Tooltip vs Modal vs Checklist: Choosing the Right Onboarding Pattern

Onboarding isn't a single pattern—it's a toolkit of patterns, each suited to different moments and goals. Using the wrong pattern at the wrong time can hurt more than help.

This guide breaks down the major onboarding patterns, explains when to use each, and shows how to combine them effectively.

The Core Onboarding Patterns

Tooltips

What they are: Small text bubbles that appear near specific UI elements

Variations:

• Hover tooltips: Appear on mouseover
• Click tooltips: Appear on click
• Beacon tooltips: Pulsing dots that expand on click
• Inline tooltips: Permanent hints in the UI

When to use:

• Brief explanation of a single element
• Supplementary information (not critical)
• Feature discovery prompts
• Contextual help at point of confusion

When NOT to use:

• Critical information users must see
• Multi-step explanations
• Content requiring user decision
• When the element is self-explanatory

Best practices:

• Keep under 20 words
• One concept per tooltip
• Don't chain multiple tooltips
• Ensure they don't cover important UI
• Make dismissible

Example copy:

"Drag tasks between columns to change their status"

Modals

What they are: Overlay windows that require user attention

Variations:

• Welcome modals: First-time greeting
• Announcement modals: Feature launches
• Confirmation modals: User decisions
• Full-screen takeovers: Immersive experiences
• Slideouts/Sidepanels: Less intrusive overlays

When to use:

• Critical information requiring acknowledgment
• User input or decisions needed
• Welcome experiences setting context
• Important announcements
• Progressive profiling questions

When NOT to use:

• Frequent or repetitive information
• Content that can be inline
• During complex workflows
• Multiple modals in sequence

Best practices:

• Use sparingly—modal fatigue is real
• Provide clear close option
• One CTA, maybe two
• Don't block critical functionality
• Consider timing carefully

Example structure:

[Welcome to [Product]!]

We help you [value proposition].

What brings you here today?
○ Option A
○ Option B
○ Option C

[Get Started]        [Skip for now]

Product Tours

What they are: Multi-step guided walkthroughs

Variations:

• Linear tours: Fixed sequence of steps
• Branching tours: Paths based on user choices
• Interactive tours: Users complete actions at each step
• Video tours: Embedded video explanations

When to use:

• Initial product orientation
• Teaching complete workflows
• Introducing significant new features
• Complex functionality requiring guidance

When NOT to use:

• Simple, intuitive interfaces
• Repeat visitors
• When users are mid-task
• For minor features

Best practices:

• 5-7 steps maximum
• Each step drives an action
• Make skippable
• Show progress (2/5, 3/5...)
• End on user accomplishment

Example flow:

Step 1: "Welcome! Let's create your first project"
Step 2: [Highlighting New button] "Click here to start"
Step 3: [User clicks, form appears] "Give it a name"
Step 4: [User types] "Now add your first task"
Step 5: "Great! You've created your first project"

Checklists

What they are: Progress-tracking lists of tasks

Variations:

• Persistent widget: Always visible sidebar/corner
• Dismissible panel: Shown until completed
• Expandable icon: Minimizes to small indicator
• Page-based: Full section of the app

When to use:

• Guiding users through activation milestones
• Multi-session onboarding journeys
• Giving users control of their path
• Tracking progress toward goals

When NOT to use:

• Single-action guidance
• Very simple products
• When completion isn't important

Best practices:

• 5-7 items maximum
• Mix quick wins with meaningful tasks
• Connect to real product events
• Celebrate completion
• Make hideable but not hidden

Example checklist:

Your Onboarding Progress

✓ Create your account
✓ Complete your profile
○ Create first project
○ Invite a team member
○ Set up integrations

3/5 complete

Empty States

What they are: Content shown when sections have no data

When to use:

• Whenever a section would otherwise be blank
• Before users have created content
• In new feature sections

Best practices:

• Explain what belongs here
• Show why it's valuable
• Provide clear action to create first item
• Consider showing examples or templates

Example:

No projects yet

Projects help you organize tasks and
collaborate with your team.

[Create Your First Project]

Or try a [template] to get started quickly

Hotspots/Beacons

What they are: Pulsing visual indicators drawing attention

When to use:

• New feature announcements
• Highlighting underused features
• Drawing attention to next steps
• Contextual prompts based on behavior

When NOT to use:

• On every new feature
• Multiple at once (visual chaos)
• On frequently used elements
• When user is actively working

Best practices:

• One beacon at a time
• Clear dismiss option
• Don't overuse (beacon fatigue)
• Connect to actual value

Inline Help

What they are: Permanent help text built into the interface

Variations:

• Field descriptions: Text below form fields
• Info icons: ? or i icons that reveal help
• Callout boxes: Highlighted informational panels
• Placeholder text: Guidance in input fields

When to use:

• Information that's always relevant
• Field explanations that prevent errors
• Best practices worth surfacing permanently

When NOT to use:

• Cluttering clean interfaces
• Information that becomes obvious after first use

Pattern Selection Matrix

Use this matrix to choose patterns:

| Situation | Recommended Pattern | |-----------|-------------------| | First-time welcome | Modal | | Teaching core workflow | Product Tour | | Multi-session activation | Checklist | | Explaining single element | Tooltip | | No content yet | Empty State | | New feature announcement | Modal or Beacon | | Contextual help | Tooltip or Inline | | Collecting user preferences | Modal | | Ongoing progress tracking | Checklist | | Quick feature highlight | Beacon → Tooltip |

Combining Patterns: The Full Onboarding Stack

Effective onboarding layers multiple patterns. Here's a complete stack:

