Design Decision Needs to Be Justified

Published: 10/15/2025

A few days ago, I asked on Reddit how to convert anonymous visitors into users.

Besides finding the right timing to ask for emails, I wanted to know what else could be done.

Someone replied with a very solid piece of advice:

“Create a micro-survey during onboarding.”

At that time, I honestly didn’t quite get it. I politely thanked him and moved on.

Then, just recently, I stumbled upon a new automation tool called n8n - and it felt like finding a gold mine. When I registered for an account, I was asked to go through a simple onboarding flow. Suddenly, everything clicked.

That was the aha moment.

I realized what that Reddit commenter was talking about: onboarding isn’t just a welcome step - it’s the most valuable window to hear directly from your users and generate leads.

When someone signs up, they’re still engaged, curious, and motivated. That’s exactly when you can ask:

“Where did you hear about us?”
“What are you hoping to achieve?”

Those few questions can tell you more about your audience than any analytics dashboard ever could.

It also made me rethink my own product.

Recently, I noticed in my backend that I had 65 API calls in 24 hours - but I couldn’t make sense of them. Lost conversions? That’s when I realised I’m missing the full story.

Now, I understand why onboarding exists - not just to welcome users, but to fill in the missing puzzle pieces of how people actually discover and use your product.

Sometimes, you don’t need a new feature - you just need to ask the right question at the right moment.

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I launched a SaaS tool called Mermaid Mind, it converts YouTube videos into mind map diagrams and pill tags. It’s designed for video summarising content, extracting SEO keywords, and supporting visual brainstorming.

You can try it out instantly (no signup required, copy & paste url), or sign up to unlock more features like:

–Downloading your mind maps

–Saving them to your account

–Browsing by pill tags for quick organization

It’s especially handy for brainstorming, SEO keyword extraction, and content summarization.

You can also test it out and fill in my quick feedback form 👉 https://forms.gle/NdPNb9ZvMbxyfCfo9