The concept of Flow in the UX design was invented by the psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. He considers that it is a highly concentrated mental state in which the user is completely immersed in what he does and in the task he wants to accomplish. Flows users help designers to understand and anticipate user cognitive patterns in order to create products that allow this flower state. Flows or UX Flows users are diagrams that present the full route of a user when he uses a site, for example. The User Flow describes the user movement through the site, by mapping each of its stages, from the point of entry to the final interaction. In this article, we will approach several aspects of Flows users in order to better understand what they are and how they are used in the web design process.
What is the User Flow?
Let's start with a quick etymological reminder. User Flow consists of two words: “User” which means user and “Flow” which means flow. A User Flow can therefore be defined as a visual representation of the path taken by a final user on a website, an application, in order to accomplish a certain task. Before immersing us in the ins and outs of the User Flow, it is important to mention the difference between a User Flow and a user journey, because these two terms can easily be confused.
THE user route mainly focuses on the internal experience of a user sailing in an interface, such as emotions, painful points or frustrations. An User Flow is supposed to represent the practical behavior of an interacting user with an interface. The User Flow generally starts with the user's arrival on the home page of an application or a website and ends with the realization of a final action, such as the purchase of a product, the sending of a contact form or the subscription to a given service (newsletter, social networks etc.).
UX designers create and generally use Flows Users To better understand how users interact with a design. They also show the gaps and the shortcomings with which a user is confronted during the stages which allow him to achieve a certain objective. He teaches how designers can optimize the UX design of their website in order to rationalize the user's journey to the realization of a certain action.
In order for designers to create perfectly aligned flows on the needs of the end user, it is essential to understand what he needs in order to optimize his experience. This is done by the practice of design thinking (or creative design), which is an approach focused on empathy with the customer by following his comments closely in order to meet his needs. In general, the following questions are essential in the process of creating flows:
- What is the user trying to accomplish?
- What are the potential steps that the user can follow to carry out this task?
- How can these steps be optimized to shorten or simplify navigation to the task?
- What are the elements that prevent the accomplishment of this task?
The answers to these questions give designers an overview of priority UX elements and how they must design the pages. If the main objective of the user is to buy a product, the page or the screens must be designed so that the user is directed to the product page and the purchase button. It is up to the designer to use his knowledge and experience to create a design that stimulates this particular action.
Simple example to use flow
In an e-commerce of clothing, the User Flow could take place as follows:
Welcome : The user arrives on the home page, captivated by a promotion on the shirts.
Category selection : He clicks on the “Shirts” category, exploring the available products.
Product choice : The user selects a shirt that holds his attention.
Product details : He examines the details of the product, his size, and consults some opinions.
Addition to the panicR : Convinced, the user adds the shirt to their basket.
Checkout : He makes the payment, supplementing the delivery and payment information.
Confirmation : A confirmation page is displayed after payment, detailing the order, and a confirmation email is sent.
Difference between User Flow and Customer Course
THE User Flow and the customer journey There are two key concepts in the design of user experiences on the web and applications. The User Flow focuses on the sequential path that a user follows on a web interface or an application to reach a specific objective. This flow is generally represented by a step by step diagram, highlighting the logic Behind each interaction. On the other hand, the customer journey embraces a wider perspectiveincluding all user interactions with the brand, both online and horses-line. It goes beyond the stages of a classic flow, encompassing Emotions and experiences lived by customers throughout their relationship with the company. The creation of a customer journey effective is crucial for agencies and companies aimed at improving global experience of their users.
There are several ways to improve your flows. In the next part, we will present some important points to you where to start.
Focus on the conversion path
Make sure you understand where your visitors are going and how they go there. For example, suppose that a user finds your application/site from an advertisement, arrives on your product page and makes a purchase (conversion). You want this route to be as short and effective as possible from start to finish: quick loading of the page, clear calls for action and simple form fields to fill out in the “Checkout” part. All these elements can help improve conversion.
Take into account all types of visitors
It is common for a site or an application to have several types of visitors, whatever the products you sell. It may be that a user subset arrives on your site even if your marketing strategy was not intended for them.
For example, you sell cosmetics for women, but you have a large number of men's visitors buying for women. By addressing this specific group, you will be able to target it with advertisements and dismissal pages that directly meet their need. Otherwise, you may induce a large number of users in error and lower your conversion rate.
Make your content concise
In order for visitors to be focused on their task, the content must be concise and precise. If you direct your traffic to a referral page containing a lot of content, users may be put off by the quantity of texts to read and are therefore more likely to bounce back. By keeping concise content, you will run more traffic to your goals or CTAs. Also be sure not to be too basic and not to sacrifice the clarity at length. Aim for digestible content and always try to get the point of view of an outside person.
Use graphics and videos
The graphics and videos can be an effective way to involve users and guide them in their experience. But it is easy to abuse a good thing. Make sure that each content element serves an objective and is complementary to the next, and not random and only distracting.
Test your contents
A/B tests are a simple and effective way to learn more about your users and improve your dismissal pages. Does the page convert better with a form in one or two steps? Are users more inclined to register with the form on the left or right of the screen? In addition to the different designs and visual elements, you can test the code, loading screens, pages speed, etc.
User Flow: Analyze your visitors's devices
Analyze which devices used to visit your site and make sure that the user experience is satisfactory for each of them. If your site is overwhelmingly viewed on mobile, it must be adapted to the size of the device, the browser and the most popular operating system. If your site mainly welcomes visitors via desktop computers, take into account the diversity of browsers and screen resolutions.
