How To Create A User Flow Diagram: A Step-By-Step Guide

By
Emilia Anzil
September 28, 2022
7
min read
Updated
March 21, 2024
Photo credit
Wondering what’s affecting your website engagement and UX? Here is how a user flow diagram can help in improving the user experience and conversions. 
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Introduction

What makes Netflix stand out among other streaming apps? (Other than the fact that you likely are using someone else’s account right now).

Its aesthetic design elements, smoother scrolling experience, recommendations, or navigational characteristics.

That’s because Netflix has a user flow diagram that makes each interaction with the app a fantastic experience. 

User experience plays a significant role in any business' success — not just your favorite streaming service. 

First, it helps boost conversions and engagement with target customers. According to smallbizgenius, 88 percent of customers never return to a website with a bad experience. 

It's up to you to make an experience that users love. 

User flow diagrams aren’t just crucial for better UX — they also improve the whole customer journey. 

A Forbes report suggests that successful organizations focus on the user experience more than on testing an emerging technology. So, there’s no denying that designing a flow diagram for optimal UX is key to conversions. 

Here, we’ll discuss a user flow diagram, its types, and how you can design one for better UX.

What is a user flow diagram?

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A user flow diagram helps you understand how users interact with your website at different touchpoints. It’s like a map of the user’s interaction points. In other words, you can see how users navigate from one point to another in the entire web app.

Flow charts help visualize the customer’s interaction at critical points. It’s also known as the UX process diagram. A user flow diagram offers a simplified visual representation of the user’s path to complete specific tasks on your website.

For example, if a customer is ordering a pizza on your food delivery app, it will show how the user searches for the product, navigates to the checkout page, and completes the action. 

Analysis of the user’s path helps you understand the roadblocks and figure out the critical issues in user experience

So, how does a user flow diagram help improve UX?

User flow diagrams can help your customers understand the right way to use a website or web application. It is not just great for better UX but also for improved organic search results. However, user journeys and flow diagrams are two different things!

User flow diagram vs. user journey

A user flow diagram is crucial in understanding the path customers take from where the first interaction takes place. However, the user journey begins way before the user interacts with your website or application. 

User flow diagrams are a sort of map of every user's decision on your website. On the contrary, from the awareness stage to the first interaction and beyond, the customer journey encapsulates a broader spectrum. 

In other words, the customer journey includes a user flow diagram, which is why you need to understand it better. 

So, before we discuss some critical user flow diagram examples, let’s understand why you need it!

Why do you need a user flow diagram?

Web design is a significant aspect of your business. It helps in improving engagement and conversions if done right. Developing a robust website needs mapping of the user’s path to complete an action. 

It enables businesses to integrate business logic at critical touch-points for better value delivery and higher UX. 

Here are some key benefits of using user flow diagrams.

  • Helps in identifying roadblocks in enhanced customer experience.
  • Enables designers to understand critical issues with the navigation flow.
  • Allows organizations to find opportunities to add features and improve conversions.
  • Assists in the reframing of user flow to enhance the engagement per interaction.
  • Maximizes the visibility for design caveats and critical pain points.

Now that we know what a user flow diagram is and its benefits, let’s understand the critical steps to creating one for your web application.

Steps to create a user flow diagram for your apps

To map your user’s path you need to understand different aspects like the:

  • Point of interactions.
  • Sequence of steps.
  • Impact of the customer journey. 

However, if you’re creating a unique user flow diagram for your app, start with the definition of objectives!

Step 1 Define key diagram objectives.

User flow diagrams can differ according to the stage of web design you’re in.

For example, leveraging the diagram makes more sense if you have completed a wireframe of the app design. It helps you see the feasibility of your wireframe design and how users may interact with it. 

Another key objective of using a flow diagram is to ensure better customer journeys.

User flow diagrams can help find critical points where you can improve the customer journey. 

Take an example of the user journey for Netflix. If you look at the user flow diagram for Netflix, there’s one entry point, “personal home screen.”

user flow diagram
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Netflix’s user flow diagrams can help build task flows that improve web design. 

For example, below is a task flow for removing a video from the continuous watching list. The end goal is to make this task easy and accessible, reducing the intermittent steps.

user flow diagram
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 As you might have noticed in the above example, the objective was to reduce the intermittent steps and improve task flow for different actions on the website. 

Similarly, you want to define specific objectives for your user flow diagram. 

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user flow diagrams

Step 2 Select an entry point.

Most designers and organizations believe that the first interaction point is the entry point for a user flow diagram. But it actually changes according to your objectives and what web design stage you use. 

For example, if you’re designing a social media website, the first interaction point will be the login page.

On the other hand, if you want to improve task flow for an eCommerce checkout process, the entry point will be the product search result page or even the home page. 

So, you need to determine the right entry point before designing the user flow diagram. 

Step 3 Map your user’s requirements.

Now that you have the entry point map of how users will interact with different touch-points in your website based on their requirements. 

For example, if you’re building a social media website, what are the task flows for actions like posting an image, sharing a video, or browsing through the feed? 

You can use tools like Google Analytics to understand the user behavior on the website and design the flow diagram accordingly. 

Step 4 Create a flow diagram layout.

Create a flow diagram layout and communicate it to web designers and product development teams. Train them to track different user behavior at critical points and record each data for further analysis. 

Ensure that you have a feedback system to record users’ viewpoints and any roadblocks while experiencing the website.

Step 5 Feedback integrations and analysis

User flow diagrams provide the basis for analyzing a user’s paths for completing specific tasks. 

So, you need to record each interaction through specific tools, gather data and user feedback, and integrate them into web design. Then, further, analyze the data and make changes in design for a better user experience. 

Flow diagrams are also great for redesigning the website. If you plan to redesign the site and improve engagement, analyze the user flow diagrams of the existing web design. 

In conclusion: creating user flow diagrams

Web design can make or break a business. 

Your website can be aesthetically pleasing, but if it has a difficult path for users to reach the necessary action to complete, it will hurt your conversions! 

User flow diagrams can help you reduce the distance between the first interaction and the point where the user takes action. So, create your user flow diagram considering the customer journey, requirements and specific organizational goals. 

About the Author

user flow diagrams

Tuhin Bhatt is one of the co-founders of Intelivita, a digital transformation place to hire dedicated mobile app developers. Tuhin is regarded in the industry as a powerhouse of unique and best app ideas that shaped award-winning app projects across iOS, Android, web, desktop, and game console platforms. His write-ups are usually based on Technology, Leadership, and Entrepreneurship.

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