Suppose you happen to be a growth manager, a UX specialist, or a product design aficionado. In that case, you have to understand that ‘learning by experience’ is one of the only ways you can progress in your respective field. Even when complexity isn’t connected to the interface and is just a part of the process that leads to the objective of the task at hand, there’s a certain learning curve you have to follow.
One example of this is the board game ‘Go’. The board is very simple, and the logic of the game is pretty straightforward. But since every stone on the board is a doorway to completely new possibilities, it can make the game’s learning curve extremely steep. But if you follow each and every step in the way it’s supposed to be, you won’t have trouble reaching your goal efficiently.
This is exactly the problem that interactive walkthroughs are trying to solve. Their objective is not just to have you read out of a user manual but to walk you through the entire process while having you experience the UI at the same time. This way, you can grasp the flow of the app in question and understand its functionality simultaneously. The hurdle to this is that most people choose to figure out the app/website in question by themselves.
This is where interactive walkthroughs will have the most effect. You not only understand the value of the product but experience and soak it enough to navigate your way through the user interface and use it to its optimum capacity. To know how making a web app will take your business to e new level, you need first to understand what an interactive walkthrough is.
Everything You Need to Know About Interactive Walkthroughs
Interactive walkthroughs are step-by-step guides that are used to help customers and brand-new employees from onboarding programs navigate the website or application via the right touchpoints. They prompt particular app elements, explain the functionality, and prompt the user to take action.
It’s the perfect way to train new users to navigate your online business’s app smoothly and bring the existing users up to speed on the latest features the app offers. The user’s learning needs are addressed, and they have a greater comprehension of the app’s features. When we are simply provided information (e.g., on a tour or a user manual), you won’t understand its full extent.
It’s simply human nature to find difficulty in retaining information if provided in a very basic manner. The chances of retaining information are much higher if we experience the app first hand and complete the task at hand ourselves. Once we have performed the task and know how to get to the end results ourselves, it is difficult not to retain the process.
Interactive walkthroughs take advantage of this psychological trait and have you understand the process, rather than just explain it. This encourages faster learning and increased productivity. You retain a lot more and are much more confident about the app’s functionality and indulge in greater intended app usage.
Good Website Design Vs. Interactive Walkthrough
Let us understand this with an example. For this example, we shall compare a simple product tour with an interactive walkthrough, you can highlight all the key distinct features to make it easier for them to use later. Digital adoption tools like Apty, Pendo, WalkMe, and other WalkMe competitors offer onboarding walkthroughs that are specifically designed for product managers, keeping their requirements in mind. So consider you are hosting some overnight guests. If you want to give them an equivalent of a product tour, you have to simply guide them and show them how to navigate and find the most important features of the house.
But in the same situation, interactive walkthroughs run deep in the functionality of the situation and how to get past a particular problem. Product tours are simply a lay of the land, whereas interactive walkthroughs are more of an in-depth procedural explanation of the task at hand.
With this being said, an interactive walkthrough doesn’t take away much from a website or app UI. It does not replace a good UI design, but simply supports and enables it. A good website design and interactive walkthrough always go hand in hand. A very attractive and user-friendly interface paired with a detailed interactive walkthrough is the most efficient way to understand your platform.
This stems from the following two reasons:
- A certain percentage of users won’t be able to use their own instincts to find their way around your UI.
- A considerable chunk of technologically challenged users will find it difficult to understand the flow of the app/website simply based on a basic user manual or product tour.
Hence, interactive walkthroughs are vital for such people to understand how to use the app/website the way it is meant to be. If you have included a new function in your app and want users to use it to the fullest, interactive walkthroughs are the way to go. By giving a comprehensive tour of the feature to your existing users, you can generate more interest.
Creating the “Ideal” User Experience Funnel: What to Keep in Mind?
When you onboard a new user onto your platform, it is similar to introducing someone to a new person. If you want to be comfortable with a new person, you must get to know them first. Such is the case with a new website or app. Unless you understand how to work your way around the app, you won’t be using all of its features efficiently.
So how do you welcome a new user? How can you keep them engaged? Why should they use your particular platform? Well, the answer is pretty straightforward. Let’s have a look at two different ways you can do this.
The general approach
This is the general approach taken by interactive walkthroughs. This is where the walkthrough explains the entire app functionality of the app step-by-step. The user can customize the walkthrough process and choose what he wants the bot to explain. The only issue here is that technologically handicapped users will find it difficult to understand what to choose.
They wouldn’t be able to make the best out of the interactive walkthrough. This would eventually have them lose interest in learning the ways of the platform and drop in user rate.
The user-friendly approach
This is a technique that’s commonly used by social networking websites. They point out only what is necessary and have all the other settings placed at default for minimal customization. The user-friendly approach makes your job a lot easier and brings in more users. This is where an interactive walkthrough fits like a missing piece of a puzzle. To the point, and elementary enough to avoid any and all confusion. Think of it as a very friendly tour guide.
Common applications of interactive walkthroughs
There are numerous applications of a seamless interactive walkthrough setup for companies seeking a digital adoption platform. Here are a few use-cases that interactive walkthroughs can help you nail.
Product tour
This is a basic tour of the platform to understand the app’s standard functionality and navigation. Something similar to this was done by Facebook initially. Post setup, you get the option of ‘Take a tour. This was done to show the user around the platform and familiarise them with functions such as liking, posting pictures, commenting, etc.
With an interactive walkthrough, you can highlight all the key distinct features to make it easier for them to use later. Digital adoption tools like Pendo, WalkMe, and other WalkMe competitors offer onboarding walkthroughs that are specifically designed for product managers, keeping their requirements in mind.
User on-boarding
Your goal with anything you make should be for the user to understand its functionality to their fullest potential. If they understand the product, they are much more likely to use it often. Interactive walkthroughs can lay the foundation for users, help them start using the platform, and learn how to use the product.
Employee placement
With technology evolving at its pace, enterprise software is becoming bigger and more complicated by the day. A new employee will always have trouble navigating the platform without getting an assist. This is why software like Salesforce, Oracle, ServiceNow, Microsoft Dynamics, SAP, etc., have a comprehensive interactive walkthrough/training program in place to help the onboarding team members understand the platform a little bit better.
In-app help and support
Customer support is a very integral part of every platform. But if not automated, this process can be tedious because customer support teams aren’t available round the clock and prone to human error. Automating the entire process is the best way out of this situation. Instead of approaching the team at odd hours, the interactive walkthrough can display a detailed video of the function in doubt. You can also choose from a provided list of walkthroughs and get rid of your confusion.
Why Include an Interactive Walkthrough in Your UX?
Many of the first-class web products cannot be figured out simply based on instinct on the first go. An elaborate interactive walkthrough platform must bridge the gap between the user and the platform. It effectively reduces confusion for users and streamlines training for employees. So what are you waiting for? Take the leap of faith and adopt interactive walkthroughs now!
