Start page vs Onboarding vs Browse by category vs Step navigation / step indicator

Choose start page when users are about to begin one named service, application, booking, check, or transaction and need to know what it does, who can use it, what they need, what happens next, and how to start.

Start page live example Onboarding live example Browse by category live example Step navigation / step indicator live example

Decision dimensions

Dimension	Start page	Onboarding	Browse by category	Step navigation / step indicator
UI or UX	UI + UX - Single-service or single-task entry point before a transaction begins	UI + UX - First-run or new-feature orientation that leads to first value	UI + UX - Taxonomy-based category navigation for exploring a collection before choosing a destination	UI + UX - Linear multistep task progress indicator
UI guidance	Render the service or task name, short purpose statement, who can use it, what users need, outcome expectation, time or cost where relevant, one primary start action, resume or sign-in route when relevant, and other access routes in a narrow readable page.	Render onboarding as a short purposeful path with a visible benefit, current step, skip or later path when safe, persistent resume point, and the next product action users can take immediately after finishing.	Render categories as a scannable list or grid with user-facing names, short descriptions, item counts or example contents, and clear parent-child location cues.	Show a compact ordered list of named steps near the task heading, with visually distinct completed, current, upcoming, optional, and error states.
UX guidance	Use a start page to help users decide whether they are in the right place and begin a specific service with the right materials, expectations, and recovery routes.	Use onboarding only when users need orientation, minimal setup, personalization, or instruction before the normal interface can deliver value, and remove steps that merely market features or repeat what the UI already explains.	Use browse by category when users can recognize a topic or service area but may not know the exact query, item name, or filter value.	Use step navigation to reduce uncertainty in long linear tasks by showing where users are, what is done, and what remains.
Good UI	A permit application start page states who can apply, the fee, the estimated time, required documents, what happens after submission, a Start now button, and a Resume application link.	A project-management app asks for role and team size, creates a sample board, highlights the first Add task action, and lets users skip the tour while keeping a setup checklist available.	A services page lists Benefits, Housing and local services, Money and tax, and Driving and transport with one-line descriptions and top tasks for each category.	A five-step application shows Eligibility complete, Contact details current, Documents upcoming, Review upcoming, and Submit upcoming, with the current step emphasized and a matching page heading.
Bad UI	A page titled Start contains a hero carousel, five equal buttons, news cards, and no clear transaction entry point.	A first launch shows six promotional slides about every feature, requires Next on each slide, and lands on an empty dashboard.	A category grid uses internal teams such as Operations, CX, Growth, Platform, and Enablement without saying what users can find there.	A two-page form adds a large stepper that consumes space without explaining meaningful progress.
Good UX	A user checks that they live in the eligible region, sees they need a reference number and 10 minutes, starts the service, and returns later through Resume application without losing their draft.	A new admin selects Invite teammates as their goal, imports two sample users, sees progress saved, skips notification setup, and arrives on the team page with the invite action focused.	A user who does not know the form name chooses Money and tax, sees Self Assessment and VAT subcategories, and reaches the correct service without writing a search query.	After a user enters valid contact details and continues, Contact details becomes complete and Documents becomes current.
Bad UX	A user clicks Start now, answers four pages, and only then learns they needed a document that was not mentioned on the start page.	A user is forced to configure integrations, notifications, billing, and profile details before they know whether the product solves their task.	Users choose Customers because they need customer support, but the category contains only internal CRM configuration articles.	Clicking Review skips Documents, clears the contact form, and then blocks final submission without explaining the skipped prerequisite.
Best fit	A user is about to start one named service, transaction, booking, application, check, request, or registration.	New users need orientation, setup, personalization, or instruction before the regular interface can deliver value.	Users are exploring a broad catalog, service directory, help center, learning library, product collection, or content repository.	A linear form, application, checkout, or setup flow has three or more meaningful steps.
Avoid when	Users are still choosing among many topics, products, services, or articles.	The product is already understandable through the normal interface.	The collection is small enough for a simple list.	The journey has only one or two screens.
Required state	Default entry state with service name, purpose, user fit, pre-start requirements, expected outcome, and primary start action.	First-run welcome state with benefit-focused copy and one clear next action.	Top-level category state with clear names, descriptions, and enough examples or counts to choose.	Default state with completed, current, and upcoming steps.
Accessibility burden	Use a clear H1 that names the service or task and matches the page title.	Keep onboarding screens in normal heading order with clear titles and step labels.	Use real links for categories that navigate and buttons only for local expansion.	Use aria-current on the current labeled step and include hidden or visible status text for completed, current, upcoming, optional, and error states.
Common misuse	Treating a product homepage, marketing landing page, or category directory as a start page for a specific service.	Forcing all users through a feature tour before they can do useful work.	Using the organization chart as the category taxonomy.	Using a step indicator as breadcrumbs, tabs, side navigation, or pagination.

Start page

UI or UX: UI + UX - Single-service or single-task entry point before a transaction begins
UI guidance: Render the service or task name, short purpose statement, who can use it, what users need, outcome expectation, time or cost where relevant, one primary start action, resume or sign-in route when relevant, and other access routes in a narrow readable page.
UX guidance: Use a start page to help users decide whether they are in the right place and begin a specific service with the right materials, expectations, and recovery routes.
Good UI: A permit application start page states who can apply, the fee, the estimated time, required documents, what happens after submission, a Start now button, and a Resume application link.
Bad UI: A page titled Start contains a hero carousel, five equal buttons, news cards, and no clear transaction entry point.
Good UX: A user checks that they live in the eligible region, sees they need a reference number and 10 minutes, starts the service, and returns later through Resume application without losing their draft.
Bad UX: A user clicks Start now, answers four pages, and only then learns they needed a document that was not mentioned on the start page.
Best fit: A user is about to start one named service, transaction, booking, application, check, request, or registration.
Avoid when: Users are still choosing among many topics, products, services, or articles.
Required state: Default entry state with service name, purpose, user fit, pre-start requirements, expected outcome, and primary start action.
Accessibility burden: Use a clear H1 that names the service or task and matches the page title.
Common misuse: Treating a product homepage, marketing landing page, or category directory as a start page for a specific service.

