Salesforce in-app guidance: Types, set-up, best practice

Organizational success depends on attracting and keeping top talent, and onboarding plays a key part. Poor employee onboarding wastes time and money. Salesforce constantly evolves, and businesses must find better ways to onboard and train users in this software. 

Previously, companies delivered employee training using webinars, lengthy release notes, or e-newsletters. These methods often failed because users struggled to find or understand the information. The best approach now involves guiding users directly in the app while they work. Salesforce in-app guidance improves user engagement by offering this step-by-step support. 

This guide explains Salesforce in-app guidance, explores different prompts, and shows how to create, test, and improve them.

What is Salesforce in-app guidance?

Salesforce In-App Guidance is a feature within Salesforce Lightning Experience that allows administrators to create prompts and walkthroughs to assist users with onboarding, training, and feature adoption directly within the platform. 

This no-code tool enables admins to write customized instructional content, define target audiences, and control when and where these guidance elements appear. It improves user engagement by providing real-time, contextual assistance to improve productivity and ease the learning curve for new and existing users.

Types of Salesforce in-app guidance prompts 

Salesforce offers various in-app guidance prompts to help users navigate features, learn new functionalities, and enhance productivity. The main types include:

Floating prompt

A floating prompt pops up anywhere on the screen, staying on top of the app to provide quick tips, reminders, or alerts without interrupting work. It helps users navigate features more easily. For example, a floating prompt can show how to pin a task to a list, making it easier to find later. 

In addition, these prompts improve user onboarding, boost feature adoption, and enhance the overall experience. They guide users without disrupting workflows, allowing them to learn as they go. This reduces the need for extra training or support, making the app easier to use.

Targeted prompt

A targeted prompt floats on the screen and stays linked to a specific element, appearing close to it. This feature helps provide tips about buttons or other elements. For example, if a user learns how to create a calendar event, the prompt offers extra guidance on that task. 

By appearing exactly where users need help, the prompt improves learning without disrupting workflow. It makes understanding new features easier, reducing confusion and the need for extra training. Offering help in the right place ensures users get the right information at the right time.

Docked prompt

A docked prompt appears in the bottom corner of the page, giving extra space for information, links, or videos related to a topic. It’s a good option for sharing more learning details without cluttering the screen. 

Users can minimize the prompt when they don’t need it and maximize it when they do. This feature keeps the screen clean and organized while still providing helpful content when needed. It offers flexibility, adding value to the user experience without interrupting the workflow.

Walkthrough

Walkthroughs help users more than the single prompts above. They can contain a series of up to ten prompts (either the same or different types) in sequence as the user clicks through them. Each prompt in a walkthrough has a ‘Next’ button, except for the last one, which has a ‘Finish’ button. The last prompt includes an optional action link instead of an action button. 

Even more, a walkthrough can show prompts across multiple pages, even on pages that appear only after the user completes an action. For example, a walkthrough can guide users through creating a list and linking it to an event.

How to create and set up Salesforce in-app guidance 

Setting up Salesforce in-app guidance depends on whether you need to create a single prompt or walkthroughs. The process for developing these is as follows:

Creating a prompt

To start creating a Salesforce in-app guidance prompt, you need to:

1. Go to Setup and type ‘In-App Guidance’ in the Quick Find box, then select it.

2. Click ‘Add’ to open the In-App Guidance Builder in a new tab.

3. Choose the environment where you want to create the prompt. Select ‘Your Org (Lightning Experience)’ for Lightning or the site name for Experience Cloud.

4. Navigate to the app or page where you want to add the prompt and click ‘Add.’ If the page doesn’t support prompts, the “Add” button won’t appear.

5. In the New In-App Guidance panel, select ‘Single Prompt’ and click ‘Next.’

6. Choose the prompt type, location, and position, then click ‘Next.’

7. For a targeted prompt, select ‘Targeting Mode’ and choose the element or field to link the prompt to.

8. For Lightning Experience prompts, select a custom theme color.

9. Enter the prompt title, body text, and optional images or other content.

10. For floating or targeted prompts, add a label for the ‘Dismiss’ button. For docked prompts, add text for the extra header and optionally include a video.

