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The Sign-up Journey

This article follows a new customer from the first page of the sign-up wizard to their first sign-in to the app they designed, with every message they may meet on the way. Use it to support people who get stuck, and to know what each step leaves behind on the installation.

Where to find it

The journey starts at the site's /onboarding/ address. Adding ?plan=starter or ?plan=pro preselects a plan.

Architect Panel → Subscriptions:

  • Tenant Plans — the sign-up's plan row, its Sign-up state and Sign-up started date

Architect Panel → Activity:

  • E-mail Log — whether the confirmation e-mail was sent

Admin Panel → Account:

  • Billing & Plan — where the new owner lands after paying

1. Designing the app

The wizard opens with "Let's build your first app." and asks seven quick questions: what they want to build, the data it holds, how people will sign in, who does what, a few automations, and a name, company name, accent colour and logo. The last step is Choose your plan, with Starter and Pro cards showing the editors and monthly AI credit each includes and a note that the 14-day free trial needs a card, with the first payment on day 15. A review page then offers Create my app and start trial (or Create my app and subscribe if this person has already had a trial).

2. Creating the account

Somebody not signed in is taken to the sign-in page, and their design is kept in the browser. Entering an address the site does not know shows a registration form: "Looks like you're new here - welcome!" They complete it, tick the reCAPTCHA box and click Create Account. They are signed in at once and returned to the wizard. Self-serve sign-up needs an e-mail-and-password account: "Please sign up with an e-mail address and password to create an app."

3. Confirming the e-mail address

A one-time link is e-mailed from the Self-serve: verify your e-mail template. The wizard shows "Confirm your e-mail address." with I've confirmed it and Send the link again. The link:

  • opens a page with a Confirm my e-mail address button; opening the link alone changes nothing, so mail scanners cannot use it up;
  • works once, for 24 hours, and a resent link replaces the earlier one;
  • can be resent up to 5 times an hour.

Confirming shows "E-mail confirmed" and a Continue button back to the wizard. A confirmation applies to the current address; changing the address needs a new one.

4. Building and paying

The app is built as a new tenant, with the person as its first administrator. The wizard then says "Taking you to secure payment..." and hands over to Stripe Checkout, where a card is taken. Nothing is charged until day 15 of a trial. On success the person lands in the new app's Site Administration, already signed in. If Checkout is cancelled, they return to the wizard and nothing is charged.

If they leave and come back before paying, the wizard shows "Waiting for payment" with Continue to payment and Start again. Start again discards the unfinished app ("Clearing it away...").

Messages people may meet

  • "Too many accounts have been created from your network recently. Please try again later.": more than 10 registrations an hour from one address.
  • "Please tick "I'm not a robot" before creating your account." or "The "I'm not a robot" check could not be verified.": the reCAPTCHA step.
  • "You're already signed in. Sign out first to create a different account."
  • "Registration isn't available right now. Please try again later.": a configuration problem on the installation; see Switching On Self-Serve Sign-up.
  • "This link has expired. Sign in and ask for a new one." or "This link has already been used." on the confirmation page.
  • "Please confirm your e-mail address first - we sent you a link." at Create my app.
  • "You have created several apps already today. Please try again tomorrow, or finish one you have started.": five a day per person.
  • "Your app is already being built. Give it a minute, then reload this page."

Supporting someone who is stuck

  1. Ask which message they see, and match it to the list above.
  2. For a confirmation e-mail that never arrived, check the E-mail Log, then ask them to use Send the link again and check their junk folder.
  3. For a payment question, find their tenant on Tenant Plans: Sign-up state shows building, built, failed, done or discarded, and Status shows Stripe's view.
  4. If they paid but see a page titled "Payment received" or "Nearly there" instead of their app, check Tenant Plans. Once Status reads trialing or active, signing in again takes them into the app.

Worked example

A customer emails to say they never received the confirmation link. The administrator finds the send in the E-mail Log, delivered two hours earlier, and suggests the junk folder. They find it there but the link has since been replaced because they clicked Send the link again twice; the newest e-mail's link works and they continue to payment.

Recommendations

  • Tell people to use the newest e-mail; each resend replaces the earlier link.
  • Use Tenant Plans' Sign-up state to see where somebody stopped.
  • Use the plan links (?plan=pro) from your pricing pages.
  • Do not create accounts for customers; the account that signs up is the billing owner.