Onboarding

UI or UX: UI + UX - First-run or new-feature orientation that leads to first value
UI guidance: Render onboarding as a short purposeful path with a visible benefit, current step, skip or later path when safe, persistent resume point, and the next product action users can take immediately after finishing.
UX guidance: Use onboarding only when users need orientation, minimal setup, personalization, or instruction before the normal interface can deliver value, and remove steps that merely market features or repeat what the UI already explains.
Good UI: A project-management app asks for role and team size, creates a sample board, highlights the first Add task action, and lets users skip the tour while keeping a setup checklist available.
Bad UI: A first launch shows six promotional slides about every feature, requires Next on each slide, and lands on an empty dashboard.
Good UX: A new admin selects Invite teammates as their goal, imports two sample users, sees progress saved, skips notification setup, and arrives on the team page with the invite action focused.
Bad UX: A user is forced to configure integrations, notifications, billing, and profile details before they know whether the product solves their task.
Best fit: New users need orientation, setup, personalization, or instruction before the regular interface can deliver value.
Avoid when: The product is already understandable through the normal interface.
Required state: First-run welcome state with benefit-focused copy and one clear next action.
Accessibility burden: Keep onboarding screens in normal heading order with clear titles and step labels.
Common misuse: Forcing all users through a feature tour before they can do useful work.

Browse by category

UI or UX: UI + UX - Taxonomy-based category navigation for exploring a collection before choosing a destination
UI guidance: Render categories as a scannable list or grid with user-facing names, short descriptions, item counts or example contents, and clear parent-child location cues.
UX guidance: Use browse by category when users can recognize a topic or service area but may not know the exact query, item name, or filter value.
Good UI: A services page lists Benefits, Housing and local services, Money and tax, and Driving and transport with one-line descriptions and top tasks for each category.
Bad UI: A category grid uses internal teams such as Operations, CX, Growth, Platform, and Enablement without saying what users can find there.
Good UX: A user who does not know the form name chooses Money and tax, sees Self Assessment and VAT subcategories, and reaches the correct service without writing a search query.
Bad UX: Users choose Customers because they need customer support, but the category contains only internal CRM configuration articles.
Best fit: Users are exploring a broad catalog, service directory, help center, learning library, product collection, or content repository.
Avoid when: The collection is small enough for a simple list.
Required state: Top-level category state with clear names, descriptions, and enough examples or counts to choose.
Accessibility burden: Use real links for categories that navigate and buttons only for local expansion.
Common misuse: Using the organization chart as the category taxonomy.

Step navigation / step indicator

UI or UX: UI + UX - Linear multistep task progress indicator
UI guidance: Show a compact ordered list of named steps near the task heading, with visually distinct completed, current, upcoming, optional, and error states.
UX guidance: Use step navigation to reduce uncertainty in long linear tasks by showing where users are, what is done, and what remains.
Good UI: A five-step application shows Eligibility complete, Contact details current, Documents upcoming, Review upcoming, and Submit upcoming, with the current step emphasized and a matching page heading.
Bad UI: A two-page form adds a large stepper that consumes space without explaining meaningful progress.
Good UX: After a user enters valid contact details and continues, Contact details becomes complete and Documents becomes current.
Bad UX: Clicking Review skips Documents, clears the contact form, and then blocks final submission without explaining the skipped prerequisite.
Best fit: A linear form, application, checkout, or setup flow has three or more meaningful steps.
Avoid when: The journey has only one or two screens.
Required state: Default state with completed, current, and upcoming steps.
Accessibility burden: Use aria-current on the current labeled step and include hidden or visible status text for completed, current, upcoming, optional, and error states.
Common misuse: Using a step indicator as breadcrumbs, tabs, side navigation, or pagination.

Decision rules

Choose start page when users are about to begin one named service, application, booking, check, or transaction and need to know what it does, who can use it, what they need, what happens next, and how to start.
Choose onboarding when the product itself is new to the user and the goal is activation, setup, role selection, contextual teaching, or first value inside an ongoing product.
Choose browse by category when users have not chosen a specific service or item yet and need to explore a topic taxonomy, service directory, help center, catalog, or broad collection.
Choose step navigation when the journey spans several pieces of guidance or transactions that have a useful order, a specific start and end point, and may need to be completed over time.
A start page should have one primary start action, optional sign-in or resume route when relevant, and supporting information that reduces wrong starts; it should not become a site map or product tour.
Put eligibility checks inside the service when they are complex; use the start page only for brief inclusion rules, exclusion warnings, or alternative routes that most users need before starting.
Put essential costs, time, documents, identity checks, and outcome expectations before the start action when the user needs them to decide whether to begin.
Use surrounding navigation, breadcrumbs, service navigation, or related links to recover wrong arrivals; do not make those links peers of the primary start action.
Use a separate check-before-you-start, question page, or wizard when the pre-start decision itself needs user input, branching, validation, or review.

Inspect live examples

Start page Onboarding Browse by category Step navigation / step indicator

Failure modes

A service start page hides required documents below the start button, so users begin and fail several pages later.
A product homepage with multiple promotions is called a start page even though no single task entry point is primary.
A start page asks ten eligibility questions before the transaction starts instead of routing complex checks into the service flow.
Users who already began the service cannot resume because the start page only has a Start now button.
A long ordered process is compressed into one start page instead of a step navigation journey with separate guidance and tasks.