Onboarding is one of the clearest places to understand your product. It exposes what is essential, what is confusing, and what people need in order to move forward with confidence.
A good onboarding sequence teaches the logic of the product. It shows what to do next, why it matters, and how the product supports the user. When onboarding feels natural, it is usually because the product underneath is coherent.
A weak onboarding sequence reveals deeper issues. It often reflects unclear positioning, inconsistent mental models, or a product that has not made real decisions about what it wants to be.
When I design onboarding, I look at what the user is trying to become, not just what they are trying to do. This shift changes everything.
Onboarding is not the front door to the product.
It is the product.