Onboarding Redesign — Vladislava Kuzmich

Overview

Design iterations

2x+

Onboarding conversion increase

~48%

Less drop-off

Redesigned the initial onboarding flow for MyNetDiary, a health & wellness app with 32M+ users, after support feedback and funnel analysis revealed significant drop-offs during onboarding. We identified that users were struggling to understand the value of certain steps and were dropping off before reaching the core product experience.

The goal was to simplify the experience, make the value of the app clearer, and introduce more meaningful personalization.

MyNetDiary onboarding welcome screen with 32 Million users worldwide and 4.8 rating

Why we redesigned?

We identified an opportunity to improve the onboarding funnel and understand why users were dropping off before reaching the core product experience. We used funnel analytics to identify where users were leaving and then looked at the experience leading up to that point to understand what could be improved.

Our initial hypothesis was that reducing friction and shortening the onboarding could improve completion. We tested this assumption through multiple A/B experiments, comparing the original flow with shorter and longer redesigned versions.

My Role End-to-end Product Designer — owned the onboarding redesign from problem framing and UX strategy to prototyping, A/B testing, and iteration.

Problem

The existing onboarding experience became outdated from both UX and UI perspectives and no longer met modern health & wellness app standards.

Key issues:

Limited personalization — personalization was based only on gender, age, goals, without considering lifestyle, or user preferences.
Lack of customization options — users could not choose nutrition plans, specify dietary restrictions, or add allergens.
Low emotional engagement — the onboarding did not visualize expected outcomes, such as weight loss progress and personalized goals.
Outdated UX patterns — no clear progress indicators or engaging educational moments.
Weak value communication — users did not clearly understand how the app would help them achieve their goals.

UX Improvements

Before

Short generic flow
Minimal personalization
Limited explanation of product value
Weak connection between user inputs and the final outcome

After

Personalized user journey
Adaptation to individual user goals and preferences
Age and gender-based personalization with custom illustrations for different user segments
Gradual value communication throughout the flow
Visual progress confirmation
Stronger emotional connection with the product

Before and after: daily calorie budget and plan summary screen redesign — Before/After Onboarding Screens

Approach & Decisions

We approached onboarding as an iterative product optimization process. Rather than redesigning the flow all at once, we used funnel analytics and A/B testing to identify friction, validate hypotheses, and continuously improve the experience based on user behavior.

We ran 7 iterations, using A/B tests and funnel analytics after each release. We compared the original onboarding with both shorter and longer redesigned versions, allowing us to validate our assumptions and make decisions based on user behavior rather than intuition.

Each iteration gave us a clearer signal of what worked, helping us progressively improve onboarding performance.

Make every question purposeful+

We initially explored whether reducing the number of questions would make onboarding easier to complete. However, testing showed that users were willing to provide more information when they understood why it was being asked and how it would improve their experience.

We focused on explaining the purpose behind questions and creating a clear connection between users' answers and the personalized experience they would receive.

More questions don't necessarily mean more friction. Unclear questions do.

Make personalization visible+

We introduced age- and gender-specific illustrations to make the experience feel more relevant and personal. During testing, we also discovered that our initial age ranges didn't accurately reflect how users perceived themselves. We adjusted the age segmentation and illustration groups based on these insights, making the personalization feel more natural and relatable.

Personalization has to feel recognizable, not just technically personalized.

Turn answers into value+

We asked users which other apps they had used before and immediately showed how MyNetDiary could address limitations they might have experienced with those products.

This transformed a questionnaire into an opportunity to communicate product value while users were still deciding whether to continue.

Instead of asking users to trust the product, we showed them why their answers mattered.

We also surfaced personalized recommendations and relevant content earlier in the flow, so users could see the value of personalization before reaching the end of onboarding.

Build commitment gradually+

We reorganized the flow so users moved from simpler questions to more involved decisions. For example, instead of presenting the weight-loss goal as one complex choice, we broke it into smaller steps and introduced additional context around the user's motivation.

The goal was not simply to reduce the number of steps, but to make each step feel manageable and purposeful.

We weren't reducing the journey. We were reducing the effort required at each step.

Collect better data, not just more data+

As we expanded personalization, we also challenged whether every question was actually useful and reliable.

For example, we removed the body-fat percentage question that asked users to estimate their body composition using visual references. The answer could be highly subjective and therefore unreliable for personalization.

Instead, we prioritized information that could meaningfully influence recommendations, content, and the user's experience.

The onboarding became significantly longer, yet more users completed it and reached the end of the flow.

User plan loading screen and diet icons with photo collages — **User Plan Loading Screen.** Created for both onboarding and in-app experiences.
**Diet Icons & Photo Collages.** Custom icons and unique collages for each diet, using original photography created by our team.

Custom onboarding illustrations for different user segments in light and dark mode — Custom illustrations for onboarding, designed for both light and dark modes

Key Insight A longer onboarding doesn't necessarily mean higher drop-off — when each step visibly delivers value and feels personalized, users are more likely to complete it.

Full MyNetDiary onboarding flow map with all screens

Extending the Onboarding Experience

The visual language created for onboarding was also extended to the in-app settings screens. We unified the date of birth and gender selection screens with the onboarding experience to create a consistent experience across the product.

Before and after: sex selection settings screen redesign — Before/After Setting Screen

Result

Conducted 7 iterations of the onboarding flow, with each iteration delivering measurable improvements in conversion.
Onboarding conversion increased 2x+, with drop-off reduced by ~48%.
Users were more engaged and more likely to complete the onboarding flow as they could see a clear connection between their inputs and the personalized experience they would receive.

2x+

Onboarding conversion increase

~48%

Reduction in drop-off

Design iterations, each A/B tested