User Journey: Creating Pages Your Users Want To Visit
By Tyler McBee
You’ve created your pages, set-up your navigation, added header images, and double-checked all your links. Your page is live and ready for all the world to see.
But have you considered your user’s journey?
User journey is simply how a user navigates to and interacts with a particular webpage or set of webpages. By understanding your user journey, you can gain insight into your user’s behaviors and determine how helpful, or confusing, your page’s current layout may be.
Here’s an example:
Let’s imagine that one of the goals for the Visitors Center is to have prospective undergraduate students visit campus for a tour during the summer. They have an end-goal, so let’s see how a user may get from Point A to Point B.
Watch This Example User Journey
The Visitors Center gave clear, short descriptions of each of the types of tours they offer, as well as a button on a prominent part of their page allowing users to register for a tour. The visitor didn’t have to search for information or figure out how to register for a tour. It was all right there on the page for them to see.
What Now?
Think like your user. Have someone who isn’t familiar with your pages try to complete different tasks and see how user-friendly your pages are.
So, what are your department’s goals? What do you want your users to do once they’re on your page?
Considering user journey and your department’s goals for your pages will help inform the layout of your page’s content, creating a better experience for your users.
