Onboarding is the first-run path in an app or site: what this product is, why it matters to this person, and the smallest action that proves it works — create an account, book a class, send the first invoice. Done well, it cuts early churn. Done as a lecture, people skip, or worse, delete.
It is a user flow with a job: first session. The user journey still includes ads, email, and support around it. Keep it visual, skippable, and short. UX writing carries the screens; microinteractions confirm taps. First-run screens are often empty states with a guide. This is not HR new-hire onboarding (laptops, payroll, a handbook). That is a different problem.
A real-life example of onboarding
An Atlanta gym app opens to three cards: class types, pick a time, pay. A regular who already knows the drill hits Skip. A first-timer gets a tooltip on “Book,” not a 12-screen carousel. If the first useful action is buried behind a forced account, usability fails before UX ever gets a chance.
Show the benefit, then the action, then get out of the way. How-to: How to Create a Great App Onboarding Experience and UX writing and microcopy.