Getting users to open your app is just the first step. The real challenge? Keeping them interested, active, and coming back for more.
In this article, you’ll learn how to build strong user engagement strategies through real-world examples. Use these insights to shape your product’s experience, increase app engagement, and generate innovative ideas.
But no theoretical strategies will help you improve engagement. That’s why we collected user engagement examples from real apps – to show what works and inspire your next move.
We’ve defined 6 key aspects that drive high user engagement:
4.1. Engaging Start to Interaction
4.2. Accelerators
4.3. Personalization and Gamification
4.4. Positive Intent
4.5. Contextual Relevance and Ethics
4.6. Encouraging Further Interaction
4.1. Engaging Start to Interaction
The first few seconds shape the entire impression. If things don’t click right away, users may drop off.
A good start begins with simple, clear tasks. The onboarding process should feel natural and fit the user’s context. Together, these elements set the positive tone for a smooth and confident first interaction.
Ideas for Engaging Start to Interaction
- Use interactive walkthroughs to guide users through key actions. Let them learn by doing, not just reading.
- Turn empty states into starting points. Instead of showing blank screens, suggest first steps or quick actions to try right away.
- Include a simple checklist to highlight important tasks and give users a sense of structure.
- Add a progress bar during onboarding to encourage completion. People are more likely to finish when they see how far they’ve come.
- Break down tasks into small, achievable steps. Don’t ask for too much too soon – get users moving with quick wins.
- Let users skip or revisit onboarding. Not everyone needs help at the same time.
- Keep the interface calm and uncluttered. Don’t crowd the screen with too many options or distractions at the start.
- Celebrate early actions. A small confirmation or positive message after each step keeps users motivated to move forward.
Project: Slack, communication platform
Platform: Desktop
✅ Using tooltips to guide users through the features they need to learn.
Project: Kommunicate, communication platform
Platform: Desktop
✅ Using an interactive walkthrough to improve user onboarding.
Project: Notion, task management app
Platform: Desktop
✅ Using empty states to let users try features and checklists to highlight the most important aspects of the product.
Project: Monarch, personal finance app
Platform: Mobile
✅ Using a “Getting Started” checklist with simple tasks and a progress bar to encourage users to complete account setup.
4.2. Accelerators
Accelerators are small design choices that make a big difference. They speed up routine tasks, reduce repetitive tasks, and help users get things done faster. Over time, this kind of efficiency becomes part of a strong long term engagement strategy.
To improve app engagement, focus on removing unnecessary steps. Think of shortcuts, online auto-complete suggestions, or pre-filled fields – these help users move forward without starting from scratch every time.
Ideas for Effective Accelerators
- Shortcuts. Let users complete frequent actions with fewer taps or clicks. For example, swipe gestures or keyboard shortcuts can cut time on repetitive tasks.
- Auto-complete suggestions. Predict what the user’s typing and offer options to select. This reduces effort and speeds up data entry.
- Pre-filled fields. Use available data to fill in information ahead of time. It saves time and lowers the chance of user error.
- One-tap actions. Surface the most frequent actions (like reordering or reposting) with a single tap.
- Predefined layouts or templates. Provide ready-made setups to skip manual configuration. Useful in design tools, forms, or dashboards.
- Default settings. Start users off with the most common or helpful options, so they don’t have to decide everything from scratch.
- Saved preferences. Remember what a user selected previously, so they don’t need to re-enter it every time.
Well-designed accelerators reduce mental load. They make the product feel faster, smarter, and more supportive – an essential part of any product engagement strategy.
Project: Strava, fitness app
Platform: Mobile
✅ The app offers to share riding activity on social media when the user takes a screenshot. This is a strong user engagement example – it speeds up user actions and supports the marketing strategy by spreading brand content across platforms.
Project: Snapchat, multimedia instant messaging app
Platform: Mobile
✅ To improve user engagement during onboarding, the app suggests unique usernames to speed up the sign-up process.
