OnWeight · Flow Strategy
Onboarding
& goal setting, rethought
The app is paywalled end to end, there is no free tier and no Pro tier. That single fact breaks the old map. The previous flow split first-run into Free Onboarding and Pro Goal Setting; those are tiers that no longer exist. What remains is one funnel with one hinge: the paywall. Everything before it has exactly one job, convert. Everything after it has a different one, activate. This document redraws both halves around that hinge, and is explicit about which beats prove the app is a combat-sport tool and not another weight tracker.
01 The reframe
Stop thinking in tiers. Think in before and after the moment money changes hands. The user owes us nothing before the paywall, so we owe them proof. They've paid after it, so we owe them precision and a fast first win.
Before · the user owes nothing
Onboarding
Prove intelligence and bespoke value. Build a plan the user is invested in, so the paywall reads as delivery, not a toll gate. Every screen earns the subscription or it's cut.
After · the user has paid
Set up camp
Make the plan precise and get them to their first real action. Friction is now acceptable, every screen refines the cut or builds the daily habit. This is where the product is configured.
02 The conversion playbook
The principles driving the redraw, drawn from how the strongest subscription onboardings (Noom, Duolingo, Fitbod) are built. Each one maps to a concrete decision in the flow below.
- 01
Goal first, identity first
Open on “What do you fight?”, it makes the athlete feel understood in one tap and routes the entire rules engine. Generic apps open on “lose weight”; we open on a sport.
- 02
Only ask what changes the plan
Six pre-paywall questions, each visibly reshapes the cut. No decorative fields. Anything that doesn't move the plan moves to after the paywall, or out.
- 03
Build the plan as onboarding
The athlete isn't filling a form, they're assembling a camp. By the paywall they've invested effort, and the plan itself becomes the reason to pay.
- 04
Engineer one undeniable “aha” before price
The Coach's Read interprets their sport, timeline and numbers in plain language, a personalised verdict, not a benefits list. This is the moment they think “this reasoned about me.”
- 05
The paywall delivers something already built
Its headline echoes the athlete's own numbers, “Your 8-week cut to 74.4 kg is mapped.” It's the hand-off of a plan they watched get built, framed against their fight date.
- 06
Defer every bit of friction
No account, no notification permission before value. Account creation waits until after purchase; the reminder opt-in waits for camp setup. Each forced field before value leaks users.
- 07
The loading screen is an argument
“Building your camp” animates the projection to fight day. It's the opening line of the paywall, not a spinner, the moment the work becomes visible.
- 08
Onboarding doesn't end at payment
The post-paywall half continues the new-user experience all the way to the first logged weigh-in, the activation moment that predicts retention.
03 Weight tracker vs. fight app
The pre-paywall flow has to make one thing unmistakable: this is built for someone who has to make weight, on a date, safely, not someone who wants to “lose a few kilos someday.” These are the beats that carry that difference, and each is a reason to pay.
| The beat | A generic weight app | OnWeight | Why it converts |
|---|
| The goal | “Lose 4 kg.” | “Make 74.4 kg for MMA lightweight by Jan 11.” | A deadline and stakes, not a vague wish. |
| The deadline | None, open-ended. | A hard fight date drives a live countdown. | Urgency the athlete already feels, mirrored back. |
| The target | A number on the scale. | Division limit + gear allowance + rehydration window, per sport. | Proves bespoke logic no tracker has. |
| The pace | Any rate you like. | ≤ 1% / wk to protect muscle and power; 0.5% recommended. | Safety science, coaching, not arithmetic. |
| The read | A line on a chart. | A coach interpreting your sport, timeline and gap. | The “it reasoned about me” moment. |
| Female athletes | Ignored. | Cycle-aware targets so a water swing never reads as “behind.” | Bespoke care a tracker can't fake. |
Flow 01 Onboarding · pre-paywall
Build the case Convert
Goal: earn the subscription. Six high-signal questions, each reshaping the plan, then a personalised read and a paywall that delivers a camp the athlete watched get built. No account, no permissions, nothing that leaks users before value.
6 questions → read → paywall
Header: ink progress bar
Exit → Plan Preview · Paywall
EntryLaunchOne outcome line: “Make weight. Stay sharp.” Get started. (Sign-in deferred.)
Q1 · IdentityWhat do you fight?Routes the whole rules engine. The first tap that says “this is for me.”Differentiator
Q2 · StakesFight dateThe hard deadline. Starts the countdown. No fight → target pace.Differentiator
Q3Biological sexFast. Unlocks the cycle-aware value prop later.
Q4Current weightFasted morning weight, the start line.
Q5Your limitDivision limit on the scale. The gap appears instantly: 78.4 → 74.4. A target >20 kg off raises a healthy-range gate.
Q6 · ScienceCut rate0.5% recommended. Shows the muscle-vs-pace reasoning.Differentiator
SystemBuilding your campProjection animates to fight day. The paywall's opening argument.
The ahaCoach's ReadPlain-language verdict on their sport, timeline & gap. Feasibility call + a fighter-outcome proof line (social proof, moved earlier). The proof moment.
Exit · the hingePlan Preview · PaywallProjection chart to fight day. Headline echoes their numbers. Trial framing, social proof, plans. → see paywall anatomy below.
Branch · No fight booked
At Q2, “No fight booked yet” swaps the deadline for a target pace. The whole funnel still works, but the countdown and feasibility verdict lose their daysToWeighIn anchor, which weakens the single strongest conversion lever (urgency). Treat no-fight users as a distinct, lower-intent cohort and lead their read with pace and readiness instead. (Resolved as Maintenance / no-deadline mode — see Logic & Flows §16.)
paywall Anatomy of the hinge
Echo
Their own numbers, headlined
“Your 8-week cut to 74.4 kg is mapped.” The plan they just watched build, handed over.
