UX Flow: How to Create a Seamless User Experience

From user personas to clear diagrams: Mastering UX flow. Learn how to map user journeys & design intuitive experiences.

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February 20, 2020

Interested in delivering a more seamless user experience? We’ll share how to create and implement an optimal UX flow brought to you by WANDR – award-winning product strategy and UX Agency in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

What is user flow in UX and why is it important? Without the answers to these questions, you may struggle to create a UX flow that leads to a seamless user experience.

Good UX design includes a wide range of techniques to help users navigate and use your products. UX flow is an important part of the development process. It allows designers to carefully evaluate each stage of the user’s experience.

Use the following information to learn how to use UX flow to deliver a better product.

What is UX Flow?

User flow, also called “UX flow,” refers to the routes that users take when navigating your website or application. The route includes one entry point and covers the various steps a user needs to take to complete a specific action.

As users may follow different paths to the same outcomes, a diagram or template is often needed to visualize the routes. Many products also contain multiple entry points. To fully map the user’s journey, you need to consider every entry point and all the routes available to the user.

Analyzing the UX flow of your product allows you to find areas where customers may struggle. UX flows also provide a chance to streamline the user experience, allowing UX designers to eliminate steps to create shorter paths.

Why Use a UX Flow Template?

With a UX flow template, you have a visual representation of the user’s paths. The template includes all the interactions that a user can have on your website, application, or SaaS. It helps UX designers address the needs of your users while making it easier for them to find the features they want.

Successful UX flow leads to:

Visualization for stakeholders
Improved team communication
Increased UX design efficiency
Superior problem solving
Effective analysis of the user flow

Along with these benefits, creating a UX flow template or diagram helps improve customer satisfaction, driving retention rates, and improving your bottom line.

UX diagrams are often completed during the planning stage of the product development cycle. Diagrams organize the interactions that are available in the final user interface. With user flow charts, we give UX designers an outline for the design stage of the development cycle.

Determine the Needs of Your Users

The first step in creating a UX flow diagram is to determine the needs of your users.
Ask yourself questions related to your product and the user, such as:

What is the user trying to accomplish?
What is the user’s motivation?
How can your product help them with their goal?
What issues may the users face?

These questions allow us to analyze the main reasons a user may actually use your product. You should review the goals of your users and the paths that they take to reach them.

Consider how your product helps address the needs of your customers. Try to create the simplest path to reduce customer churn.

Determine the Needs of Your Product

What do you want to accomplish with your product? Don’t just think about the needs of your customers. Address the needs of your organization and its stakeholders. Set goals and measurable targets for your product. This allows you to implement strategies during the development process to help achieve your goals.

For example, if you want to increase the average number of transactions per customer, you may use the UX flow diagram to find areas in where to upsell related product features or services. To increase retention rates, you may focus on creating the most streamlined customer journey.

Create Multiple User Personas

Another component of the UX flow includes user personas, which are commonly created as a marketing technique for ensuring that your product continues to meet the needs of your users. User personas help reinforce who the product is designed for and how they will use it.

Your core demographic will likely contain a group of users with a diverse range of needs and motivations. To address the needs of a wider audience, create multiple user personas.

A user persona is a short profile of a fictional customer, designed to represent your average customer. The profile typically includes a biography and a list of their likes, dislikes, interests, and habits. Your personas should also include demographic details, such as age, gender, income, and geographic location.

Map the Entire Customer Journey

Before creating UX flow diagrams, map the customer’s journey from awareness to purchase and continued use of your product. Mapping the customer’s journey for each user persona provides insight into the motivations of your typical users.

The journey map should include a timeline for various actions, including initial awareness of the product and purchase. Journey maps also tend to include the thoughts and emotions that drive each customer interaction.

Create Diagrams for Each Entry Point

After mapping the customer’s journey, analyze it to find various entry points for accessing your product or service. Each entry point should have a separate UX flow diagram to outline the various paths that a user can take.

The UX flow often varies depending on the entry point. For example, if a first-time user needs to fill out profile information the first time that they use your product, their entry point is different compared to existing users.

Customers in different regions may also have different entry points if your product provides region-specific features. Customer personalization options may also influence the UX flow.

The diagram for each entry point should include all the side paths that a user can take. This may include additional menus, accessing a knowledge base, or other features on your website or app.

You may also need different UX flows for different stages of the customer journey. The user flow leading to the purchase of your product varies compared to the user flow for using your product.

Enhance the Diagram with Visuals

A UX flow template helps you create a coherent outline of the customer’s paths when using your product. However, stakeholders and upper management may not fully understand the diagram without visual cues.

Include a variety of shapes to represent different interfaces, menus, and interactions. For example, square blocks in the diagram may represent user interface (UI) elements while circles represent points where a user needs to provide input.

Along with shapes, include graphics and labels. Label each section of the diagram to make it more scannable. Graphics are useful for creating a stronger visual representation of the UI.

While visuals help increase the clarity of the diagram for stakeholders, adding too many elements distracts from the information provided. Avoid getting carried away with images and shapes. Keep the design of the diagram clean and simple with a basic color scheme and minimal use of graphics.

Last Thoughts on UX Flow

So, what is user flow in UX? It is a complete diagram of the path that a user takes. Mapping the UX flow of a product or service gives UX designers a powerful tool for evaluating every stage of the customer’s journey. Your user flow diagram ensures that users receive a more streamlined interface that addresses their specific needs.

For the best results, create UX flow diagrams for every entry point for your product. Evaluate every interaction that a user can complete on your website or app. With these steps, you can achieve a seamless user experience.