What is a modal?
A modal is a centered dialog window that dims the page behind it and holds the user's focus until it is addressed — dismissed, completed, or acted on. It is the highest-attention surface a product has: nothing else on screen competes with it, which is exactly why it must be spent sparingly.
What earns a modal
The test is whether the user should decide something before continuing. A first-session welcome that routes new users into a guided path — yes. A major launch that changes how everyone works — yes. Routine tips, minor releases, and "did you know" content — no; those belong on quieter surfaces like slideouts or banners. Teams that modal everything train users to close modals unread, at which point the surface is spent.
Craft notes
- One clear action. A primary button doing the obvious thing, a ghost button for "not now" — honest exits included.
- Fired at a pause. Session start, task completion, an explicit click. Never mid-task; interrupting data entry for an announcement is how upgrade prompts earn hatred.
- Backdrop with intent. The dim level (subtle to near-black) sets the gravity — full drama for the launch of the year, restraint for everything else.
- Layout doing work. Two-column modals pair copy with a screenshot; three-column ones make a "choose your path" welcome genuinely useful.
In onboarding practice
The canonical use is the welcome modal: one screen setting the promise, then handing off to a product tour or checklist — built and targeted no-code, with completion and dismissal both measured.
See the concepts running live.
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