Layer 1: First Impression (Modal)

Trigger: First ever login

Content:

• Welcome message
• Brief value proposition
• Goal/role selection (optional)
• Single CTA to continue

Duration: 10-30 seconds

Layer 2: Initial Orientation (Product Tour)

Trigger: After welcome modal

Content:

• 5-7 steps highlighting key areas
• Ends with user taking an action
• Skippable but encouraged

Duration: 60-90 seconds

Layer 3: Ongoing Guidance (Checklist)

Trigger: Visible after tour, persistent

Content:

• 5-7 activation tasks
• Tracks completion automatically
• Minimizable but visible

Duration: First 3-7 sessions

Layer 4: Contextual Support (Tooltips + Empty States)

Trigger: Throughout product use

Content:

• Tooltips on hover/first-time access
• Empty states with guidance
• Beacons for feature discovery

Duration: Ongoing, diminishing over time

Layer 5: Feature Education (Modals + Tours)

Trigger: New feature releases, reaching milestones

Content:

• Announcement modals for major features
• Mini-tours for feature deep-dives
• Beacons for subtle highlighting

Duration: Triggered by events

Anti-Patterns to Avoid

The Overwhelming Stack

Problem: Modal → Tour → Checklist → Tooltips → More modals, all at once

Why it fails: Users feel trapped and frustrated. They skip everything.

Fix: Layer patterns over time. Welcome modal, then tour, then checklist appears. Tooltips emerge as users explore.

The Forced Tour

Problem: Can't use the product until tour is complete

Why it fails: Power users resent it. Anxious users feel trapped.

Fix: Always provide skip/later options. Let motivated users explore.

The Infinite Checklist

Problem: 15-item checklist that feels like homework

Why it fails: Users abandon long checklists. Completion drops exponentially after 7 items.

Fix: Limit to 5-7 items. Add advanced items as "bonus" if needed.

The Tooltip Overload

Problem: Tooltips on every button, field, and icon

Why it fails: Visual noise. Nothing stands out. Users stop reading.

Fix: Use tooltips for genuinely unclear elements only. Trust your design.

The Surprise Modal

Problem: Modals appearing while users are working

Why it fails: Interruption frustrates users and breaks flow.

Fix: Trigger modals at natural pause points—page loads, task completion.

The One-Time Tour

Problem: Tour happens once, users forget, no way to replay

Why it fails: Users can't refresh their memory. Help is inaccessible.

Fix: Provide "Restart tour" option in help menu. Make key info always available.

Pattern-Specific Design Guidelines

Tooltip Design

Visual:

• Arrow pointing to element
• Soft shadow for depth
• Match product color scheme
• Don't obstruct important UI

Copy:

• Start with action verb
• Maximum 20 words
• No jargon
• One idea only

Behavior:

• Appear after 300-500ms hover
• Disappear when mouse moves
• Close button for persistent tooltips
• Don't follow cursor

Modal Design

Visual:

• Centered or corner positioned
• Semi-transparent backdrop
• Clear visual hierarchy
• Obvious close button

Copy:

• Headline + 1-2 sentences
• Single clear CTA
• Skip/Later option available
• Conversational tone

Behavior:

• Close on backdrop click
• Close on Escape key
• Animate in/out smoothly
• Don't stack multiple modals

Tour Design

Visual:

• Spotlight on target element
• Dim surrounding content
• Progress indicator visible
• Navigation controls clear

Copy:

• Action-oriented steps
• Brief explanations
• Consistent structure
• Celebrate completion

Behavior:

• Scroll to elements if needed
• Handle responsive layouts
• Wait for element load
• Allow forward/back navigation

Checklist Design

Visual:

• Visible progress bar
• Clear completed/pending states
• Minimal when collapsed
• Match product aesthetic

Copy:

• Task names are actions
• Short and scannable
• Celebration on completion
• Clear reward (if any)

Behavior:

• Auto-complete on events
• Persist across sessions
• Minimizable
• Link to task start

Measuring Pattern Effectiveness

Track these for each pattern:

For Tooltips

• View rate (how often seen)
• Click-through rate (for beacon tooltips)
• Associated feature adoption

For Modals

• View-to-CTA conversion
• Skip/dismiss rate
• Time spent reading

For Tours

• Start rate
• Completion rate
• Step-by-step drop-off
• Correlation with activation

For Checklists

• Item completion rates
• Full checklist completion
• Correlation with retention
• Time to complete

Implementation Decision Tree

Use this flow to choose your pattern:

Is this critical information?
├── YES → Is user input needed?
│         ├── YES → Modal
│         └── NO → Is it multi-step?
│                   ├── YES → Tour
│                   └── NO → Modal or inline callout
│
└── NO → Is it contextual to one element?
          ├── YES → Tooltip
          └── NO → Is it a list of tasks?
                    ├── YES → Checklist
                    └── NO → Is the section empty?
                              ├── YES → Empty state
                              └── NO → Consider if needed at all

Putting It All Together

The best onboarding experiences don't feel like "onboarding" at all. They feel like a helpful product that guides users to success.

Achieve this by:

1. Choosing the right pattern for the moment: Match pattern to need
2. Layering thoughtfully: Introduce patterns over time, not all at once
3. Keeping each pattern focused: One purpose per element
4. Measuring and iterating: Let data guide optimization
5. Respecting user agency: Always provide escape hatches

Your onboarding toolkit is complete. Now use it wisely.

Related Resources

• Product Tour Examples & Best Practices
• User Onboarding Checklist Template
• How to Create Onboarding Flows Without Code