Your installs are going up, but sign-ups and orders aren't. An ad dashboard can't explain that, because its view largely ends at the install. To find out what happened next, you need to follow users step by step. This is how to build that view and use it.
A real example
Here's a funnel from one app on notifySphere, for October, with seven days to finish each journey:
| Step | Users | From previous step | Lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Install | 84,100 | – | – |
| Login or signup screen | 57,700 | 68.5% | 26,500 |
| Logged in or signed up | 28,500 | 49.5% | 29,100 |
Only 33.9% of installs got into the app within a week. Without this view, the natural reaction is to change the ads. With it, you can see that half the people who reached the login screen left there, so that's where to look first.
How to build an app funnel
- Pick one goal. Choose the action that matters most, like a first order or a first booking.
- List the steps before it. Keep it to three to five to begin with, for example install, login screen, sign-up, first order.
- Send an event at each step. Your app has to report these, so check that each one fires before you trust the numbers.
- Set the order and time limit. Decide whether steps must happen in order, and how long a user has to finish.
- Find the biggest drop. Start with the step that loses the most users, not the one that's easiest to change.
In the notifySphere React Native SDK, you report a step like this:
// Send an event when the user reaches a step that matters
await NotifySphere.postEvent({ event: "signup" });
// Later in the app
await NotifySphere.postEvent({ event: "first_order" });What each drop usually points to
A funnel shows you where users leave, not why. These are good places to start checking:
| Where they drop | What to check |
|---|---|
| Install to first screen | Crashes, slow loading, or an event that isn't firing |
| First screen to login | Too many intro screens, or an unclear reason to continue |
| Login screen to logged in | Codes that arrive late, too many required fields, or asking for an account before showing any value |
| Logged in to first action | No clear next step, or a gap between the ad's promise and what the app shows |
Three ways to read a funnel better
- Compare sources. Campaign and organic users can behave very differently. If only campaign users drop early, look at what the ad promises.
- Look at the time between steps. A long wait before a step can mean people are getting stuck, even if they finish eventually.
- Read a few real paths. Totals show the problem, but one user's events in order often explain it, like someone repeating a code step before leaving.
After you find the drop
Fix the step first, because reminders won't rescue a broken screen. Then follow up with people who left:
- Send a push notification to users who stopped at that step, if they allowed notifications.
- Use an automation to wait, check whether they finished, and only then send a reminder, so people who already finished aren't nagged.
- Use deferred deep linking so new users land on the screen the ad promised instead of the home screen.
Funnels on notifySphere
You choose two to eight steps, and a step can be more than one event, like login or sign-up. You can require steps in order or count them in any order, set a limit from one to 90 days, and filter who enters by campaign, source, country or platform. An anonymous install and the later logged-in user count as one person.
Open any step to see each user's path, event by event, then export the list or message them from the same screen. Funnels are included on the free plan, up to 1,000 monthly active users. Request free access.
Frequently asked questions
Why do users drop off after installing an app?
Common reasons are a slow or confusing first screen, a login step that asks for too much too soon, a sign-up code that doesn't arrive, and a gap between what the ad promised and what the app shows. A funnel tells you which step is losing people, so you can check the right cause.
What is an app funnel?
A funnel is an ordered list of steps a user should take, such as install, sign-up and first order. It shows how many users reached each step and how many were lost between steps.
How many steps should a funnel have?
Start with three to five steps between the install and the action you care about. Too many steps make the first version harder to read. notifySphere funnels support two to eight steps.
What time limit should I use for a funnel?
Use the time a normal user needs to finish. Seven days suits most sign-up funnels. A purchase that people think about for longer may need 14 or 30 days.
Can I see which users dropped off?
On notifySphere, yes. Open any step to see each user, how far they got and their events in order. You can export the list as a CSV or message those users from the same screen.