Welcome and onboarding journeys for new customers
Slide, by Synquic, runs welcome and onboarding journeys on WhatsApp and email: a form or popup submission, a new or changed contact, a HubSpot event or a webhook from your own sign-up flow starts an automation that sends timed WhatsApp templates and emails, and an email sequence can add up to 5 follow-ups that stop when the customer replies. Journeys are built in the automation builder; the template library has starting points, such as a new-contact welcome email, that you adapt. Instagram cannot carry an onboarding sequence, because Slide sends nothing there more than 24 hours after the person's last message.
Facts on this page were last reviewed on 11 October 2026. See the key facts and sources.
The buyer and the problem
Teams responsible for a customer's first weeks, at software companies, subscription businesses, course providers and service firms, who want every new customer to get the same welcome and the same nudges at the right time.
The welcome email goes out, then nothing: nobody checks whether the customer finished the first step, and the ones who get stuck say nothing until they leave. Doing it by hand works for a few customers a week and breaks as volume grows.
Supported capabilities, mapped to the product
Triggers that mark a new customer
Forms, popups and landing pages, a contact being created or changed, HubSpot events, Google Sheets and Forms, and webhooks from your own product can each start a journey.
Timed WhatsApp messages
Delays space the messages out over days. Once the 24-hour window has closed, each WhatsApp message must be a template approved by Meta.
Email sequences that stop on reply
A first email and up to 5 threaded follow-ups, 1 hour to 60 days apart, that stop when the customer replies (with a connected mailbox) and carry an unsubscribe line by default.
Source:Campaigns guideBranches on what the customer did
Conditions check tags and contact fields, and WhatsApp button replies can set them, so a customer who has finished a step skips the nudge about it.
An AI agent for setup questions
When a customer replies with a question, an AI agent can answer from your help content. AI steps depend on the plan.
Source:Automation builder guideA person when it matters
A handoff step leaves the conversation in the inbox with what has been said and emails the onboarding team, for anyone who needs help with their own setup.
Source:Automation builder guide
Built from starters and general steps
The template library has starting points you adapt, such as a welcome email sent when a contact is created and a lead nurture drip sequence. A full journey is an ordinary automation: a trigger, delays, conditions, WhatsApp and email steps, tags and lifecycle stage changes, and a handoff where a person should step in. That makes it flexible, and it means someone has to design the journey before building it.
Why not Instagram: a business may reply on Instagram only within 24 hours of the person's last message, and Slide sends nothing after that window, so a series of messages over several days cannot run there. A customer who first reaches you on Instagram can be onboarded by email, or on WhatsApp with their permission, once you have their address or number.
Which email tool to use: sequences carry an unsubscribe line and skip unsubscribed, suppressed and bounced addresses. The email step inside an automation does neither, and the welcome-email starter sends through that step, so keep it to service messages such as account details, and put anything promotional, such as an upgrade offer, in a sequence or a campaign.
A new trial account, welcomed and guided through its first week
A business software company starts every new trial with an onboarding journey on WhatsApp and email. This is one customer's first week.
- Trigger
The customer signs up
The company's sign-up flow calls a Slide webhook trigger with the customer's name, email address, phone number and their answer to the WhatsApp consent question, and the onboarding automation starts.
- Action
A welcome on both channels
An email step sends a welcome with the login link at once. Customers who agreed to WhatsApp messages also receive an approved welcome template with two buttons: "I've added my first client" and "I need help".
- Customer interaction
A nudge two days later
After a delay, a condition checks the tag set by the first button. Customers who have it skip ahead; the rest receive a short template that links to the setup guide.
- Human handoff
Help from a person
A customer taps "I need help". The AI agent answers from the help content first; when the question is about the customer's own data, a handoff step emails the onboarding team and leaves the conversation in the inbox with everything said so far.
- Exception
No WhatsApp consent
Customers who did not agree to WhatsApp messages get the same journey through email steps instead of templates. Because automation emails carry no unsubscribe line, those emails stick to service content: account details and how to finish setup.
- Recorded outcome
Active by the end of the week
Customers who complete the first step are tagged and moved to the "active" lifecycle stage; the rest keep their trial tag for the team to review. Each automation run is logged step by step.
An illustration of how the workflow runs, not a customer case study. Names, numbers and messages are examples.
What you need, and the launch sequence
Requirements
- A trigger you can rely on
Decide which event marks a new customer: a form, a new contact, a HubSpot event or a webhook from your product.
