Progress Indicator

A Progress Indicator is a visual representation that shows users the status of a process or task, such as file uploading, form submission, or page loading. Examples include progress bars, spinning wheels, or percentage indicators. Progress indicators help set user expectations, reduce uncertainty, and ensure the user knows that the process is ongoing.

Progress indicators reduce the perceived length of multi-step processes and decrease abandonment in onboarding flows, checkout sequences, and complex forms. When users can see they're on step 3 of 5, they're more likely to complete than when they don't know how much is left — the unknown end point is what drives abandonment. For SaaS onboarding specifically, a visible completion percentage is consistently correlated with higher activation rates.

Mercury's account setup screen shows '3 / 6' with completed steps listed on the left sidebar — a persistent progress indicator that lets users see exactly where they are across a complex multi-step form.