Only 22 percent of the companies in the world are satisfied with their current conversion rate. Did you know that a mere second of delay in page load can lead to a 7 percent reduction in conversion rates? This is because user experience matters a lot in conversion rates.
As a designer, you must think about both these factors as well. It has been advised by many that designers should use user journey when making a website design to help the company achieve high conversion rates.
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User Journey Defined:
A user journey refers to the visualization of the entire process that a user experiences once they access a website. A designer can use a user journey by presenting the user journey in the form of steps that a user takes when interacting with the product.
You might confuse this with the customer journey. While customer journey begins right when a customer gets product awareness, user journey starts when the user accesses the website in question. Here, decision points refer to the pages the user visit and in what pattern they do so.
Why must designers think about the user journey?
When creating a website design, designers need to consider user journey and conversion rates due to the following reasons:
1: You need to know “why” to answer the “how.”
As a designer, you need to create a user interface and website design that helps customers. At the end of the day, websites are not just supposed to be about aesthetics. Instead, they serve the purpose of facilitating customers.
This is especially true if you are working on an ecommerce website design. To create a design that is effective in converting visitors into customers, you must know what motivates the said users to avail themselves services on a website. A user journey can help you in getting the insight you need to know the “why.”
2: It helps you prioritize features and functions
There is a lot that goes into a website. There are various tabs and functions that you might have to work on as a website designer. You must decide which of the features and functions you must prioritize.
User journey aids in identifying which of the many features you use to give more importance to when designing the website. For instance, if most of your users go to a given section of the eCommerce, this is an indication for you that you must focus on the given category first.
3. Conversion rates can help you know which colors to choose
Gone are the days when choosing a color for a website was only based on aesthetics and the expertise of designers. Now, this crucial decision is also dependent on what effect each color may have on conversion rates.
Understanding the impact design templates and colors have on conversion rates allow designers to create a website that boosts sales turnover.
This is a closed-loop cycle every company wishes to achieve, whereby their design aids conversion rates and the latter helps in improving the former.
Rather than going with your “gut feeling,” use user journey and conversion statistics to create a site that is impactful.
4: It helps to communicate with your client
Mapping out the user journey through a thorough document that lists down user touch points and behaviour can be an excellent way to communicate why you are opting for specific designs.
Remember, your client might be interested in knowing why you are giving certain design-related suggestions over others. Seldom is the case that designers are given a free hand over the process.
By mapping out the user journey, you can conclusively tell your client your rationale behind focusing on certain elements or choosing specific templates.
You can also deliver insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the current user interface to help make your argument.
All in all, thinking about user journey and relaying the findings to your client can help you get better autonomy over the designing process.
5: You will only end up focusing on what matters
Let’s say you invest most of your time in perfecting the FAQ section of the website. This is because you are a firm believer that FAQs are one of the most visited aspects of a website.
However, as per the user journey, you find that only a few visitors access this part of the site. This means, all this time, you were expending your energy over something that the user doesn’t even care much about!
Had you used the user journey map, to begin with, you would have saved a lot of time and energy. Therefore, if you want to focus on aspects that matter, it is better to use insights generated from user journey reports and conversion rates.
6: It promotes collaboration
A user journey is more than just the concern of the designing department. Instead, the marketing, sales, and finance department have just as much to learn from the findings a user journey as a designer has. This is why it has been found that a user journey helps in promoting collaboration across departments in a company.
You might wonder, as a designer, why should you care about cross-functional collaboration? This is because, by engaging stakeholders from all over the company, you can end up creating a website that is truly impactful and cost-effective for the company.
And since the individual goals of all employees are linked with the organizational goal of better sales turnover, this helps designers and marketers alike.
7: Your concern is not the company but the users
As a designer, you must understand who the real consumer of your service is. Yes, you might be hired by a company to design their website. However, the end consumer is the site visitor. He/she is the one you must please to be successful at your job indeed.
Therefore, you should think about how to design best an experience that aligns with their needs. And this is something only a user journey can help you figure out.
Conclusion:
Look beyond your intuitions and expertise. Take user experience and journey into account. Watch as your website design helps the company in getting a high conversion rate.
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