Proof
The projection, locked
The chart to fight day sits right there, faded behind the unlock, the thing they're buying is visible.
Trust
Social proof
Fighters / coaches who made weight with it. Outcomes, not features.
Offer
2–3 plans, annual default
Clear savings vs monthly. No decoy clutter. One obvious recommended option.
Risk
Honest trial framing
“7 days free, then $X. Reminder before you're charged.” Transparent timeline lowers the barrier.
CTA
Outcome, not “Subscribe”
“Unlock my fight-day plan”, the athlete's own job, not a transaction.
Decision · trial vs. hard-paid — resolved (Jun 2026)
Settled in favour of a trial. A 7-day free trial is now the paywall's lifeboat, framed honestly: “Then £9.99/mo · cancel anytime · we'll remind you 2 days before your trial ends.” The pattern still favours going longer — trials of 17–32 days convert at roughly 46% vs 27% for a 3–7 day trial — so final trial length + price stay a business call (current figures are placeholders). A social-proof beat was also added earlier (Coach's Read), not just at the paywall, per the BFM audit.
↳
The hinge. Subscribe (Apple / Google, 1–2 taps) → create account to save the camp → straight into setup. There is no “decline → free home” fallback anymore, a hard paywall means declining ends the session, so the only recovery is re-engagement: a reminder, an email, a later win-back offer. Build that path; it's now load-bearing.
Entry Auth & routing
Launch forks on one question: new or returning. New users enter the funnel with no account (it's created after purchase — see the hinge). Returning users get the log-in side, which onboarding never had to cover.
App openSplash + loadingThe animated mark (existing Launch Splash). First run → launch; returning → straight to Today.
EntryLaunch“Get started” (new) or “I already have an account” (returning).
New →Onboarding funnelSport → … → paywall. No account asked. (Flow 01.)Convert
Returning →Log inEmail + password, or Apple / Google. → Dashboard.
Forgot?Reset → verifyReset-link sent → back to log in. 2-factor code where required.
Where account creation lives
Deliberately after the paywall: subscribe → create account to save the camp → verify email → safety disclaimer (required) → age gate (18+ proceeds; under-18 routes to a guardian-consent path) → setup. Nothing is gated behind a sign-up before the user has seen value. The screens are in All Screens (Account creation & safety section); first-run errors like a duplicate email are in the Error states.
Flow 02 Set up camp · post-paywall
First win, then sharpen Activate
Goal: the first weigh-in, fast. After paying, the athlete lands on the dashboard empty state — logging day one (the activation milestone) is the immediate action. The precision setup becomes an opt-in “Sharpen your plan” card, pulled when they want it, not pushed right after payment. No “Pro” pill, there is no tier to upsell.
paywall → account → dashboard (empty)
First win: log day one
Sharpen = opt-in, anytime
Reorder · activation before configuration (BFM audit)
The athlete now lands on the dashboard empty state after payment, with the first weigh-in as the one clear action — the activation milestone that predicts retention. The ten steps below are no longer a forced post-payment gauntlet; they're the opt-in “Sharpen your plan” flow, reached from a card on the dashboard (or Plan). Friction is pulled, not pushed — which keeps “friction is fine post-paywall” true without delaying the first win.
Step 1Weigh-in timeWhen the daily fasted weigh-in happens. Sets the trend's anchor.
Step 2Morning reminderPush opt-in, deferred to here on purpose, after value & payment.Permission, deferred
Step 3Track cycle?Female & opted-in only. Off → skip to competition rules.Conditional
Step 4Period dateAnchors the phase model.
Step 5Cycle lengthCycle + period length. Refined from data over time.
Step 6Phase changesPer-phase weight offsets. Editable defaults.
Step 7Competition rulesConfirm equipment, re-weigh, hydration for the promotion.
Step 8Cut strategiesFight-week tactics, each with an ⓘ explainer. Moved here, detail, not a conversion lever.Sweat-out ≤5%
Step 9Check detailsFull summary across everything entered.
SystemRefining planRecomputes targets with all the precise inputs.
Step 10Choose plan shapeTapered (recommended) or linear.
DoneBack to TodayPlan refined. The dashboard carries the tuned targets — the first weigh-in already happened (or waits) on Today.
Branch · Cycle (Steps 3–6)
The cycle sub-flow is gated on biologicalSex = female (set at Onboarding Q3) and the Step-3 opt-in. Everyone else jumps Step 2 → Step 7. Every cycle screen is independently skippable. Because biological sex was captured pre-paywall, this branch is decided the moment setup begins, no mid-flow surprise.
04 How the two halves read differently
Same kit, opposite jobs. The athlete should never wonder which half they're in, and the team should never confuse a conversion screen with a configuration one.
| Signal | Onboarding (pre-paywall) | Set up camp (post-paywall) |
|---|
| Job | Convert, earn the subscription | Activate, earn the habit |
| Design bias | Persuasion: proof, momentum, zero friction | Configuration: precision, completeness |
| Eyebrow | “OnWeight Setup” | “Set up your camp”, no tier pill |
| What's asked | Only what reshapes the plan (6 questions) | First weigh-in to activate; refining is opt-in (10 steps) |
| Account & permissions | Deferred, nothing asked | Account at purchase; reminders here |
| Entry | App launch | Successful purchase, or Plan → “Refine plan” |
| Exit | Plan Preview · Paywall | Dashboard (empty) → first weigh-in; Sharpen → back to Today |