What a User Journey is and Why it Matters

A user journey is the path your customer takes throughout your website. 

In a way, we need to hold our user's hands as they journey around your website so they don't get lost, and so they feel like they're ready to make an informed decision when it's time to sign up, buy, or contact you.

Let's take an example about the user journey a customer takes when they go to a brick and mortar store. 

Your customer sees the window or door with your company name, logo and a little about what they offer. This is like your website's homepage. It gives enough for your customer to know if they want to enter or not. 

If they decide to enter, they open the door—or click on your call-to-action button—and walk in. They need some more information before they decide to stay, like pricing, what's included and why they should spend money here.

Usually you can find that information on the wall, in a brochure or by asking the store manager (in our case, you find this information on the website or by contacting the owner). Then you decide to stay and the owner guides you through next steps.

Imagine not having any of that information available—and in a logical order—and the store expecting you to stay and pay for their services. Now think about your website.

Do you guide people through the logical steps they need to know before purchasing? 

Take Action: Write down your current user journey, or the path you want users to take to achieve your conversion goal (e.g. signing up for a newsletter, buying a product, etc.). This could be all they places they need to check out in order to make an informed decision: Homepage --> About --> Portfolio --> Services --> Contact. 

Once you map that out, what is needed on each page that will give them the necessary information to make a decision? Always try to put yourself in your customers shoes so you can understand their point of view. 

Something to keep in mind: what if someone entered on your services page directly and bypassed the homepage?

Do you have the necessary information there for them to decide within a few seconds if they want to stay without having to navigate back to the homepage or another area of the site?

You need to map out the journey as if the customer is starting on any of the pages, not just the homepage. 

When you work with me, I'll make sure to map out all the steps your customers will need to take to get them to where you want. This is one of my favorite parts of website design! Ready to get started? Get in touch.