Onboarding UX Evaluation — CIP (Extend Marketing Platform)
Platform: https://platform.extendcip.com/ Date: March 2026 Language: Arabic (RTL)
Executive Summary
The CIP platform has strong foundational design — clean UI, proper RTL Arabic support, and a solid feature set. However, the onboarding experience critically underserves new users:
- Users land on an empty dashboard with no value proposition
- The platform's best features (Ad Library, Marketing Calendar) are buried and never surfaced
- The campaign creation form has zero tooltips, zero help text, and zero templates
- The onboarding dialog lacks context on why each step matters
Core problem: New users see nothing but an empty state and a "Create Campaign" button. They don't know what the platform does, what value it delivers, or that fully-populated features (Ad Library, Calendar) already exist.
Heuristic Scores (1-5)
| Heuristic | Score |
|---|---|
| Visibility of system status | 3/5 |
| Match between system and real world | 4/5 |
| User control and freedom | 3/5 |
| Consistency and standards | 4/5 |
| Error prevention | 2/5 |
| Recognition over recall | 2/5 |
| Flexibility and efficiency | 3/5 |
| Aesthetic and minimalist design | 4/5 |
| Help and documentation | 2/5 |
| Onboarding effectiveness | 2/5 |
Findings
1. Dashboard — Empty State (Critical)
Screenshots: 05-main-dashboard-empty.png, 07-desktop-dashboard-empty.png
| Issue | Severity |
|---|---|
| No value proposition — just "لم تقم بإنشاء أي حملات حتى الآن" and a single CTA | Critical |
| Ad Library and Calendar (fully populated) are never mentioned or previewed | Critical |
| No social proof, no examples, no indication of what success looks like | High |
| Desktop sidebar is icon-only with no labels — users can't identify navigation items | High |
| 0% workspace setup badge is small and easy to miss | Medium |
This is the highest-impact problem. A new user has no reason to stay.
2. Onboarding Dialog (High)
Screenshots: 02-dashboard-with-onboarding-dialog.png, 03-onboarding-step2-influencers.png, 04-onboarding-step4-booking.png
| Issue | Severity |
|---|---|
| Steps say WHAT to do but not WHY it matters | High |
| No estimated time or difficulty per step | Medium |
| Static, non-interactive previews | Medium |
| No skip/dismiss reassurance ("you can come back later") | Low |
3. Campaign Creation Form (Critical)
Screenshots: 08-campaign-creation-top.png, 09-campaign-creation-full.png, 10-campaign-targeting-section.png, 11-campaign-team-section.png
| Issue | Severity |
|---|---|
| Zero tooltips or "?" help on any field. Users must guess what's expected for every input. | Critical |
| No templates. Every campaign starts from a blank form with ~15 fields. | Critical |
| Content alerts are confusing. Red "X" tags look like removable chips — unclear if they exclude or include content types. Helper text is vague. | High |
| Platforms section collapsed by default — 14+ platforms hidden with no guidance on what to select | High |
| Campaign objectives lack "learn more" — one-line descriptions aren't enough for non-experts | High |
| Brief section is an unstructured text area with no prompts or examples | Medium |
4. Ad Library — Hidden Value (Critical)
Screenshot: 13-ad-library.png
The Ad Library is the platform's strongest feature — real influencer ads with search, filter, and rich metadata. It delivers immediate value even before creating a campaign. But it's buried under "استكشاف" (Explore) in the sidebar, not mentioned in onboarding, and not surfaced on the dashboard. It takes 3+ clicks to discover.
5. Calendar — Hidden Value (High)
Screenshot: 15-calendar-page.png
Curated Saudi/MENA marketing calendar with national days, religious occasions, and events — filtered by category. Also buried under "Explore" with no connection to campaign creation (no "Create campaign for this event" CTA).
6. Other Issues
| Screen | Key Issue | Severity |
|---|---|---|
| Performance Summary | Wall of zeros — every metric is 0, every chart empty. No sample data or benchmarks. | High |
| Settings | 4 collapsed sections with no guidance on what to configure or why | Medium |
| Navigation | Ad Library & Calendar should be top-level nav items, not nested under "Explore" | High |
| Login | No value proposition tagline, no social login, CTA may be cut off on viewport | Low |
Prioritized Recommendations
| Priority | Recommendations | Effort | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| P0 — Critical | Warm start dashboard, Campaign form guidance (tooltips + templates), Value proposition on first load | 2-3 sprints | 30-50% improvement in first-session activation |
| P1 — High | Tooltips on all fields, "Learn more" panels, Onboarding dialog enhancement, Content alerts redesign | 1-2 sprints | 20-30% improvement in campaign completion |
| P2 — Medium | Empty state improvements, Guided tooltip tour, Surface Ad Library & Calendar in onboarding | 1-2 sprints | 15-25% improvement in feature discovery |
| P3 — Low | Settings guidance, Sidebar text labels, Login enhancements | 1 sprint | Incremental UX polish |
Recommendation Details
P0-1: Warm Start Dashboard
Replace the empty dashboard with a landing page that surfaces value immediately.
