The question library comes with every plan, the free plan included, and the free plan covers 150 responses a month across your surveys.
Yes. Once a question is in your survey, reword it, change its options or its answer type, and add logic to skip it for some answers.
Yes. The library is translated into Usertick's built-in languages, and in any other language it shows in English for you to translate.
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