101 UX Principles

Chapter #73. If the User is on an Optional Journey, Give Them a Control to "Skip This"

Not all journeys are linear and not all steps along a journey are necessary. It's a very frustrating experience to be "trapped" in a digital product—forced to complete a journey or task you know you need to skip but with no way out.

This principle is simple—allow your user to "skip this" any time it's possible to do so. The archetypal example of this is during an "onboarding" wizard where, if it's not actually the first time you've used the product, being forced to "learn" things you already know is simply infuriating.

The team messaging app Slack handles this well:

Slack asks if it's "Not your first Slack team?"

The Not your first Slack team? text at the bottom ...