Floating onboarding checklist in a trial: +187% activation
Commentary byLiftArchiveOur analysis, not theirsAdding a floating next-steps checklist to the trial dashboard raised activation by 187%, with two key setup events up 21% and 25%.
AURUM ran this test on Astrea, its legal practice software, and it was published as a VWO case study.
It went out as a controlled rollout rather than a strict A/B split.
- Activation rate: +187%. Here activation meant completing all setup steps and reaching the clipping stage.
- Conversion across two key setup events rose 21% and 25%.
- This was a controlled rollout, not a strict A/B split, so the comparison is less clean than a normal test.
The change
A floating next-steps checklist guides trial users to key actions
Simplified mockup drawn by LiftArchive from the shared screenshots.
Control
The trial dashboard gave users no guided next steps after the first setup screens.
Variant
A floating checklist in the bottom-left corner guided users to add a task, process a clipping and add a fee. The existing 'First Steps' progress indicator was updated to track those actions, with a confirmation when done.
Why it likely won
Our reading of the result, not the practitioner's claim.
- A checklist turns an open dashboard into a short to-do list, so users know what to do next.
- Each item pointed at an action linked to paying later, not just a tour of features.
- Ticking items off and seeing progress gives a small reward that keeps people going.
Caveats: Rolled out gradually as a controlled rollout rather than a strict A/B split. No sample size, duration or confidence level was shared.
Who ran it
AURUM ran this test and published the results (VWO case study). The numbers are theirs; the summary and commentary on this page are ours.
Read the original case study on AURUM →
How to run this test on your site
- Hypothesis
- If we add a short checklist of the three actions most linked to paying, then more trial users will activate because they always know the next step.
- Primary metric
- Trial activation rate (users completing all checklist actions)
- Guardrails
- Trial-to-paid conversion
- Checklist dismissal rate
- Early-session errors or drop-offs
- Who should test it
- SaaS trials where users land on an empty or busy dashboard and don't know what to do first. It adds less if the product already walks users straight to value.
Questions
Do onboarding checklists increase SaaS activation?
In AURUM's case activation rose 187% after adding one.
Keep the list short and tied to actions that predict payment.
What should go on a trial onboarding checklist?
The few actions that users who go on to pay tend to do early.
For Astrea those were adding a task, processing a clipping and adding a fee.
Is a controlled rollout as reliable as an A/B test?
Usually less so, because groups may not be split at random or at the same time.
Treat the numbers as a strong signal, not proof.