Reducing drop-off in business onboarding
The business onboarding flow showed a significant drop-off, particularly in the early and middle stages of account setup. Analysis revealed that users were abandoning the flow not because of lack of intent, but due to friction during completion.
Key issues included high decision density caused by too much information and too many choices on a single screen, a lack of contextual explanation for required inputs, and users getting blocked when information was entered incorrectly. Many of these inputs were mandatory for compliance reasons, which limited how much the flow could be simplified.
The challenge was to reduce friction and abandonment without removing or bypassing regulatory requirements.
Lowering friction through clarity and guidance
Rather than attempting to shorten the onboarding flow, the design focus shifted toward making it easier to understand and complete.
The goal was to reduce information saturation by introducing clearer structure, progressive disclosure, and better contextual guidance. Required business information needed to feel purposeful rather than arbitrary, helping users understand why certain data was being requested and how to complete each step correctly.
This reframed onboarding from a form-heavy task into a guided process.
Data-informed iteration and validation
Drop-off points were identified using Mixpanel, allowing the team to pinpoint where users struggled or abandoned the flow. Based on these insights, multiple design variants were created and tested using the UserTesting platform.
The redesigned flow introduced clearer hierarchy, inline validation, and contextual help at moments of uncertainty, reducing the likelihood of users getting stuck or making preventable errors. These changes were iterated and validated through testing before rollout.
As a result, churn within this part of the onboarding flow decreased, indicating a measurable improvement in completion and user confidence.
