Client Onboarding — Review

FitProTracker · from "I just bought a membership" to booked & on the floor · updated 2026-07-24 · reconciled 2026-07-27

⏱ ~2-min read · expand sections for detail + code

The moment a member says "yes"

✕ Today — where members drop off

Purchase→ "confirm" email→ set password on iliv.fit (web)→ find + download app→ log in again→ book

web-first · a password to invent · a confirm token that expires fast (~24h) — and our own top public complaint: branded-portal 404s / login confusion.

✓ Proposed — one clean path

Purchase→ enter texted code (autofills)→ book 1st class→ on the floor <2 min

SMS-first from the gym's own number · passwordless · goal = native app, web is the no-lose fallback · in-app / kiosk-QR check-in. Waiver + any gym to-dos ride along as in-app checklist items (below), never a gate.

The experience we're building

Purchase → in the app, booked → on the floor

🛒

Purchase

online or at the desk

🔓

Activate

texted code · autofills · no password

📅

Book 1st class

pick a time

✅

Check in

in-app / kiosk-QR

✓ Cleared for the floor in under 2 minutes — no password, no install wall

Waiver & gym to-dos = an in-app checklist, not a gate. Only if the gym enables it, the Digital Documents waiver (and any other required forms) surface as checklist items in the app — a tappable link, due before the first workout — not a blocking step in activation or booking. Gyms that don't require a waiver never see it. This reuses the onboarding-checklist model rather than wedging a hard stop into the happy path.

How they activate: SMS-first. A code texted from the gym's own number (autofills on the member's phone) — no password, and the sender is already the gym, so this leg is branded for free. Email is the fallback + the receipt/agreement. We already send onboarding SMS today, so it's a channel we're using, not new plumbing.

The ask

Greenlight Phase 0 — the web + backend + config changes that retire the old iliv.fit portal and move clients onto the PWA already deployed at mobile.fitprotracker.com. No app-store release required. Native hand-off (Phase 1) and the passwordless / deferred-deep-link polish (Phase 2) follow as separate, later steps.

North star: best-in-class, frictionless. Remove every friction we control — password, the web detour, typing the code (it autofills), fast-expiring confirm tokens (~24h), re-logins, branding leaks, long SMS links. The frictionless path: a new member is texted a code from the gym's number, it autofills, they're booked in seconds — zero install, zero password. The goal is the native app (branded, push, home screen) — fitpro.io/a drives every member to the right one — and we lead hard with it. The web is the no-lose fallback (runtime-skinned per gym) that catches anyone who doesn't install, so we never trade a new member away to an install wall. Lead with the app; never hard-gate.

How re-login works (no password to forget). First activation and every later login use the same move: enter phone or email → get a texted code → in. On a trusted device, biometric (Face ID / fingerprint) opens the app instantly. There is no password step. Reality check (code, 2026-07-29): today login is password-based and the code endpoints are reset-only — so this needs a code-based login endpoint (Phase-2 G1, now promoted), reusing the existing 6-digit recovery plumbing, with biometric unlocking a refresh token rather than a stored password. This is the exact "get a code → logged in" model the team landed on independently.

✅ Apple App Store — validated (code review 2026-07-27). The app is login/activation-only — the account is created at the sale (backend); the app just activates it — so it clears Apple's account-creation guideline (5.1.1), and it already ships in-app account deletion. No in-app purchase, and the Resources content isn't purchasable (low 3.1.1 risk). The SMS-OTP redesign preserves this posture — no new Apple risk. Details in the WIP tracker.

Why now

Onboarding is web-first & clunky — confirm + password happen on the iliv.fit website before the app; reads as a detour.
The confirm token expires fast (~24h, ASP.NET Identity default) — miss the window and the link dies (the concern Christian raised; code-validated 2026-07-29 — it is not 10 days, it's tighter).
It's our own top complaint — public reviews cite "branded-portal 404 errors, credential resets, or domain confusion." The fix below targets exactly that. (receipts → Competitor research, footer)

What we ship — 3 phases

Phase 0 · Retire iliv.fit → PWAno store release

Web + backend + config. Flip one setting so all client links point at mobile.fitprotracker.com; the PWA (same app codebase) becomes the single client surface. This is the greenlight ask.

Phase 1 · Native app hand-off1 store release ×7 brands

Universal / app links so a tapped link opens the branded native app directly (no browser). Purely an upgrade over Phase 0 — the PWA already works.

Phase 2 · Passwordless + deferred deep linkserver-only · later

One-tap passwordless activation + "install and the app already knows you." Ships from the server; the app hook rides dark in the Phase 1 release, so no extra store cycle.

Rough effort (1–2 devs, backend + mobile): Phase 0 ~1.5 wk (no store — reaches everyone instantly) · Phase 1 ~1 wk + store review · Phase 2 lean ~1.5–2 wk + store review. Core total ≈ 4–5 dev-weeks — down from ~6–8 after deferring Wallet pass + runtime theming (~2–3 wk parked, available later). Store review + client-update adoption is a separate calendar tail on Phases 1–2; Phase 0 has none.

The 8-item Phase 0 scope the concrete change list

#	Change	Size
1	Flip `ClientAppDomain` → `mobile.fitprotracker.com` + CORS	config only
2	PWA register page reads `code`+`sta` from the link	~1 small edit
3	Fix the `appUrlOpen` deep-link listener	3 lines
4	Universal/app-link files + iOS entitlement + Android intent-filter (Phase 1 — needs store release)	config + signing values
5	Port the `/r/:code` invite redirect	~15 lines
6	Verify profile sub-pages (address / emergency contact)	a check
7	Email cleanup — live templates verified clean (dev+prod); fix only the code-driven email-changed notice + drop CORS entry	tiny
8	301 `iliv.fit → mobile.*` for the token grace window, then retire	DNS / infra

Reset-password verified a non-issue (the app has its own self-contained flow). Full detail → build spec (footer).

