A user journey is the path a user takes from the point they land on the website through until they reach a particular goal. By mapping out the intended journey each persona may take through the website we can define the most efficient page layout, placement of calls to actions, appropriate website content, clear signposting and ultimately create the most effective website possible.
Mapping out the user journeys generally follows the creation of the relevant customer personas. At each stage of the user journey you can consider the context of each persona and what they might want to do next. By understanding their mindset at that point in time, you can make an informed decision about what their options should then be.
For example, at the end of a product page an IT director may wish to learn more about the specifications of the product whereas a finance director may wish to see a case study to understand what benefits it brought to the business. The user journey captures these requirements and provides a map for the structure and layout of the website.
However, we need to be pragmatic and realistic: we can create user journeys for an ideal world but we also need to cater for those users that do their own thing – users are unpredictable and no amount of journey mapping is going to capture all behaviours. That’s why our experience has shown that it’s also important to create a sensible site structure and have clear navigation for those users that you can’t neatly guide through the website.
To learn more about our approach to user journeys and UX in general, please get in touch.
