The article emphasizes that great onboarding is crucial in making a positive first impression and sets the tone for a fruitful relationship with users. It highlights three core components of successful onboarding: UI design patterns, contextual educational content, and contextual communication. To build a lasting first impression, it's essential to understand user needs, determine what the first use experience should achieve, and consider useful UI design patterns such as welcome messages, modals, empty states, inline hints and tips, tooltips, and interactive tours. These patterns can help guide users towards their "aha" moment, where the value of the product becomes clear. The article also discusses how to leverage user context in onboarding, using examples like Intercom's Product Tours that combine UI design patterns, contextual educational content, and contextual communication to create a seamless experience.