Product Tour Examples & Best Practices: 12 Patterns That Work

Product tours are one of the most common—and most commonly botched—onboarding elements. Done well, they guide users to success. Done poorly, they annoy users into abandonment.

This guide examines real product tour examples, extracts what works, and provides patterns you can apply to your own product.

What Makes Tours Work (or Fail)

Before examining examples, understand the principles:

Why Tours Fail

Information overload: Showing every feature in one tour No clear purpose: Tours that educate without enabling action Poor timing: Interrupting users who are trying to do something Forced completion: No way to skip or exit Visual noise: Designs that distract from the product

Why Tours Succeed

Focused scope: 5-7 steps covering one workflow Action-oriented: Each step leads to user doing something Contextual: Appears when relevant, not all at once Respectful: Skippable, with progress visible On-brand: Feels native to the product

12 Product Tour Patterns That Work

Pattern 1: The Welcome Sequence

What it is: A brief orientation immediately after signup

Structure:

1. Welcome message with value reminder
2. Point to primary workspace
3. Highlight main action button
4. Show where help lives
5. Prompt first action

When to use: Every product should have some version of this

Example copy:

"Welcome to [Product]! This is your dashboard where you'll see all your [items]. Let's create your first one."

Best practices:

• Keep to 4-5 steps maximum
• End on user taking action
• Make it skippable after first step

Pattern 2: The Feature Spotlight

What it is: Single-step highlight of a specific feature

Structure:

1. Spotlight on element
2. Brief explanation (under 25 words)
3. CTA to try it

When to use: Introducing new features to existing users, or secondary features to new users

Example copy:

"New! Export to PDF. Download any report as a PDF with one click. Try it now →"

Best practices:

• One feature per spotlight
• Include clear CTA
• Don't chain multiple spotlights

Pattern 3: The Workflow Walkthrough

What it is: Multi-step tour following a complete user workflow

Structure:

1. Explain what we're going to accomplish
2. Step through each action in the workflow
3. User completes each step
4. Celebrate completion

When to use: Teaching core workflows that have multiple steps

Example flow (for a task management app):

1. "Let's create your first project together"
2. Click "New Project" → User clicks
3. "Give it a name" → User types
4. "Add your first task" → User types
5. "Great! You've created your first project with tasks"

Best practices:

• Match the actual workflow exactly
• Let users interact at each step
• Provide escape if they want to explore

Pattern 4: The Coach Mark Series

What it is: Multiple tooltips shown sequentially, but at users pace

Structure:

• Individual tips on key elements
• "Next" button to proceed
• Progress indicator (1/5, 2/5...)
• Can dismiss entire series

When to use: Interface-heavy products where context matters

Best practices:

• Let users control pace
• Show progress
• Allow revisiting via help menu

Pattern 5: The Contextual Trigger

What it is: Tour that starts based on user behavior

Trigger examples:

• First time accessing a specific page
• Clicking on an advanced feature
• After completing a key action
• When encountering an error

Structure:

1. Acknowledge what user just did
2. Explain what's possible here
3. Guide through next steps

When to use: Secondary features, advanced functionality

Example:

"First time in Reports? Here's how to build dashboards your team will love."

Best practices:

• Don't interrupt active work
• Be relevant to current context
• Offer "Later" option

Pattern 6: The Progressive Reveal

What it is: Tour that unlocks as users accomplish tasks

Structure:

• Initial tour covers basics only
• Completing key actions unlocks advanced tours
• Each level builds on previous

When to use: Complex products where overwhelming upfront is risky

Example sequence:

1. Initial: Creating items (unlocked at signup)
2. Level 2: Organizing items (unlocked after creating 5 items)
3. Level 3: Automation (unlocked after organizing)

Best practices:

• Make unlock criteria clear
• Notify when new content available
• Don't gate critical features

Pattern 7: The Goal-Based Path

What it is: Different tours based on user's stated goal

Structure:

1. Ask user their primary goal
2. Route to relevant tour
3. Tour focuses on that use case

When to use: Products serving multiple user types or use cases

Example: "What brings you to [Product]?"

• Track personal tasks → Personal workflow tour
• Manage team projects → Team collaboration tour
• Plan marketing campaigns → Marketing-specific tour

Best practices:

• Limit to 3-4 goal options
• Make paths meaningfully different
• Allow switching later

Pattern 8: The Video Tour

What it is: Embedded video explaining features

Structure:

• Welcome modal with embedded video
• 60-90 second product overview
• CTA to start after video

When to use: Products with visual complexity, or when showing is easier than telling

Best practices:

• Keep under 90 seconds
• Make it skippable
• Provide text alternative
• Ensure video loads quickly

Pattern 9: The Interactive Demo

What it is: Tour using sample data so users can explore safely

Structure:

1. Start with demo data populated
2. Tour explains what they're looking at
3. User can interact freely
4. Clear path to "start fresh"

When to use: Products where seeing data makes the value clear

Example:

"We've set up a sample project so you can explore. Click around! When ready, create your own project here →"

