TipKit by : Expert Tips and Tricks !!

Aditya Tyagi
3 min readAug 31, 2023
Photo by Martin Sanchez on Unsplash

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, creating an app that stands out and keeps users engaged is more challenging than ever. Users often miss out on the full potential of an app due to overlooked features or a lack of guidance. Enter TipKit, a powerful framework that empowers app developers to provide contextual tips to users, helping them discover new, interesting, or underutilized features within their applications. In this article, we’ll delve into the world of TipKit, explore its capabilities, and offer insights on effectively implementing it into your app to enhance user experiences.

TipKit: A Brief Overview

TipKit is a framework that allows app developers to display contextual tips within their applications. These tips are designed to highlight features that users might not have discovered on their own. The primary goal of TipKit is to improve user engagement and satisfaction by guiding users toward valuable features, ultimately maximizing the app’s utility.

Understanding the Tip Protocol

The core of TipKit lies in defining tip content and the conditions under which these tips should appear. This is achieved through the Tip protocol, which provides developers with the necessary tools to craft informative and engaging tips.

Let’s break down the essential components of the Tip protocol using an example. Consider this code in the app.swift, first we define the content for our tip.[Remember this is for iOS 17]

  • Title: This is the title of your tip, typically a brief, attention-grabbing message.
  • Message: A more detailed explanation or context for the tip, providing users with a clear understanding of its purpose.
  • Image: An optional visual element that complements the tip, making it more visually appealing and memorable.

Contextual Tip Display with TipView

Once you’ve defined your tip content using the Tip protocol, the next step is to draw users’ attention to these features using the TipView. The TipView is a user interface element that represents an inline tip within your app. By strategically placing TipViews near the feature you want to highlight, you can ensure that users receive relevant guidance precisely when they need it.

Tips for Effective Tip Design

While TipKit is a powerful tool, it’s essential to use it judiciously to avoid overwhelming users. Here are some best practices for designing effective tips:

  1. Highlight Nonobvious Features: Reserve tips for features that users are unlikely to discover on their own. Focus on providing value through tips.
  2. Avoid Excessive Notifications: Don’t bombard users with tips every time they use your app. Tips should appear when they genuinely enhance the user experience.
  3. No Substitute for Guided Onboarding: Tips should not replace a well-designed onboarding process. Use tips as supplements to onboarding, not as its sole form.
  4. Steer Clear of Advertising: Don’t misuse tips for advertising or promotional purposes. Keep them user-centric and helpful.
  5. Offline Tips: Ensure that tips are accessible even when the user is offline. This ensures that users can receive guidance regardless of their internet connection status.
  6. User Engagement Metrics: Keep an eye on user engagement metrics before and after implementing TipKit. Look for improvements in user retention, feature usage, and user satisfaction to gauge the impact of your tips.
  7. Progressive Disclosure: Don’t overwhelm users with too much information at once. Use progressive disclosure by showing tips gradually as users interact with different features. This ensures that tips are timely and relevant.

Here is a an amazing repo by MING displaying TipKit example

Conclusion

Incorporating TipKit into your app development toolkit can significantly enhance the user experience by guiding users toward valuable features they might have missed otherwise. When used thoughtfully, TipKit can boost user engagement and satisfaction, making your app more competitive in today’s crowded app market. So, why wait? Start implementing TipKit today and provide your users with an enriching and user-friendly experience like never before.

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Aditya Tyagi

ChainReader📚, Youtuber, Programmer👨🏻‍💻, Learning filmmaking🎥, and lifetime Traveller✈️... {GitHub: adityagi02}