We have all been there: you visit a website because you want to learn something or buy something, and end up closing the browser in frustration because of a bad user experience. When it comes to your website, it is important to consider what visitors go through to reach a certain goal, such as joining your organization. Journey mapping can help you make your website more user-friendly and far more effective.

Journey mapping involves creating a visual representation of the steps that a website user goes through to get to a particular point. A journey map can be created for different personas and then used to refine your website. Studies show that journey mapping can improve user experience and ultimately help your organization reach its goals.

From our offices in Delaware, Inclind works with businesses, nonprofits, healthcare providers, and membership organizations throughout the country. We offer full-service website design and development services, including ongoing maintenance for your website. Reach out today to learn more about how we can help you redesign your website to make it as functional as possible.

What Is a Journey Map?

A journey map is a user experience (UX) document showing a website user's steps to accomplish a goal. Importantly, this map is a visualization so that it is easy to see the process that a user will go through to get to a certain place. The goal of journey mapping is to determine how to best set up a website for the functionality that your anticipated user needs.

A journey map includes several key components:

1. The person/user
2. The scenario (i.e., what the person is likely to do)
3. The phases of the journey
4. The user’s mindset or emotions
5. Insights from the journey map

For example, a nonprofit website may create several different journey maps based on a few different users: a potential client or service recipient, a prospective donor, a person who wants to volunteer, and someone who is coming to the website to do research. The journey map will envision each person's steps to reach their desired goal - such as learning about volunteer opportunities and requirements, and then filling out an application. During the journey mapping process, the team can figure out how the user might feel during the process (such as frustration at not finding what they need easily) and then make changes accordingly.

The purpose of journey mapping is to have a better idea of how users interact with your website, and, ultimately, to figure out a way to make your website as functional as possible. Too often, when designing a website, website owners focus on things like style or how the website will look. Journey mapping allows you to view the site through the lens of the user, which can make your website more effective.

Journey mapping can increase customer engagement, eliminate ineffective touchpoints (user interactions), transition to a customer-focused perspective, and target specific customers through marketing. In fact, a recent study found that 91% of businesses reported that their journey maps helped to drive sales.

Think of it this way: if you want your customers to buy a product or service, then you don’t want them to get frustrated by the process of getting to that goal. This can lead to abandoned carts and fewer conversions. By doing a journey map, you can visualize the user experience from various points of view - and then make changes to your website to make it as user-friendly as possible.

How Can I Create a Journey Map?

Journey mapping is a valuable technique employed by professional designers, marketers, and web developers. While working with a professional can provide you with an outside perspective and a wealth of knowledge, you don’t need to be a web professional to create your own journey map. 

Create Journey End Goals

The first step in journey mapping is to create goals. Think about various user personas, and what you want them to do when they visit your website. Is your goal to get them to buy something, or to take a different action (such as donating)? Focusing on your goals will help you create journey maps that help you make necessary website improvements.

Flesh Out Your Personas

Second, you will need to flesh out your user personas. You can use your website analytics as a starting point if your site has been running for enough time to have usable data. You can also talk to employees about what customers may have complained about or asked for help with on the website. For example, if users frequently tell your staff that they couldn’t figure out how to register for an event, then that might be a good area to focus on with your journey mapping.

Consider User Touchpoints

Third, think about user touchpoints, or where people are interacting with your brand. Do you have an app? Are users interacting with your organization through ads on social media or elsewhere? Identifying touchpoints can help you arrange them on your journey maps. For example, if a lot of users interact with your brand through a Google search for a particular term that takes them to a certain landing page, that page should be included as a starting point on a journey map.

Map The User's Journey

Fourth, create a map of the user journey in its current state. How do your website's visitors get to their ultimate endpoint (or where you want them to go)? This is useful information because it allows you to see any “sticking” points and what users might be experiencing along the way.

Note Any Journey Issues

Fifth, write down any insights that you have gleaned from each journey map. This can include any red flags, such as difficulty locating certain information or a lack of filters to narrow search results.

Modify Your Journey Map To Address Issues

Sixth, create a new map based on what you have learned from journey mapping. This can then be used to redesign your website to make it more functional. Depending on the results of your journey mapping, this can involve a few minor tweaks or a major overhaul of your site.

Journey mapping can be made easier with software, such as Smaply, ClickUp, or Lucidchart. Your website design and development team can work with you on journey mapping and implement any necessary changes to ensure your website is as effective as possible.

Improve Your Site Conversion Rate With A Conversion Rate Audit From Inclind

Having a website is practically a necessity. Whether you want to sell something online, reach out to donors, or host a platform for patients or members, it is important to have an online presence. Journey mapping can help to ensure that your website works as it should for users.

At Inclind, we work with all types of businesses and organizations to help them design and build beautiful, highly functional websites. We know that a great website is about more than having fancy graphics or interactive features - it also has to work well for visitors so that you can achieve your goals as an entity. Our team can help you with the journey mapping process. We can audit your site and explore areas for conversion rate optimization. Our award-winning developers and designers can help you update or redesign your website as necessary.

If you're interested in knowing more about our web design, development, and support services, we are always here to chat with you. You can fill out our online contact form or hit the live chat button to speak to one of our experts about your website design or redesign.