Source:Automation builder guideAutomation builder guide - Approved WhatsApp templates and opt-in
Every timed WhatsApp message sent outside the 24-hour window needs a template approved by Meta, and the customer's opt-in, naming your business, before you message them first.
Source:WhatsApp Business setup guideWhatsApp Business Messaging Policy (opens in a new tab) - An authenticated domain and a connected mailbox
A sending domain verified with the DNS records Slide shows, and a connected mailbox if replies should stop a sequence and reach the inbox.
Source:Email channel setup guideCampaigns guide - Help content for the AI agent
Setup steps, common questions and links to your guides, so the agent can answer before a person is needed.
Source:Automation builder guide
Launch sequence
Write down the first three things a new customer must do to get value, and the message that helps with each.
Choose the trigger and check that it fires with the fields you need (automation guide).
Submit the WhatsApp templates and wait for Meta's approval; draft the emails at the same time.
Build the journey with delays, conditions on tags or fields, and a handoff for anyone who asks for help.
Run it on your own team's accounts first, then switch it on for new customers.
What these claims rest on
- Automations start from 41 trigger types, including CRM changes, schedules, webhooks and store events
WhatsApp, Instagram, Shopify, HubSpot, Google Sheets and Forms, Meta and Google lead forms, forms, contact created or changed, webhooks and schedules, with conditions, routers, delays and wait-until steps. Wait-until takes a fixed date and time.
- Email sequences send a first email and up to 5 follow-ups that stop when the person replies
Follow-ups 1 hour to 60 days apart, threaded, stopped on reply (needs a connected mailbox). Each email carries an unsubscribe line by default, and unsubscribed, suppressed or bounced addresses are skipped. Sequences are single-path.
- Website popups, contact forms, landing-page forms and ad lead forms trigger follow-up automations
Form submissions from popups (including on Shopify storefronts), the site form, landing pages and Meta or Google lead forms start automations. There is no double opt-in.
- Templates are approved by Meta, not Slide, and are needed outside the 24-hour window
Utility, marketing and authentication templates are submitted from Slide and approved by Meta. Sending is blocked until a template in the needed category is approved.
How the cost is made up
The Slide plan decides which features you have, including AI steps; plans and current prices are on the pricing page, and paid plans start with a 14-day trial. Workspaces created with an Indian number are billed in rupees, and all others in US dollars.
Each WhatsApp template in the journey is charged per delivered message by Meta, by its category and the customer's country, and drawn from your wallet. Replies you send while a customer's 24-hour window is open count as service messages, charged since 1 October 2026 after the first 1,000 each month per number.
Emails draw on the plan's email credits, and a sequence pauses rather than failing if the credits run out.
When this fits, and what it does not do
A good fit when
- A clear sign-up moment your systems can report: a form, a new contact or a webhook.
- A few early steps that show whether a new customer is getting started.
- Customers who agreed to hear from you on WhatsApp, email or both.
Needs a person when
- Customers who ask for help with their own data or setup.
- Larger accounts that expect a named contact.
- Anyone who replies with a complaint during the journey.
Not established by this page
- Any change in activation or retention: Slide publishes no measured outcomes for onboarding.
- Where customer data is hosted. Ask the Slide team before you sign.
Direct answers
How do we build an onboarding journey in Slide?
Pick the event that marks a new customer, such as a form submission, a new contact or a webhook from your sign-up flow, and use it as the trigger. Add a welcome, then delays and conditions that check whether each early step is done, with a WhatsApp template or an email for each nudge. End with a handoff for customers who ask for help, and test the whole journey on your own accounts before switching it on.
Source:Automation builder guideAutomation builder guideWhatsApp Business setup guideAutomation builder guideWhat can start an onboarding journey?
A submission from a Slide popup, contact form or landing page, a Meta or Google lead form, a contact being created or a field changing, a HubSpot event, Google Sheets and Forms, a schedule, or a webhook your own product calls when someone signs up. Slide has 41 trigger types in all, so the journey can start from whichever system knows first that a customer is new.
Source:Automation builder guideAutomation builder guideIntegrations guideIs there a ready-made onboarding template?
Partly. The template library has starters, such as a welcome email when a contact is created, and you build the rest of the journey from general steps: a trigger, delays, conditions, WhatsApp templates, email steps, tags, lifecycle stages and a handoff. The welcome starter sends from an automation email step, which adds no unsubscribe, so keep that email to account details and put anything promotional in a sequence. Start from the three things a new customer must do and build one message for each, then add branches only where customers really differ.
