Onboarding process / Newbie Guides

[Cedric]

I've been thinking a lot about how to make our community more welcoming and engaging for new members, and I was wondering if any of you have implemented an onboarding process before.

So, I wanted to start a discussion on the topic: Have you ever set up an onboarding process for your community before? If you have, I'd love to hear about it! Please share a brief process outline with the rest of the community here.

For those who may not be familiar with the term, an onboarding process is a way to help new members get up to speed on what your community is all about, and how they can best engage with others. It can be anything from a welcome message to a guided tour of the forum, or even a mentorship program.

I think having an onboarding process in place can really help new members feel more at home and connected to the community. So, if you've implemented one, please share your experience with us! What worked well? What didn't? And for those who haven't tried it yet, do you have any ideas or suggestions for how to get started?

Let's start a conversation and see if we can come up with some great ideas for making our community even more welcoming for new members!

 

[Cory]

We use to have a large FAQ on one of my past boards that helped members navigate their way through the site, but I don't use an onboarding process on my current board. My layout seems condensed and organized enough that it's not necessarily needed but could be helpful.

 

[Kale]

No. I'd much prefer mods to have past experience working on XF sites and even on forums in general. I don't do onboarding stuff outside of a welcome to the staff thread and that they can post in the staff board or PM/DM me.

 

[Strawberry]

I think it's a good idea to have some sort of acknowledgement of a new member registering. A lot of forums usually have a PM from an admin, which I think is a really good idea. It gives a brief summary of the forum and gives link to some things that will be of interest (Introduction forum, Rules & Guidelines). It's also very encouraging from a new member perspective.

No. I'd much prefer mods to have past experience working on XF sites and even on forums in general. I don't do onboarding stuff outside of a welcome to the staff thread and that they can post in the staff board or PM/DM me.

I think he means for new members to the forum, not new staff members. I think it's really important for your staff to know that they can PM you whenever they require support though, I agree with that.

 

[Arantor]

I've been experimenting with something a bit different; the reason I'm experimenting is that I live mostly in the roleplay world where sites are often quite a bit more visually varied, and mine isn't the usual Jcink so functionality looks and acts differently, and I've been looking at implementing Bootstrap Tours to guide people to things, spot light functionality to them, etc.

https://bootstraptour.com/ for the curious.

 

[Cedric]

I've been experimenting with something a bit different; the reason I'm experimenting is that I live mostly in the roleplay world where sites are often quite a bit more visually varied, and mine isn't the usual Jcink so functionality looks and acts differently, and I've been looking at implementing Bootstrap Tours to guide people to things, spot light functionality to them, etc.

https://bootstraptour.com/ for the curious.

That's pretty cool. It does indeed allow a very navigable and clear explanation on how things work.

 

[Kale]

I think he means for new members to the forum, not new staff members. I think it's really important for your staff to know that they can PM you whenever they require support though, I agree with that.

Ah yeah same thing. I'd expect and hope most new users of my forum or any would have experience using them etc. I am also still able and willing to help people tho

 

[Mamberroi Jr]

Everything depends on the Domain and dedication of your Forum in particular many are exclusive others try to General Community but it is always good to give a tour of the Rules to comply with and the conditions and use of it.

 

[Ravenfreak]

I've never actually thought about adding a onboarding process to my communities. Right now I have a general discussion forum, so I don't think it's needed. Though on the other hand I'm thinking about giving it a try, to help give a guided tour of the community so new members don't get overwhelmed.