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Design Examples
Onboarding Examples: Real App Sign-Up Flows
See how companies like Arc, Granola, HubSpot and Wispr Flow teach features in context, with examples of reactive, interactive and permanently inline onboarding.
Real world examples:
Updated: 26/08/2026, view all 1,450 examples
Examples on Built for Mars include
Wispr Flow demos itself in your use case
HubSpot spots copy/pasting, offers templates
Granola repeats onboarding for rare features
During onboarding, Wispr Flow asks you what you’re going to use it for, and then demonstrates the app in action in the exact context you specified.
More context
Even better, if you choose more than one context, it’ll follow with a quick cycle through all the scenarios/apps.
Go to UX BiteView#1267
During onboarding, Arc will encourage you to toggle adverts on a webpage on and off, to demonstrate the difference in experience (and the value they're adding).
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This works really well because it's interactive. It uses your curiosity to deliver a (maybe) Aha! Moment.
A video, or a text callout wouldn't work nearly as well.
When creating a private folder in Granola, they’ll show contextual onboarding inline.
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This is displayed every time, and helps remind you why you would use a private folder in the first place.
Go to UX BiteView#1147
Hubspot notices if you're copy/pasting between emails, and will show you related feature onboarding.
More context
This is epic progressive disclosure.
Headspace nudges you into sharing your 30-day passes with a friend, at the same time as onboarding that component.
More context
This might sound obvious, but the UX magic is subtle.
They're explaining where the "share" feature is, and drawing your attention to it. But also linking the "why".
i.e., you want to have someone to share this with, and here's 30-days to get them started.
There are more than 1400 UX Bites like this
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There are more than 1400 UX Bites like this
See the benefits
There are more than 1400 UX Bites like this
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FAQs
What makes reactive onboarding work so well?
Catching someone mid-task means the feature answers a problem they can already feel. Lovable waits until you've sent several negative prompts in a row before suggesting chat mode to build a plan, HubSpot reacts to copy/pasting between emails, and Google's assistant surfaces prompts when it can handle a more specific version of what you just asked.
Why does interactive onboarding beat a video or a text callout?
Curiosity does the teaching. Arc asks you to flick "Block Ads and Trackers" on and off on a real webpage, so the difference is witnessed rather than claimed, which is what turns it into an Aha! moment.
Should the same onboarding ever be shown more than once?
For features people touch rarely, repetition is the point. Granola keeps its explanation permanently inline in the private folder creation modal, so someone returning twelve months later is reminded why the feature exists instead of guessing.
Can an onboarding moment do more than explain a feature?
It can carry a motive as well as an instruction. Headspace's tooltip points out the share button and mentions that new members get a 30-day Guest Pass, so the same overlay teaches the mechanic and hands over a reason to use it, which feeds referrals.
Why ask people what they'll use the product for during signup?
Asking upfront lets the demo be about them. Wispr Flow shows the app working inside the exact context you selected, cycling through each one if you pick several, which frames value more concretely than a generic tour. PictureThis does something similar by demoing plant finder on a stock image straight after account creation.