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I'm designing a web-based registration portal. There is a long list of requirements people need to get ready before they can successfully register. The research indicates that many new applicants are overwhelmed with the steps.
I'm thinking of something like a web portal that includes a series of multi-step forms, not unlike a job application wizard, which guides the user step-by-step.
Are there any best practices or good examples of such design?
You need to involve UX more in order to solve this. Gather your requirements like the voice of the customer ( find out more details on why owners are overwhelmed, what steps are confusing, any feedback, reviews, customer support tickets, session recordings like hot jar, analytics, is there a way to view the points where users drop off etc. ), run observational research, watch users try to complete the steps, and then create a task analysis where you note down the User steps / System / Tool, Artifacts, Knowledge / Issues / Others as it currently is.
Then work to try to improve that by considering what knowledge the users need to have in order to complete the task, and see how much of the weight-lifting done by the user can be moved to be performed by the system.
There is no quick path to solve your issue. Before trying to address interaction/usability you need to consider what mental state is the user in when trying to sign up, do they need to start looking for documents on their computer or on their desk, all things should be observed, analyzed, and improved.
I would suggest you give them an overview of what they have to do, then walk them through each item step by step with a progress bar as they advance through the pages.
What immediately comes to my mind are online job applications, just like what you said. There's often a lot of info and documents that need submitting, but they only ask for one item at a time, then bring you to the next page.
I would suggest taking a look at the sign up process of an Uber driver. They require a lot of information to be submitted but they break down the steps to be as simple as possible. Walk yourself through their flow and see what you like and dislike from it, it might give you some ideas.
