Onboarding
GospeLib's first-open experience follows a three-act structure — cinematic, then orienting, then tailored. The goal is to make the user feel at home in the app's unique aesthetic while quickly routing them to content that matters to them personally.
Three-Act First Open
Act 1 — Cinematic Intro (5 seconds)
A brief, beautiful moment that establishes the visual identity:
| Element | Details |
|---|---|
| Duration | 5 seconds (auto-advancing, skippable) |
| Visual | Dark background → warm light sweeps across the screen → GospeLib logo materializes |
| Typography | App tagline in Gentium Plus, letter-by-letter fade-in |
| Audio | None — silent by default |
| Motion | Deliberate duration (500ms transitions) |
The cinematic intro plays exactly once — never on subsequent launches.
Act 2 — The Orienting Question (Single Screen)
One question that determines the initial experience:
"How would you like to begin?"
| Option | Icon | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Start reading | 📖 | "Open the scriptures right now" |
| Follow a plan | 📅 | "Study with Come Follow Me or a custom plan" |
| Explore connections | ✳ | "See how scriptures connect to each other" |
| Learn the tools | 🔍 | "Take a quick tour of study features" |
| I know my way around | → | "Skip to the app" |
This is a single tap — no multi-step wizard, no lengthy form.
Act 3 — Tailored First Experience
Based on the selection in Act 2, the app routes to a personalized first experience:
| Selection | Routing | First Screen |
|---|---|---|
| Start reading | Reader opens to 1 Nephi 1 (or user's last-read if returning user) | Scripture reader with gentle coach mark on verse interaction |
| Follow a plan | Study plan picker | Curated list: Come Follow Me (current week), Book of Mormon 90-day, Custom |
| Explore connections | Graph view with guided entry | Constellation centered on a well-connected passage (e.g., John 3:16) |
| Learn the tools | Interactive feature tour | 4-step coach mark sequence (see below) |
| Skip | Home screen | Default tab (Read) with no coaching overlays |
Coach Mark System
Coach marks are used for first-time feature discovery. They follow strict rules:
Visual Design
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Style | Frosted glass overlay with spotlight cutout |
| Shape | Rounded rectangle spotlight around target element |
| Tooltip | Paper surface, elevation 3, radius.lg (12px) |
| Arrow | Subtle pointer connecting tooltip to spotlight |
| Text | Heading (bold, 1 line) + body (1–2 lines) + "Got it" / "Next" |
| Backdrop | 60% opacity dark overlay |
Rules
- Maximum 4 coach marks in any sequence — never a 10-step walkthrough
- Always dismissible — "Skip tour" link in every tooltip
- Never repeated — once dismissed, a coach mark never returns
- Contextual — coach marks appear when the user first encounters a feature, not all at once
- One at a time — never two overlapping spotlights
The Feature Tour (Act 3, "Learn the tools")
| Step | Target | Message |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verse text | "Tap a verse to select it. Long-press for study actions." |
| 2 | Action ring (simulated) | "Highlight, annotate, bookmark, and share — all from here." |
| 3 | Quick settings tray | "Adjust your reading experience: font, density, and layout." |
| 4 | Search/Command palette | "Find any passage, topic, or person instantly." |
Return Opens
After the first session, subsequent app opens follow these rules:
| Scenario | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Last used < 24 hours | Returns to exact last position (passage + scroll offset) |
| Last used 1–7 days | Returns to last book/chapter, scroll to top |
| Last used > 7 days | Home screen with "Welcome back" + suggestion cards |
| Study plan active | "Today's reading" card appears above default content |
| Come Follow Me week changed | Subtle banner: "New CFM lesson available" |
First 30-Day Features
Features that appear only during the first 30 days of use:
| Day Range | Feature | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1–3 | Contextual coach marks | Teach core interactions as user discovers them |
| Day 3–7 | Gentle nudges to try unexplored features | "Did you know you can…" whisper cards |
| Day 7–14 | Study plan suggestion | If no plan started, suggest Come Follow Me |
| Day 14–30 | Premium feature previews | Show one AI/graph feature with free trial |
| Day 30+ | No coaching | User is considered oriented |
All coaching features respect a global "Don't show tips" setting. Power users can disable all coaching from Settings → General.
Related Pages
- Motion & Haptics — onboarding animation durations
- Subscriptions — premium feature introduction timing
- Reader Experience — default reader entry point
- Study Tools — study plan creation