> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.introw.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Build a progressive onboarding path
> Plan onboarding stages, create a dynamic segment per stage, gate portal tabs, sections, and abilities to those segments, and let journeys move partners forward so the portal unlocks as partners qualify.
{/* Progressive onboarding is not a single setting; it is a pattern you assemble from three pieces
that already exist: dynamic segments decide which stage a partner has reached, the experience
gates tabs and sections to those segments, and journeys give partners the checklist that moves
them forward. This guide walks the whole build end to end, from planning the stages to publishing,
so a partner sees only their current stage and the next one appears the moment they qualify. */}
## What you'll achieve
A portal that unlocks stage by stage on its own: a dynamic segment per onboarding stage, tabs, sections, and abilities gated to those segments, and a journey driving partners forward. Partners graduate automatically as they qualify, with no manual access grants.
## Before you start
You need permission to create segments and edit experiences, a published portal experience partners can reach, and a connected CRM so dynamic segments can filter on live partner data.
Identify the signal that promotes a partner into each stage, such as a completed journey, a certificate, a tier, or a CRM property value.
## Watch it
## Steps
### Plan the stages
Decide the stages a partner passes through, for example Welcome, Trained, Selling, and Established. Keep them few enough that each one is a meaningful step up.
For each stage, list the tabs, asset sections, and abilities (forms, deal registration, courses) that should become available. This is the reward a partner earns by reaching the stage.
For each stage, choose the single measurable condition that promotes a partner into it, so it can become a dynamic segment filter. One clear condition per stage keeps advancement predictable.
### Create a segment per stage
Go to [Segments](https://app.introw.io/settings/segments) and create a **dynamic** segment for each stage. A dynamic segment recomputes its membership from filters, which is what makes graduation automatic.
On the segment's **Audience** tab, add the filter that defines the stage, such as a tier reached, a certificate earned, an onboarding journey complete, or a CRM property value. Membership then tracks that milestone, so partners enter the segment the moment they qualify. Stage filters do not need to exclude earlier stages: a partner in a later stage usually still matches the earlier segments, and that is safe, because when a contact belongs to several segments the most permissive settings win and every stage they have earned keeps adding up.
Use the audience preview to confirm the partners who currently match are the ones you expect, before any gating depends on the segment.
### Gate the experience
Go to [Experiences](https://app.introw.io/templates) and open the experience partners use.
On a stage's tab, restrict it to the segment for that stage so only partners who have reached it see the tab. A tab restricted to a segment is invisible to everyone else, which is the core of progressive unlocking.
Within a visible tab, restrict individual sections to a segment when only later-stage partners should see them. Do the same for ability-bearing sections such as asset libraries, forms, and deal registration, so later stages unlock real capability, not just more pages.
On each stage segment, set **Permissions** so a stage can unlock abilities like inviting teammates or collaboration scope, not just content. These live on the segment itself, see [Create a dynamic segment](/features/partners/segments/guides/create-a-dynamic-segment) for the permission options. Configure only what each stage grants: permissions and notifications resolve to the most permissive across a contact's segments, so a stage can never take back what an earlier one gave. Put your restricted floor on a default segment that captures everyone, see [Layer segments to progressively unlock capabilities](/features/partners/segments/guides/layer-segments-to-progressively-unlock).
### Drive partners forward and publish
Give partners an onboarding journey so they always have a concrete next step. As they complete it and hit the milestones your segments key on, they roll into the next stage's segment and the matching tabs unlock. See [Build a journey from scratch](/features/partners/journeys/guides/build-a-journey-from-scratch).
Preview the experience as partners in different stages to confirm each sees only their unlocked tabs, sections, and abilities. Catching an over-broad segment here avoids exposing content to the wrong partners.
Publish the experience to push the gating to linked partner portals. From here, unlocking happens on its own as segment membership updates.
## Verify it worked
A partner in an early stage sees only their tabs, sections, and abilities. When a test partner meets a stage's milestone, they join that stage's segment and the matching content unlocks for them with no manual step.
## Related
Build the auto-updating audience and set its permissions.
How overlapping segments resolve, and why stages only ever add.
Give partners the checklist that moves them forward.
Apply the journey and watch partners advance.
Full configuration options for progressive onboarding.