A user journey (also called a user flow) describes how someone moves through your website or app. Where they arrive from, what they see first, where they click, where they pause to think, and at which step they get where we wanted them to, or at which one they give up. A site usually has several such journeys, because visitors arrive with different goals.
In a webshop one journey starts with searching for a product, while another arrives from an ad straight to a product page. The two pass through different screens and have to answer different questions, so each is worth thinking through on its own.
The same is true for service companies. Someone who requests a quote usually looks at the references and the process first and only then fills in the form, so their journey leads through these pages to getting in touch.
How we map it
Mapping starts with a simple flowchart. Every box is a screen or a decision point, and the arrows show where the visitor can go next. Next to each step we write what the visitor wants to achieve there and what might get in the way.
On an existing site, analytics show where people actually go, and this often differs from what was imagined during the design. On a new product we start from interviews and from how competitors solve things, and we try out the planned journey on a clickable prototype.
- How many steps it takes to reach the goal, and whether any can be dropped
- Whether the next action is clear at every step
- Whether the information is there where the visitor has to decide
- Whether someone can step back without losing what they have entered so far
Mapping a journey does not need a long project. On a simpler website we go through the main journeys in a few hours, and even that reveals where the unnecessary steps are.
The user journey is also a shared language for the team. If marketing and the developers look at the same diagram, it is easier to discuss where customers get stuck and who can do what about it.
A well-mapped journey is the basis of the wireframes, because it shows which screens are needed and what each of them is for. That is why our UX/UI design work almost always starts with this step.
