Project 01
ZeroTier Central onboarding
ZeroTier Central is a web application for creating and managing secure virtual networks. I helped shape the onboarding experience for a new version of the product, making a technically complex system easier for first-time users to understand and begin using.
The challenge
New users needed to understand several unfamiliar concepts—including organizations, optional network groups, networks, devices, and access rules—before they could accomplish anything useful. The experience also had to account for the transition between the legacy version of Central and the new platform without adding more confusion.
The challenge was to teach users just enough to get started without turning onboarding into a networking lesson.
The approach
I mapped the first-run experience and clarified the relationship between organizations, network groups, and networks. I designed guidance for creating a first organization and starter network, and wrote educational product copy that explained technical concepts in straightforward language.
I also worked with product and engineering on sign-in flows, plan messaging, legacy-versus-new-product routing, and the transition from onboarding into everyday network management.
The result
The work created a clearer and more guided introduction to ZeroTier Central while establishing reusable patterns for explaining complex concepts throughout the product.
It also gave the team a more consistent foundation for future onboarding, access-control, billing, and network-management experiences.
