Enabling personalisation and persuasion through Medium's onboarding

OverviewWalkthrough
Context
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Onboarding
Category
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News
Goals
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Engagement
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Registration
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Conversion
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Data collection
Biases identified
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Anchoring Bias
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Attentional Bias
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Authority Bias
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Cognitive Load
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Default Bias
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Commitment Bias
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Loss Aversion
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Mere Exposure Effect
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Reciprocity Principle
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Social Proof

Medium’s mobile onboarding experience blends minimalist design with persuasive psychology to encourage account creation and membership conversion. This review analyses how key behavioural triggers are used across splash, signup, verification, personalisation, and upsell stages. From invoking authority and social proof to leveraging reciprocity and goal momentum.

While the flow succeeds in simplifying decision-making and reinforcing trust, it risks subtle coercion in its membership upsell and could offer more clarity in areas of value exchange.

The flows we reviewed

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What works

  • Strong visual authority via branding and typography
  • Smooth email sign-up with minimal friction
  • Clever use of reciprocity (e.g. rewarding readers who support writers)
  • Social proof via prominent profile photos in onboarding
  • Goal momentum reinforced through progressive personalisation steps
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What doesn't work

  • Upsell feels sudden and lacks preview of product value before price
  • Loading screens miss an opportunity to reassure or reinforce trust
  • Verification step lacks clear fallback or guidance for delays
  • Topic selection could visually emphasise diversity more effectively

Screen-by-screen review

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Splash screen

Attentional Bias
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High contrast black background and bold white logo draw immediate attention.
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Idea
Include a brief tagline or value proposition under the logo to build associative value during idle viewing.
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Landing signup

Default Bias
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Google is top sign-up option, nudging users to use it.
Authority Bias
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Large serif headline and centred logo convey credibility and quality.
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Idea
Offer a short sentence beneath each sign-up method describing its benefits to support informed decisions.
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Account creation – email

Cognitive Load
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Two field form reduces cognitive effort and keeps flow simple.
Default Bias
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Bright green button visually marks default next step.
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Idea
Add a line below the email input to clarify no password is needed, reducing hesitancy.
medium-onboarding-3-2-account creation-verification

Account creation – verification

Attentional Bias
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Email address displayed prominently to build trust and context.
Framing Effect
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Pin code design and user email display increase completion drive.
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Idea
Add microcopy with estimated wait time or retry logic to reassure users who don’t receive the code quickly.
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Account creation – progress

Commitment Bias
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Spinner reinforces forward motion toward next step.
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Idea
Replace spinner-only screen with a short message reinforcing what’s coming next.
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Account creation – welcome

Social Proof
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Avatars imply others are using the platform and add warmth.
Authority Bias
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'Welcome to Medium' reinforces platform credibility.
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Idea
Allow users to view the profiles briefly before continuing to increase connection and perceived control.
medium-onboarding-3-5-account creation-topics selection

Account creation – topics selection

Cognitive Load
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Topic pills break information into manageable options.
Commitment Bias
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'Choose three or more' prompt pushes users toward a minimum target.
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Idea
Surface examples or trending topics under each tag to provide context and guide choice.
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Post account creation – upsell (top view)

Reciprocity Principle
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Highlighting that readers help writers earn more leverages moral obligation.
Loss Aversion
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Messaging stresses what users miss without membership (e.g. cancel anytime).
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Idea
Precede upsell with a short preview of member-only content to make the offer more tangible.
medium-onboarding-4-2-post account creation-upsell scrolled

Post account creation – upsell (scrolled view)

Anchoring Bias
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More expensive plan shown first makes other options seem cheaper.
Attentional Bias
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Bright green button and 'Friend' tier pricing grab attention first.
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Idea
Allow toggling between plans before highlighting selection, promoting comparison without anchoring.
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Home

Social Proof
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Clap counts and comments show popularity, influencing content consumption.
Mere Exposure Effect
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Seeing content immediately makes Medium feel familiar and relevant.
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Idea
Offer onboarding tips or a short walkthrough to help users explore features on their first visit.

Similar case studies to explore

Creating calm and conviction with Headspace’s onboarding

How Blinkist onboards for better personalisation

How Notion encourages onboarding through progressive profiling

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