11. In the In-App Guidance Settings window, add an Action button, schedule the prompt’s visibility, restrict access to specific profiles, and copy the prompt’s URL.

12. Enter a name and API name, then save your changes.

13. Click ‘Done’ in the In-App Guidance Builder.

14. Copy, modify, and reuse Salesforce’s standard templates across the platform.

Creating walkthroughs

To begin building a walkthrough, follow steps 1 to 3 as the above prompt section and then:

1. In the environment you selected, go to the app or page where you want to add the walkthrough and click ‘Add.’ The New In-App Guidance panel opens in the In-App Guidance Builder.

2. In the panel, select ‘Walkthrough.’

3.  Close the split view before going to the next step. 

4. Then, choose the prompt type, location, and position. If using Lightning Experience, select a custom theme color, then click ‘Next.’

5. Enter the prompt title and body text. For floating or targeted prompts, add a label for the Dismiss button. You can also include optional images. For docked prompts, add text for the extra header and optionally embed a video.

6. To add a new step, click ‘Add Step’ in the In-App Guidance Builder header.
7. If you switch between Setup and other apps in Lightning Experience, save when the step goes to an app with a different domain. The page will refresh, and you can continue creating the walkthrough in the new domain.

8. To reorder or delete steps, use the Walkthrough Steps panel.

9. Save your changes.

10. In the In-App Guidance Settings window, add an action link for the last step, set a schedule for the walkthrough, restrict access to specific profiles, and copy the URL.

11. Enter a name and API name in the Details step, then save.

12. Lastly, click ‘Done’ when finished.

Testing and optimizing Salesforce in-app guidance 

Beyond creating in-app guidance, optimizing and testing prompts ensures they effectively engage users and enhance adoption. Here’s how to refine them:

Testing prompts and walkthroughs

Testing Salesforce prompts and walkthroughs ensure they work correctly, reach the right users, and guide them through the platform. This also improves user experience and adoption.

To start testing, open the Quick Find box, search for ‘In-App Guidance’, and select it. In the settings, click ‘Start Testing’ to check how prompts and walkthroughs function.

Next, navigate different Lightning pages or apps to see how they appear in the right context. Depending on your needs, choose whether to test simple prompts or walkthroughs.

For a more accurate test, log in as a specific user. This lets you see exactly how the prompts and walkthroughs appear from their perspective.

A/B testing and iteration

A/B testing improves Salesforce In-App Guidance by comparing different variations of prompts and walkthroughs to find the most effective approach. Start by setting clear goals. Decide whether you want to increase engagement, user adoption, or productivity. 

Form a hypothesis about expected changes and choose key performance indicators (KPIs) to track success. Create different versions, split traffic randomly, and track user interactions. 

Monitor results, analyze data, and apply the best changes. Keep testing and documenting findings to improve future guidance strategies.

Monitoring usage and engagement

To track usage and engagement for Salesforce In-App Guidance, open the In-App Guidance page in ‘Setup.’ This page shows digital adoption and engagement metrics for each prompt or walkthrough. It includes the number of views and the percentage of users who complete the guidance.

For deeper insights, create custom report types using the ‘Prompt Actions’ object. These reports help analyze how users interact with prompts and highlight areas for improvement. Include key fields such as the last display date, last result, name, and user’s full name. Track how often users see, dismiss, or act on a prompt. For walkthroughs, calculate progress by dividing the step number by the total step count.

Drive better user engagement and experience with Salesforce in-app guidance 

Salesforce In-app guidance helps users learn new software quickly and efficiently. It provides real-time, on-screen help, making it easier to understand new features and workflows. Users experience a shorter learning curve and adopt new tools faster.

Traditional training often costs a lot and takes time. With in-app guidance, users learn while working, eliminating the need for lengthy classroom sessions. Immediate assistance allows them to complete tasks faster and less frustrated, boosting employee productivity.

Customizable prompts and walkthroughs create a more personal experience by addressing specific user needs. Organizations collect feedback to refine the guidance over time. To be effective, guidance should stay clear, focus on key tasks, and deliver easy-to-understand information.