I discover that many users just installed and uninstalled my Shopify app BYOB after a short time. Obviously, there is a fraction when new users were trying the app. But there were just too many ways users are losing interest during onboarding.

Actually, this is one of the difficult problems I’ve been trying to solve for a while. The problem is painful since each user costs me a budget to acquire. It simply means that I am losing money on the table. If the users come in and out, basically it’s meaningless to work on new features because very few users will try them.

To learn from the others, I even opened a thread on the IndieHackers.

Luckily (or unluckily), I observed that a new free user was having the same issue. When I took a look at the draft bundle he made, it looked broken. Therefore, I guessed the theme conflict is probably the cause. If I emailed the user, he would probably ignore it. And it’s completely normal because users just don’t want to waste time.

At night (~1am on Sat), another paid user is churning again. I try to follow up immediately. Luckily, I am able to get the store access and handhold the user to go through the whole process. Look like I have saved a user before she leaves. Honestly, I learn a lot from the user, who is using my app from a non-technical perspective.

As a result, I discover that the best way to reduce the churn rate is handholding users. While onboarding new users, I can learn how a new user is using my app, how the user interacts with the interfaces, why she can’t go through the setup. This is not easy for a developer who is working on the app most of the time. Sometimes, the best way is to solve a business problem is simple, just ask your users a simple question. And you’ll get the answer.

I think my app is user-friendly and easy to use. Obviously, I am proven to be wrong again.

Also, the onboarding flow is missing important information, I go back and forth with the user for 34 threads before the ticket is finished. Other users may have the same questions but they lose the patience to find out the answers.

Luckily, I still have time to improve my funnel before the peak season of the year.