We added a "skip" button to our onboarding. People who skipped converted better.

We had a 5-step onboarding that every new user had to complete. We assumed skipping would hurt activation.

We added a "skip setup" link to the first step as a test.

Completed all 5 steps: 29% of users, 34% activation
Skipped at least one step: 71% of users, 46% activation
Skipped all 5 steps: 18% of users, 41% activation

The people who skipped were more likely to activate than the people who completed everything. They did not want a guided tour. They wanted to get into the product and figure it out. Our onboarding was helping the people who needed it least and slowing down the people who were ready.

We kept the skip option and made it more visible. The steps we thought were essential turned out to be essential for a minority. The majority needed a door, not a guide.

What step in your onboarding is mandatory for everyone and actually needed by almost no one?