| Aspect | Current | Proposed |
|---|---|---|
| Header | "لم تقم بإنشاء أي حملات حتى الآن" | "مرحبًا بك في منصة CIP — إليك ما يمكنك فعله اليوم" |
| Primary CTA | Single "حملة جديدة" button | Quick-start card with template options: "أنشئ حملتك الأولى في 5 دقائق" |
| Feature Discovery | None | 3 value cards: Ad Library preview (real ads), Calendar (upcoming events), Performance Summary (what you'll see) |
| Onboarding | 0% badge in corner | Prominent progress bar at top with "أكمل الإعداد" CTA |
Prototype: prototypes/warm-start-dashboard.html
P0-2: Campaign Form — Progressive Disclosure & Guidance
Three changes to the campaign creation form:
A. Add "?" tooltips to every field — click/hover to reveal contextual help in Arabic. Key fields:
| Field | Proposed Tooltip |
|---|---|
| اسم الحملة | "اختر اسمًا واضحًا. مثال: حملة رمضان 2026 — منتج X" |
| هدف الحملة | Expandable "learn more" panel per objective with use cases and tracked metrics |
| الميزانية التقديرية | "الميزانية الإجمالية بالريال السعودي. يمكنك تعديلها لاحقًا" |
| تنبيهات المحتوى | "فعّل المفاتيح لاستبعاد أنواع المحتوى غير المرغوبة" |
| المنصات | "اختر المنصات التي يستخدمها جمهورك المستهدف" |
B. Add campaign templates — Quick Campaign, Awareness, Sales, Custom — with pre-filled defaults before the blank form.
C. Redesign content alerts — Replace confusing red "X" tags with clear toggle switches. Label the section "استبعاد أنواع المحتوى" (Exclude Content Types). Each toggle ON = excluded.
Prototype: prototypes/campaign-form-guided.html, prototypes/campaign-objective.html
P1-1: Onboarding Dialog Enhancement
Restructure the 4 steps around workspace setup (aligning with the sidebar's 0% progress tracker) and add context:
| Step | What to Add |
|---|---|
| إعداد الملف الشخصي (Profile) | "Why": personalization + influencer communication. Time: ~3 min |
| إضافة علامة تجارية (Brand) | "Why": required for campaigns + professional presentation. Time: ~4 min |
| تحديد الأهداف (Objectives) | "Why": enables personalized recommendations. Time: ~3 min |
| إنشاء أول حملة (First Campaign) | "Why": full platform experience. Time: ~5 min |
Add: progress bar, total time (~15 min), "Skip for now" with reassurance text.
Prototype: prototypes/onboarding-dialog.html
P2: Surface Ad Library & Calendar
These are the platform's most valuable features for new users. Currently buried under "Explore" in the sidebar.
| Touchpoint | Action |
|---|---|
| Dashboard | Add preview cards (see Warm Start above) |
| Onboarding | Mention Ad Library and Calendar in onboarding dialog |
| Campaign form | Add "استلهم من مكتبة الإعلانات" link near Brief section |
| Sidebar | Elevate to top-level navigation (not nested under "استكشاف") |
| Calendar entries | Add "أنشئ حملة لهذه المناسبة" CTA |
P2: Empty States
Replace "wall of zeros" with sample data previews:
- Performance Summary: Show demo metrics with "بيانات تجريبية" watermark
- Charts: Greyed-out sample chart + "هنا ستظهر بياناتك بعد أول حملة"
P3: Quick Wins
| Fix | What to Do |
|---|---|
| Sidebar labels | Default to expanded mode for first 5 sessions; add hover tooltips in collapsed mode |
| Settings guidance | Add completion progress bar + "recommended" badges on sections needing attention |
| Login page | Add value proposition tagline below "مرحبًا"; add social login; fix CTA viewport cutoff |
Implementation Roadmap
| Sprint | Focus | Deliverables |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | P0 — Warm Start | Welcome screen, warm start dashboard with value cards |
| 2 | P0 — Campaign Guidance | Tooltip component, field help text, content alerts redesign |
| 3 | P0+P1 — Templates + Onboarding | Campaign templates, onboarding dialog with context and time estimates |
| 4 | P1+P2 — Feature Surfacing | Complete tooltip coverage, elevate Ad Library & Calendar in navigation |
| 5 | P2 — Empty States | Improved empty states with sample data, guided tour |
| 6 | P3 — Polish | Settings guidance, sidebar labels, login enhancements |
Success Metrics
| Metric | Current (Est.) | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Feature discovery rate (Ad Library) | ~20% | 60%+ |
| Campaign creation start rate | ~30% | 60%+ |
| Campaign creation completion rate | ~15% | 40%+ |
| Onboarding completion (all steps) | ~5% | 25%+ |
| Time to first value | >10 min | <3 min |
| Support tickets (first week) | Baseline | -30% |
Prototypes
| Prototype | Purpose |
|---|---|
warm-start-dashboard.html |
Replaces empty dashboard with value cards, Ad Library preview, calendar events |
onboarding-dialog.html |
Enhanced 4-step onboarding with "why", time estimates, progress tracking |
campaign-form-guided.html |
Campaign form with templates, tooltips, progressive stepper, content alert toggles |
campaign-objective.html |
Objective cards with "learn more" panels showing use cases, metrics, influencer types |
Each prototype includes a Show/Hide Annotations toggle and a Current vs Proposed comparison section.