Guest experience

What is the guest experience?

This document describes what guests (the people from your community who take classes) see and do when they visit and take a class.

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How guests find classes

Church class directory

Your church has a public class directory at:

onark.app/[your-church-url]

This page lists all your published classes with a button to start each one. Guests can browse and select which class to take.

Direct class link

You can share a direct link to any individual class:

onark.app/[your-church-url]/[class-url]

Sharing this link takes guests directly to the class check-in screen, bypassing the directory.

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The guest journey

Step 1: Check-in (email entry)

The first screen of every class is the Check-in section. Guests see:

• The section title (e.g., Welcome! or Get Started)
• Any introductory body text you've written
• An Email field (required)
• A Next button

Guests enter their email and click Next. No password or account is needed.

Step 2: Profile (name and phone)

After entering their email, guests are taken to a profile screen.

First-time guests see:

• A welcome heading
• Fields for First Name, Last Name, and Phone (all required)
• Optionally: a Primary Campus dropdown (only shown if your church uses Planning Center with multiple campuses)
• Back and Next buttons

After submitting, their profile is saved.

Returning guests see:

• A Thanks for checking in! message
• Their saved name and a masked phone number
• An Update link to edit their info if needed
• An option to start over with a different email
• Back and Next buttons to proceed without re-entering info

Step 3: Class sections

After the profile step, guests move through the class sections in order. Each section type has a different experience:

Text section

Guests see the section title and body content. They read the content and click Next to continue.

Video section

Guests see a YouTube video player. They play the video. If timed prompts are configured, a tray slides out beneath the video at those moments with a question or fill-in-the-blank prompt — the video keeps playing the whole time. Guests can respond without interrupting playback. They click Next to advance after the video.

Form section

Guests see a form with fields you have configured. They fill in the fields and click Next to submit. Required fields must be completed before advancing. File upload fields allow guests to attach a file. Ministry (Team Suggestion) fields let guests explore and select serving teams.

Test section (assessment)

Guests complete a personality or strengths assessment. Questions are presented in pages of 5–6 questions each. Each question uses a 5-point scale from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree. After completing all questions, guests see their personalized results with a description of their type. They click Next to proceed.

Branch section

Guests see a set of labeled buttons — one for each path option you configured. They click one to select their path. If the selected option has a sub-section, they see it next. Then they continue with the main class flow.

Completion section

The final section. Guests see a completion message. If you've added "Go To" recommendations, they see buttons for other classes. Clicking Go takes them to the start of that class. Their check-in is marked as complete when they reach this screen.

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Navigation

Guests use Back and Next buttons to move through sections. The back button takes them to the previous section. They cannot skip ahead to sections they haven't visited.

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No account required

Guests don't create an account. Their identity is based on their email address. They can take any class without a password by entering the same email they used before — OnArk recognizes them as a returning guest and pre-fills their profile.

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What data is collected from guests

During a class, the following data is collected:

• Email address (at check-in)
• First name, last name, and phone number (on the profile screen)
• Form field answers (for any Form sections)
• Video prompt responses (if prompts have recording enabled)
• Test results (the result type from any assessment)
• Branch selections (which option the guest chose in Branch sections)
• Start and completion timestamps

All data is visible to church admins in the Guests section and Reports. Guests are never shown other guests' data.

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Common questions (from a guest perspective)

Do I need to create an account?

No. Just enter your email address to start.

What if I close the class partway through?

Your check-in is recorded from the moment you submit your email. If you return and enter the same email, you're recognized and your profile is pre-filled. You'll start the class from the beginning again.

Is my information private?

Yes. Your data is only visible to the church admins who manage the class. It's not shared with other guests or third parties outside of the church's connected integrations (such as Planning Center, if connected).

Can I take the same class more than once?

Yes. Each visit creates a new check-in record.

Why does the class ask for my email?

Your email is the only identifier used. It lets the church keep track of your responses and progress, and allows them to follow up with you.

What if I don't have a YouTube account — can I still watch videos?

Yes. YouTube videos in OnArk classes can be watched without a YouTube account.