Project: Food Panda, food delivery app
Platform: Mobile
✅ In a food delivery app, clicking the ‘Help’ button automatically copies your order number, so you can easily paste it when contacting support. Example source: Buildformars.
Project: GetYourGuide, travel and activity booking app
Platform: Mobile
✅ The app for booking travel experiences shows quick-select component inside the feed, if you browse the feed with trips without selecting a date, making it easy to narrow down your search. Example source: Buildformars.
4.3. Personalization and Gamification
Personalization adjusts the interface and content to match each user’s preferences. It helps make interactions feel more relevant, familiar, and satisfying.
Gamification brings in game-like elements – like achievements, points, or progress tracking – to keep users motivated and involved. These features turn routine actions into something more rewarding.
Both approaches can help increase app engagement when used with purpose. They support long-term engagement strategies by making users feel seen, valued, and genuinely excited.
Ideas for Better Personalization and Gamification
- Create personalized content based on user behavior. Spotify does this with “Made for You” playlists built from listening history.
- Use streaks and levels to build daily habits. Duolingo keeps users engaged with XP points, badges, and a visible streak counter.
- Recommend actions based on past activity or goals. Headspace suggests daily meditations tailored to user progress and preferences.
- Turn routine actions into achievements. Strava rewards users with virtual trophies and public challenges after workouts.
- Surface relevant content to keep users exploring. Netflix highlights “Because you watched…” rows based on individual viewing history.
- Involve users by showing their contributions. Google Maps encourages engagement by tracking reviews and showing contribution counts.
- Let users customize parts of the interface. Notion allows full workspace personalization, increasing emotional connection with the tool.
- Celebrate progress with milestones and rewards. Nike Run Club offers badges and animations when users hit running goals.
Let’s explore more successful examples of user engagement.
Project: Duolingo, app for learning languages
Platform: Mobile
✅ In the language-learning app, users earn points and virtual rewards for completing lessons, practicing regularly, and hitting language milestones. Duolingo is a leader in this space, known for its excellent user engagement strategies.
Project: Strava, fitness app
Platform: Mobile
✅ Fitness tracking app celebrates achievements and actively praises users for their progress.
Project: Grammarly, copywriting tool
Platform: Desktop
✅ The writing enhancement tool Grammarly uses a text score to represent writing quality – part of its gamification strategy.
Project: Speechify, text-to-speech app
Platform: Mobile
✅ In the text-to-speech app, users can select their preferred reading speed, and the app translates it into a “productivity boost” percentage – making the choice feel more rewarding and goal-oriented. A great motivational UX example by Buildformars.
4.4. Positive Intent
The system should convey positive intent, and the best way to do that is through language – especially Tone of Voice. A friendly, supportive tone helps users feel welcome, understood, and confident in their next step. Even small word choices can shift how the product makes people feel.
Ideas for Building Positive Intent Into Your Product
- Use encouraging language in confirmations and empty states.
Example: “You’re all caught up – nice work!” or “Nothing here yet, but you’re off to a good start.” - Avoid blame or harsh wording when something goes wrong.
Example: “Hmm, that password didn’t work. Want to try again?”, instead of “You entered the wrong password.” - Reinforce progress with positive feedback.
Example: “Great! You’ve completed 3 of 5 steps.” - Choose default messages that feel human.
Example: Replace “No data” with “Looks like you haven’t added anything yet.” - Use emojis or icons carefully to add warmth, but only when appropriate for your audience.
Project: Slack, communication platform
Platform: Desktop
✅ Slack uses a clear, concise, and human tone of voice. It speaks directly to the reader, invites conversation, and rewards curiosity. The messaging puts the customer’s needs first and keeps everything easy to understand and connect with.
Project: Uber, ride-hailing and delivery platform
Platform: Desktop, Mobile
✅ Uber’s tone of voice is straightforward and easy to understand. It reflects the company’s goal of making travel as simple as possible. Phrases like “Drive when you want, make what you need” and “Where to?” are short, direct, and action-oriented.
