When to Use What in Userpilot

This guide helps you choose the right Userpilot feature for your use case.

Content Type Selection

Use Case	Best Choice	Why
Multi-step onboarding	Flow	Guide users through sequences
Feature announcement	Banner	Non-intrusive, persistent visibility
Highlight single element	Spotlight	Draws attention without interrupting
Onboarding tasks	Checklist	Tracks progress, user-driven pace
Important alert	Modal (Flow)	Demands attention, blocks interaction
Contextual hint	Tooltip (Spotlight)	Appears on hover, non-disruptive
In-app help center	Resource Center	Self-service, always accessible

Situation	Use
Critical information user must see	Modal
Longer content that doesn’t block UI	Slideout
Quick tip about specific element	Tooltip
Step-by-step walkthrough	Tooltip sequence (Flow)
Announcement with dismiss option	Modal or Slideout

NPS vs Survey vs Flow Form

Goal	Use
Measure overall satisfaction	NPS
Detailed feedback on specific feature	Survey
Collect info during onboarding	Flow with form fields
Quick rating (1-5 stars)	Survey with rating question
Open-ended feedback	Survey with text question

SDK vs API

When to use JavaScript SDK

Scenario	Method
Browser-based web app	`userpilot.identify()`
User interacts with UI	`userpilot.track()`
Real-time content display	SDK required
Single-page application	SDK with `reload()`

When to use HTTP API

Scenario	Method
Server-side user creation	`POST /v1/identify`
Backend event tracking	`POST /v1/track`
Bulk data import	Import API
Data export for analytics	Export API
Update users without page load	HTTP API
Mobile app (native)	Mobile SDK or HTTP API

When to use both

Scenario	Approach
User signs up via backend	API to create user, SDK to display content
Server-side event + UI update	API to track, SDK to trigger content
Historical data + real-time	Import API for history, SDK ongoing

Targeting Decisions

Segment vs Direct Targeting

Situation	Use
Reusable audience	Create Segment
One-time targeting	Direct targeting rules
Complex AND/OR logic	Segment
Simple property match	Direct targeting
Target across multiple content	Segment

User Property vs Event-based

Goal	Target By
Users on specific plan	User property (plan)
Users who completed action	Event (completed_action)
Users who haven’t done something	Event NOT performed
Users with certain attributes	User properties
Users based on behavior patterns	Events + properties combined

Page Targeting Options

Goal	Method
Exact URL	Exact match
All pages in section	Contains or starts with
Dynamic URLs	Regex pattern
Multiple specific pages	Multiple URL rules (OR)
Exclude certain pages	NOT contains rule

Trigger Timing

When to use each trigger

Trigger	Best For
Page load	Welcome messages, page-specific tips
After delay	Non-urgent info, avoid overwhelming
Element click	Contextual help, on-demand guidance
Custom event	Action completion, behavioral triggers
Manual (API)	Backend-triggered, external conditions
Scroll depth	Long pages, engagement-based

Frequency settings

Setting	Use When
Only once	Onboarding, announcements
Every time	Contextual tips that stay relevant
Once per session	Session-specific reminders
Until dismissed	Important recurring notices
Until completed	Required acknowledgments

Installation Scenarios

Which installation method

Scenario	Method
Full control, engineering available	JavaScript snippet
Already using Segment	Segment integration
Marketing needs to install	Google Tag Manager
Need to bypass ad blockers	Custom domain hosting
iOS native app	iOS SDK
Android native app	Android SDK
React Native app	React Native SDK
Flutter app	Flutter SDK

Analytics Decisions

Which report to use

Question	Report
How do users move through steps?	Funnel
What do users do before/after X?	Path
Do users come back over time?	Retention
How is metric trending?	Trends
Where do users drop off?	Funnel
Which features are used together?	Path

Dashboard vs Custom Report

Need	Use
Quick overview of standard metrics	Pre-built Dashboard
Specific metric tracking	Trends Report
Custom KPI monitoring	Custom Dashboard
Share with stakeholders	Dashboard + sharing
Deep dive investigation	Individual Reports

Integration Decisions

CRM sync

Goal	Integration
Sync user data to CRM	HubSpot or Salesforce
Trigger Userpilot from CRM	Webhooks + API
Sync NPS/survey responses	Native integration

Analytics sync

Goal	Integration
Already using Segment	Segment source
Send events to analytics	Amplitude, Mixpanel, GA
Unified event tracking	Segment as hub

Data warehouse

Goal	Method
Raw event export	Data Sync (BigQuery, Snowflake, S3)
One-time export	Export API
Custom analysis	Data Sync + BI tool

Data Capture & Privacy Userpilot Data Model

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