Best practices:

• Make demo data realistic
• Clear visual indicator it's demo mode
• Easy transition to real mode
• Don't require demo completion

Pattern 10: The Checklist-Driven Tour

What it is: Checklist where each item triggers a mini-tour

Structure:

• Checklist visible in UI
• Clicking an item starts focused tour
• Item completes when task done
• User controls what to learn when

When to use: Products with multiple independent features to learn

Example checklist:

○ Set up your profile (click to learn)
○ Create your first project (click to learn)
○ Invite team members (click to learn)
○ Connect integrations (click to learn)

Best practices:

• Let users choose order
• Keep each mini-tour short (3-4 steps)
• Track progress persistently

Pattern 11: The Empty State Guide

What it is: In-context guidance when sections have no data

Structure:

• Helpful content where data would be
• Explanation of what goes here
• CTA to create first item
• Optional sample to demonstrate

When to use: Every product with user-generated content

Example:

No projects yet

Projects help you organize tasks and collaborate with your team.
Create your first project to get started.

[Create Project]   or   [See example project]

Best practices:

• Make it encouraging, not empty
• Single clear CTA
• Show what it'll look like with data

Pattern 12: The Persistent Helper

What it is: Always-available assistant for guidance

Structure:

• Icon in corner (often "?" or avatar)
• Clicking opens help panel
• Offers tours, tips, and resources
• Contextual to current page

When to use: Complex products where users may need help anytime

Best practices:

• Keep it unobtrusive
• Make content contextual
• Include search
• Link to human support

Designing Effective Tour Copy

Your tour words matter. Here's how to write them:

Be Action-Oriented

Don't: "The projects page displays all your projects" Do: "Click 'New Project' to create your first project"

Be Specific

Don't: "Use this to organize your work" Do: "Drag tasks between columns to update their status"

Be Brief

Target 15-25 words per step. Every word should earn its place.

Use Active Voice

Don't: "Reports can be generated from this menu" Do: "Click here to generate a report"

Match Your Brand

Use the same voice as the rest of your product. If you're playful, be playful. If you're professional, be professional.

Avoid Jargon

Use words your users use. When in doubt, simpler is better.

Technical Considerations

Positioning

• Spotlights should point directly at elements
• Tooltips shouldn't cover important content
• Scroll element into view if needed
• Handle responsive layouts

Timing

• Wait for elements to load before starting
• Add slight delays between steps for readability
• Don't interrupt user actions mid-flow
• Consider session length and engagement

State Management

• Track tour completion per user
• Remember dismissed tours
• Handle interrupted tours gracefully
• Sync across devices if relevant

Analytics

Track these for every tour:

• Start rate (of targeted users)
• Completion rate
• Drop-off by step
• Correlation with activation

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake 1: The Grand Tour

Trying to show everything in one tour. Users forget 80% of what they're shown.

Fix: Multiple focused tours over time

Mistake 2: Feature Bragging

Showing features because you're proud of them, not because users need them.

Fix: Focus on user goals and workflows

Mistake 3: Ignoring Mobile

Desktop tours that don't work on mobile devices.

Fix: Design for smallest screen first

Mistake 4: Static Instructions

Tours that explain but don't let users do.

Fix: Interactive steps where users take action

Mistake 5: No Exit

Forcing tour completion with no way out.

Fix: Always provide skip option

Mistake 6: Set and Forget

Launching a tour and never looking at the data.

Fix: Monthly review of tour performance

Measuring Tour Success

Primary Metrics

Completion rate: What percentage finish the tour?

• Target: 60%+ for well-designed tours
• <40%: Investigate and shorten

Drop-off analysis: Which steps lose users?

• Identify problematic steps
• Simplify or split problem areas

Secondary Metrics

Activation correlation: Do tour completers activate at higher rates?

• Validates tour design
• Justifies investment in optimization

Time to complete: How long does the tour take?

• Target: Under 2 minutes total
• Longer tours need shortening

Skip rate: How many skip before starting?

• High skip: Check timing and relevance
• Some skip is healthy (power users)

Building Your Tours

Ready to create effective product tours? Here's your action plan:

1. Audit Current State

• Document existing tours (if any)
• Review completion metrics
• Gather user feedback on onboarding

2. Define Success

• What action should tours lead to?
• How will you measure effectiveness?
• What's your baseline activation rate?

3. Design First Tour

• Map your core user workflow
• Write step-by-step tour content
• Get team feedback on copy

4. Build and Launch

• Implement with your chosen tool
• Test on multiple devices
• Launch to subset of users

5. Measure and Iterate

• Review data after 1 week
• Identify drop-off points
• A/B test improvements

The best product tours don't feel like tours—they feel like a helpful guide getting users to success as quickly as possible. Focus on user outcomes, keep it brief, and always be willing to iterate.

Related Resources

• How to Create Onboarding Flows Without Code
• 10 Onboarding Mistakes That Kill User Activation
• Tooltip vs Modal vs Checklist: Choosing the Right Pattern