Building Volt's Onboarding, Twice

Starting from Zero

For a long time, Volt had no onboarding. New users signed up, landed in a blank chat list, and figured things out on their own. Or didn't. The team handled onboarding manually, which didn't scale and didn't cover most users.

The first version was supposed to change that.

V1: A Gamified Checklist

The idea was a progress checklist that walked users through Volt's core features, ordered from least friction to most. As they completed each step, they'd feel momentum and actually discover the product.

The onboarding covered 8 long steps:

• Audio transcriptions (surfaced automatically so users saw value without doing anything)
• Creating a task
• Connect Volt Cloud QR
• Scheduling a message
• Using keyboard shortcuts
• Building a list and assigning chats to it
• Setting up a Workspace

Surface value first, then introduce features that need more effort once users are already invested. The logic was right.

The execution wasn't. The flow had bugs. The copy was vague. Users got confused early and didn't come back to it.

V2: Cut Scope, Add Clarity

Version two started by removing half the checklist. Four features, not eight:

• Audio transcriptions
• Send Later
• List creation
• Tasks

Each step got proper copy explaining why it matters. The other change: Volt's own WhatsApp number now sends a welcome message to every new user. The first audio they see in the app is already transcribed. The first task example is already live in their chat.

Finally we added another step to setup notifications, since we always receive questions about how to turn them off or on!

What We'd Do Differently

Ship onboarding earlier. Many users arrived and there was almost nothing to help them. And building it twice taught us that a simple flow with clear copy beats a comprehensive one that nobody reads.