Project: Google Products
Platform: Desktop
✅ Google’s brand voice centers on being helpful, clear, and concise. It emphasizes accessibility and puts the user first with language like “All of Google, working for you.” The copy avoids jargon, focuses on everyday value, and reinforces trust by highlighting support, personalization, and protection.
Project: Balance, women’s health app
Platform: Mobile
✅ The app for women shows positive intent through a personal welcome message from the founder, displayed right on the first screen. It creates a sense of trust, warmth, and care from the very beginning.
4.5. Contextual Relevance and Ethics
Truly brilliant user engagement strategies follow Contextual Relevance and Ethics principles. It’s not just about getting users to interact – it’s about doing it the right way, at the right time.
Excessive or inappropriate use of engagement techniques can lead to a negative user experience. Engagement strategies should always be applied ethically and in context. Some engagement tactics may be unsuitable for certain interactive systems. What works in a shopping app might feel intrusive in a healthcare or finance product.
Ideas to Keep User Engagement Relevant and Respectful
- Respect user attention. Don’t overwhelm users with prompts, nudges, or popups – especially early in the journey.
- Be transparent about data usage. If personalization is based on user behavior, make it clear how that information is used.
- Avoid dark patterns. Don’t pressure users into actions with manipulative wording or design tricks.
- Use engagement nudges only where they make sense. A reminder to complete a form may help. A daily streak in a tax filing app? Not so much.
- Prioritize user well-being. Limit push notifications or alerts, especially if the app involves sensitive topics like health, money, or mental state.
- Adapt engagement to the situation. The same user might need gentle prompts in one context and none in another.
Project: Uber, ride-hailing and delivery platform
Platform: Mobile
✅ Uber supports user safety by providing a ride verification PIN. Before the trip starts, passengers share the code with the driver to confirm they’re in the right car. This small step helps prevent mistakes and builds trust in the service.
Project: Amazon Prime, eCommerce platform
Platform: Mobile
❌ Dark pattern on Amazon Prime: The subscription option is pre-selected on the product page, and the “Subscribe now” button is more prominent than the regular purchase option. This can lead users to unintentionally subscribe when they only meant to buy the product once. Example source: Growth Design.
Project: Uber Eats, food delivery app
Platform: Mobile
❌ Uber Eats displays a short timer for free delivery, creating a sense of urgency and pushing users to act fast. Taps into FOMO and helps speed up decision-making but it’s not always convenient and user-oriented.
4.6. Encouraging Further Interaction
Keeping users engaged doesn’t end at task completion. Once they’ve placed an order, submitted a form, or finished a flow, there’s still an opportunity to build momentum. This moment is where you can nudge them – gently – towards the next step.
One-time actions are good. Ongoing engagement is better.
To keep users coming back and interacting, implement strategies that surface timely, relevant, or rewarding actions based on user interests. This could be as subtle as recommending a related feature or as direct as highlighting a time-limited offer.
Ideas on How to Encourage Further Interaction
- Recommend actions that feel useful, not pushy.
- Highlight new or underused features at the right moment.
- Use personalization to suggest content or tools that match user behavior.
- Give a sense of progress or reward for continued use.
Project: TD Bank, banking corporate website
Platform: Desktop
✅ TD Bank’s website adds a “Want to learn more?” block at the bottom of the page, offering links to related topics like careers, community efforts, and sustainability.It keeps the user experience going by guiding them to meaningful content they might not have looked for on their own.
Project: Dice, live shows app
Platform: Mobile
✅ The first screen of the app has a secondary button for newcomers who don’t want to sign up and share data yet.
Final Words: Test, Measure, Improve
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach. UX lays the foundation, but it’s the small touches – personalization, rewards, positive tone – that turn passive users into loyal ones. The only way to know if your user engagement strategy is working is to observe, test, and adapt. Track what actions users complete (or abandon), run A/B tests, and gather feedback regularly. That’s how you find the right mix of features and messages that actually improve engagement.
