How do I track what users do after they sign up?

Start with a short list, not with everything

Tracking every click gives you a lot of data and very little answer. Start with the moments that show a user got what they came for:

1. The first useful action. The thing your product exists for: a first report generated, a first file uploaded, a first message sent.
2. Coming back. Using it again on a later day, without being reminded.
3. Bringing someone else. An invite, a share, a second person on the account.
4. Paying.

Write down what each one means in your product before you add any code.

Record each one as a named event

In your app, send a named event when the action happens: first_report, returned, invited. Every analytics tool has a call for this. Two rules keep the data usable:

• Use the same names forever. A renamed event splits your history in two.
• Send it from the moment it’s true. Record “first report created” when the report exists, not when the button is clicked.

Tie events to the person

Events are only useful per user if they carry the same id as the user’s account. After signup or login, tell your analytics who this is (the user id, or the email). From then on, every event belongs to a person, and you can ask questions such as “did the people who invited someone pay more often?”

Read it as a funnel

Line the steps up in order: signed up, first useful action, came back, paid. The step with the biggest drop is where to work next. If most people never reach the first useful action, a better onboarding beats any new feature.

Compare the funnel by source, too. Users from one channel sometimes reach the first action at twice the rate of another.

With Nordva Launch

Name an action as a goal with nordva('goal', 'first_report') from your code, or data-nordva-goal="…" on a button, and after signup call nordva('identify', { user_id, email }). Funnels follow visitors through pages and goals in order (one funnel of three steps on Free, five of five on Indie). With Stripe connected, the same person’s payments are linked to their first visit, and on Builder, a contact’s page shows every visit and goal before they paid.