Onboarding videos that answer one question each.
Short clips for your help center, in-app tours and welcome emails. Zoomed so they read in a small embed, captioned for silent autoplay, with private data blurred.
How do you make onboarding and help center videos?
Make one short video per task, named after the question it answers, such as “How do I invite a teammate?”. Record the task in Dolly, let it zoom on each click, blur private data with Private details, and turn on captions so the clip works muted. Keep it to 30 to 60 seconds, use one preset for every clip, and export a 1080p MP4 per article.
Who it’s for: Customer success, support and product teams at SaaS companies who run a help center or in-app onboarding.
One question. One short clip.
“How do I start?” gets forty seconds, not a tour.
How to make help center videos in Dolly.
4 steps, most of them automatic.
- One clip, one question“How do I invite a teammate?” is a clip. “Settings overview” is a course.
- Hide what's privatePrivate details finds emails, API keys, phone and card numbers on screen and blurs them in one click. Draw a blur mask for anything else.
- Caption and trimCaptions on, ums and long pauses out in one click. 30 to 60 seconds is the sweet spot.
- Same look everywhereSave your background and frame as a preset so every article matches.
Settings that work, and what to avoid.
Recommended settings
- Shape
- 16:9, or 4:3 for narrow columns
- Resolution
- 1080p
- Frame rate
- 30 fps
- Quality
- Web
- Extras
- Captions on; GIF for one inline step
Mistakes to avoid
- One long product tour. Viewers arrive with one question; answer only that.
- Generic titles. Name each video after the question people actually ask.
- Clips that need sound. Help-center and in-app videos often play muted.
- Customer data in the shot. Run Private details before every export.
Short clips beat long tours
Help-center readers arrive with one question. A 40-second clip that answers it beats a six-minute tour they have to scrub. Make many small videos and put each one at the top of its article.
When the UI changes
Help videos go stale when the product changes. With auto zoom and a saved preset, re-recording a short clip takes about as long as doing the task, so keeping them current is cheap.
GIF or MP4?
For a single step inline in an article, a small GIF autoplays everywhere (GIF export is part of Pro and Lifetime). For anything with voice, use MP4. The GIF guide has sizes.
Onboarding and help center: questions
How long should an onboarding video be?
30 to 60 seconds per task. Bigger topics work better as a short series of clips.
Can I blur private data in a screen recording?
Yes. Dolly's Private details finds emails, API keys, phone numbers, IBANs and card numbers on screen and blurs them, following text as it scrolls. You can also draw blur or highlight masks by hand.
Should help center videos have sound?
Voice helps, but many embeds play muted. Burned-in captions make the clip work either way.
Should I use a GIF or a video in help articles?
A short GIF for a single inline step; an MP4 for anything with voice or longer than about ten seconds. GIF export is part of Pro and Lifetime.
Can I make onboarding videos for free?
Yes. Free records with no time limit and exports MP4 up to 1080p, with a small Made with Dolly logo in the corner.
Related
Roll camera.
Screen Studio quality. Free. No 5-minute limit.
First time: open Dolly, click Done, then System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway (macOS 13–14: right-click Dolly → Open). Once only. Installation help