07.2.3 · Skill in Onboarding design
Contextual guidance
Tips and hints that appear where and when they help.
Contextual guidance places help next to the action, such as a hint on an unfamiliar field or a tooltip on first use. It is easy to overdo. Each tip should earn its place by solving an observed problem.
Resources
3- articleStart hereOnboarding tutorials vs. contextual help ↗NN/g · 2023 · 9 min
Research showing upfront tutorials rarely help, and why help at the moment of need works better.
- articleStart hereInstructional overlays and coach marks ↗NN/g · 2014 · 8 min
How to show a tip at the right moment without covering the screen people are trying to use.
- articleStart hereHelp and documentation (usability heuristic 10) ↗NN/g · 2020 · 9 min
Proactive and reactive help, and how to keep it short and close to the task.
Tools
none yetTools for this topic are being researched.