Guided Tour Software: Features, Benefits & Top Picks

Imagine website visitors landing on your page, eager to learn about your product, but then getting discouraged and leaving. This happens all too often for businesses that lack effective product tours.

Sure, a video embedded on your website might be informative, but let's face it, most people don't have time to pause their day and watch a minute-long explainer.

Enter guided tour software.

This solution allows you to create interactive tours that guide users through your product at their own pace.  With a few clicks, visitors can explore key features and understand the value your product offers.

What is Guided Tour Software?

Guided tour software empowers you to create step-by-step walkthroughs that showcase the functionalities of your product. These tours are instrumental in achieving the following:

• Streamlining user onboarding: New customers can get up and running quickly without needing extensive help.
• Reducing customer churn: Familiarizing users with your product's capabilities can prevent frustration and encourage continued use.
• Enhancing user engagement: Interactive tours can keep users interested and actively exploring your product.
• Providing a self-service learning experience: Users can learn about your product on their own terms without needing to reach out to support.

Guided tour software typically allows you to capture screenshots or recordings of your product interface. You can then customize these elements with overlays, text explanations, and calls to action (CTAs) to guide users through the product.

Must-have Features in a Guided Tour Software

Choosing the right guided tour software depends on your specific needs and budget. But with so many options, where do you start? Here are the essential features to prioritize when making your decision:: 

• No-code Interface: Empower anyone to create tours without coding knowledge using drag-and-drop functionality and intuitive tools.
• Branching logic: Personalize the user experience by tailoring the tour flow based on user actions or segments (e.g., new vs. returning users).
• Tracking and analytics: Gain valuable insights with features that track tour performance, measure user engagement, and allow A/B testing for continuous improvement.

• Interactive elements: Enhance user engagement with features like tooltips, hotspots, checklists, and mini-surveys.
• Integrations: Look for software that integrates with your existing tools, such as CRMs, marketing automation platforms, and analytics software.

Top Guided Tour Software in 2024

Here's a breakdown of some of the most popular options to consider:

1. Userlane - Best for Enterprise Employee Training

• Standout features: Userlane caters specifically to employee onboarding and training needs. It offers features like role-based access control, single sign-on (SSO), and content branching to create customized experiences for different employee groups.
• Pros: Easy-to-use interface, exceptional customer support, advanced features for managing large-scale training initiatives.
• Cons: Limited customization options for product tours compared to other solutions on this list. Pricing is not publicly available.
• Pricing: Likely in the $1000+ per month range (Enterprise)

2. WalkMe - Best for Complex Product Onboarding

• Standout features: WalkMe boasts a robust feature set for creating highly interactive product tours. It includes elements like tooltips, hotspots, checklists, and mini-surveys to keep users engaged.
• Pros: Highly customizable, powerful analytics and reporting, a comprehensive resource library with pre-built templates.
• Cons: Can have a steeper learning curve compared to some no-code solutions. Pricing can be expensive for smaller companies.
• Pricing: Starts at $600 per month

3. Storylane - Best for Affordable, No-Code Product Tours

• Standout features: Storylane excels in its ease of use. It's a no-code platform that allows anyone to create interactive product tours without any coding knowledge. It also offers a free plan, making it an attractive option for budget-conscious businesses.
• Pros: Affordable pricing, intuitive interface, supports both screenshot and HTML capture for customization, built-in analytics to track tour performance.
• Cons: While Storylane offers tracking and analytics, it might lack the heatmaps features found in some competitor software.
• Pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start at $40 per month

Storylane helps you build no-code guided tours in under 10 minutes. Start free! 

4. Pendo - Best for All-in-One Digital Adoption

• Standout features: Pendo goes beyond product tours, offering a suite of tools to optimize user adoption. This includes in-app messaging, user feedback surveys, and heatmaps to understand user behavior.
• Pros: Integrates with various marketing and analytics tools, comprehensive user segmentation capabilities, and feature adoption reporting.
• Cons: The interface can be cluttered with all the available features. It lacks the laser focus on product tours offered by some competitors.
• Pricing: Starts at $30 per user per month

5. Appcues - Best for Marketers and Product Managers

• Standout features: Appcues provides a user-friendly platform specifically designed for marketers and product managers who may not have a coding background. It offers features like A/B testing and heatmaps to optimize your tours for better results.
• Pros: Integrates with popular marketing tools like Salesforce and HubSpot, clean and intuitive interface, frustration detection to identify pain points in the user journey.
• Cons: Lacks some of the advanced features for enterprise-level training needs offered by Userlane.
• Pricing: Starts at $249 per month

6. Whatfix - Best for Data-Driven Digital Adoption

• Standout features: Whatfix takes a data-driven approach to digital adoption, offering features like A/B testing, user behavior analytics, and heatmaps to help you optimize your product tours and user onboarding process.
• Pros: Robust analytics and reporting, extensive customization options, caters to a wide range of use cases beyond product tours.
• Cons: Steeper learning curve compared to some no-code solutions, and pricing may not be suitable for all budgets.
• Pricing: Likely in the $1000+ per month range (Enterprise)

Tips for Creating Effective Guided Tours

Here are some key tips for creating compelling guided tours:

• Segment your tour: Divide your tour into clear categories based on functionalities or user types. This allows viewers to focus on the most relevant information.
• Keep it bite-sized: Break down each category into concise, easy-to-follow steps. Aim for 5-10 steps per category for less complex products and up to 15 steps for products with more intricate features.
• Write clear instructions: Use active voice and bullet points to make your instructions scannable and easy to understand. Leverage copywriting techniques to add value and context to your explanations.‍
• Integrate CTAs: Prompt users to take specific actions after completing a step or category. This could involve directing them to the next step in the tour, exploring a particular feature, or signing up for a free trial.

Frequently Asked Questions

Aim for bite-sized tours! Keep them between 5-10 steps for simple products, 15 max for complex ones.

1. How long should my guided tours be?

Ideally, keep your guided tours concise and focused. Aim for 5-10 steps for less complex products and up to 15 steps for products with intricate features. Break down each category into easy-to-follow steps to avoid overwhelming users.

2. Can I use guided tours for employee training purposes?

Absolutely! Guided tour software is a powerful tool for employee training, especially for onboarding new hires. You can create step-by-step walkthroughs of your internal systems and applications, showcasing functionalities and workflows relevant to specific roles.

3. Does guided tour software impact website loading speed?

While well-designed guided tour software shouldn't significantly impact website loading speed, there are a few things to consider:

• Implementation:  Choose software that utilizes lightweight code and lazy loading to minimize impact.
• Tour Complexity:  Tours with excessive graphics or animations can slow down loading times. Keep them focused and use text overlays strategically.
• Testing: Thoroughly test your tours across different devices and browsers to identify any performance issues.