The code — key changes full set in the build spec

① Config flip — one value repoints register + reset + waiver URLs; no code change.

"ClientAppDomain": "app.myfitprotracker.com",
"ClientAppDomain": "mobile.fitprotracker.com",  // AuthController + WaiverService already read this

② PWA register reads the link — skip manual code entry when the link carries code+sta.

const qp = this.route.snapshot.queryParamMap;
const code = qp.get('code'), userId = qp.get('sta');
if (code && userId) { this.router.navigate(['/set-password'], { state: { code, userId } }); return; }

③ Fix the deep-link listener — parse the URL instead of splitting on ".com".

const slug = event.url.split('.com').pop(); this.router.navigateByUrl(slug);
const url = new URL(event.url); this.router.navigateByUrl(url.pathname + url.search);

④ /r/:code redirect — resolve the full register URL and forward (~15 lines). Email — repoint the one code-driven notice to the existing Cloudinary logo + drop the *.iliv.fit CORS entry.

Every file + before/after → Full build spec (footer).

How activation works — the full flow SMS-first · app-first for everyone (smart link routes to the right app)

One codebase ships the default Fit Pro Tracker app, each tenant's branded app (same code, their theme), and the PWA. Every new member gets a text from the gym's own number with a short fitpro.io link + code. Goal: land them in the native app — the web is the no-lose fallback.

📱 Primary → the native app

fitpro.io/a/{code} auto-routes to the right app for that gym — their branded app if they bought it, else the default FPT app (device-aware — already built)

Install → open → texted code autofills → in

Branded · push · home screen — the goal for everyone

🌐 Fallback → the PWA

Didn't install / on desktop → land on the PWA (or the app opens directly if already installed — no flash)

Enter the texted code (no password) → in

Runtime-skinned per gym — branded page, shared URL (so branded tenants stay branded)

Both paths → book 1st class → in-app / kiosk-QR check-in · waiver/to-dos as in-app checklist (if enabled) · nudge web users to install

Short links = fewer SMS credits + open tracking. Today the Digital Documents waiver texts the full doc.fitprotracker.com/document/b/{long-token} (~90 chars → 2–3 SMS segments = 2–3× cost per message). Add a document route to the existing fitpro.io shortener (e.g. fitpro.io/d/{code} — note /f is the legacy forms route, so this is a new route on the same service) → back to ~1 segment (~50–66% SMS-cost cut). Bonus: shortener links are tracked — open/click analytics per member (who tapped the waiver / download link, resend to non-openers, measure activation drop-off), which the raw doc.fitprotracker.com link doesn't give you.

What's already built — how little is net-new mostly wiring existing parts

Piece	Status
Smart-link service `fitpro.io` (FPT.UrlShortener)	✅ built (`/a` app download · `/p` payments · `/f` legacy forms)
`/a/{code}` — device-aware, per-brand store router	✅ built · already in the Welcome email
Onboarding SMS from the gym's number	✅ sent today
Mobile OTP / recovery-code flow (`GenerateCode` / `ResetPasswordMobile`)	✅ exists
Branded native apps (per gym)	✅ built
Digital Documents waiver signing	✅ built (served from `doc.fitprotracker.com`)
App first-open "enter your code" screen	➕ small new bit
Document short-link route (`fitpro.io/d/{code}`) to shrink SMS	➕ new route on the existing shortener
SMS leads with fitpro.io/a for everyone (auto-routes to the right app)	➕ small config

The app-first path is mostly connecting fitpro.io/a + the onboarding SMS + mobile OTP, with the branded apps you already ship. The two ➕ new routes are small additions to services that already exist.

Branded apps + repos touched scope of the blast radius

~7 white-label apps (FPT, Fit Body Boot Camp, EveryBody Boot Camp, Enclave, Ladies Boutique, Uplift Revival, fitprotrackerteam) all share one backend + one confirm domain today — so this stays a one-domain migration. Branding only touches Phase 1: the app-link files list all ~7 app IDs, and each app needs a store release for the entitlement.
3 repos: FitProTracker (backend — config + 1 email + CORS) · FitProTracker.Mobile (the app — the real code) · FitProTracker.Front-Office (4 iliv.fit links in help text).
Not touched: the database.

Why this wins — competitors & the gold standard what the market left on the table

The whole market (Mindbody, Glofox, Trainerize, Vagaro, Zen Planner, Wodify, Mariana Tek, Walla, Xplor…) ships the same flow — gym creates account → email invite → set a password → install the app — and "clients can't log in" is the universal complaint. Branded apps are now table stakes; not one offers passwordless first access.

Our four wedges:

#	Wedge	Beats…
1	Passwordless activation that just works	the #1 complaint (password / invite-email trap)
2	Guaranteed session persistence + biometric	the #2 complaint ("keeps logging me out")
3	Instant activation, no install gate	the ~33% signup loss from install-first funnels
4	Waiver as an in-app checklist to-do (Digital Documents, if enabled) + in-app / kiosk-QR check-in	liability handled before the first workout without gating signup; no scanner hardware needed (Wallet deferred)

Three of the four are already on this roadmap; with Wallet check-in deferred, the net-new work is minimal. Full breakdown + sources → Competitor research (footer).