Source:Automation builder guideAutomation builder guideCampaigns guideCan we onboard customers on Instagram?
No. Instagram lets a business reply only within 24 hours of the person's last message, and Slide neither starts Instagram conversations nor sends anything after that window, so a journey over several days cannot run there. Capture an email address in the DM, which links the person to their contact record, and onboard them by email or, with their permission, on WhatsApp.
Source:Meta: Instagram Messaging API (opens in a new tab)Instagram setup guideDo timed WhatsApp onboarding messages need approved templates?
Yes, once the 24-hour window has closed, which it will have for any message sent days after sign-up unless the customer has written to you since. Templates are approved by Meta, not by Slide, and the customer must have opted in to messages from your business. Each template is charged per delivered message by its category and the customer's country.
Source:Meta: Send messages (opens in a new tab)WhatsApp Business setup guideWhatsApp Business Messaging Policy (opens in a new tab)Meta: WhatsApp pricing (opens in a new tab)Do onboarding emails need an unsubscribe link?
That depends on what the email says and on the law where your customers are. Email sequences carry an unsubscribe line by default and skip unsubscribed, suppressed and bounced addresses, and campaigns add one-click unsubscribe. The email step inside an automation adds no unsubscribe link and does not check those lists, so use it only for service messages such as account details, and keep promotional content in sequences or campaigns. Market rules are summarised under locations.
Source:Campaigns guideCampaigns guideHow do we stop nudging customers who are already active?
Use conditions: check a tag or contact field before each nudge and skip it when the step is done. WhatsApp button replies can set those tags, and email sequences stop by themselves when the customer replies, provided the mailbox is connected. Customers who opt out are blocked and skipped on every channel.
Source:Automation builder guideAutomation builder guideCampaigns guideKey facts: Customer onboarding with Slide
Slide is a reasonable fit when your sign-up moment can start an automation and your onboarding is a handful of timed messages on WhatsApp and email, with a person on hand for questions: the triggers, delays, conditions, templates, sequences and handoff are built. It is a weaker fit if you want onboarding that runs without designing the journey yourself, onboarding inside Instagram, or email sequences that branch on what the customer does.
- Product
- Slide (also "Slide by Synquic"), a platform for automating customer messaging across channelsSource:About Synquic
- Company
- SynquicSource:About Synquic
- Workflow
- Onboarding on WhatsApp and email: a sign-up trigger starts timed templates, emails and conditions, with a handoff for customers who need helpSource:Automation builder guideWhatsApp Business setup guideCampaigns guideAutomation builder guide
- Journey triggers
- Forms and popups, lead forms, contact created or changed, HubSpot events, Google Sheets and Forms, webhooks and schedulesSource:Automation builder guideAutomation builder guide
- Prerequisites
- For WhatsApp, a Meta business portfolio, business verification, a number not on the WhatsApp apps and approved templates; for email, an authenticated sending domain and a connected mailbox for stop-on-replySource:WhatsApp Business setup guideMeta Business Manager guideWhatsApp Business setup guideEmail channel setup guideCampaigns guide
- Human handoff
- An automation step hands the conversation to the team in the shared inbox with the collected answers and notifies them by email. It does not pause automations permanently, and there is no hand-back stepSource:Automation builder guide
- Email sequences
- A first email and up to 5 follow-ups, 1 hour to 60 days apart, stopped on reply, with an unsubscribe line by default; a single pathSource:Campaigns guide
- Limitations
- No onboarding on Instagram after the 24-hour window; email sequences cannot branch; automation email steps add no unsubscribe; wait-until takes a fixed date and time onlySource:Campaigns guideAutomation builder guide
- Pricing source
- The current pricing page, slide.synquic.com/pricingSource:Slide pricing
- Last factual review
Where to go next
- All use casesWhat WhatsApp, Instagram and email automation can do for a business, outcome by outcome, and which channel supports each one fully, partly or not at all.
- Messaging automation by channelWhich channel to automate with Slide: WhatsApp, Instagram or email. How their rules, costs and limits differ, and how one workflow can use all three.
- Slide pricingCurrent plans, what each includes, and how channel usage is charged.
- Education and coaching teamsHow education and coaching teams use messaging automation.
Map the first week of a new customer
Start on the free plan and build a welcome journey, or book a demo and design the first week with the Slide team.