How To Make A User Flow Diagram

23/02/23, 21.
53 How to Make a User Flow Diagram | Creately
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How to Make a User Flow

Diagram
Updated on: 09 December 2022 | 10 min read
User flow diagrams are indispensable in mastering

user experience. They allow you to understand
how users interact with your app or website, and
the steps they take to complete a task or achieve
a goal on your website. This will help you create a
superior user experience for the user and meet
their needs more efficiently.
In this guide, we’ll take a look at the important role
user flow diagrams play in UX design, how to
make a user flow diagram, and the best practices
you should keep in mind. We’ve also got you
covered with some handy templates that you can
use throughout the process of designing your
user flow.
What is a User Flow

Diagram
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A user flow can be interpreted in many ways.➡️It

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can be regarded as an overview that describes
where users can navigate in your product. It can
also mean the actual quality and experience of the
path users take to accomplish a task.
Or it can mean the actual sequence of steps the
user takes to complete a task. Flowcharts can be
useful in visualizing these routes users take when
they are using your solution (i.e. website or app).
Such tools that help with visually tracing the steps
of interaction between user actions and program
interfaces are called user flow diagrams or user
flow maps.
They help work out the logical path a user should
take when interacting with the system, and they
depict the relationships between the functionality
of the system, potential user actions, and the
associated consequences.
User flow diagrams can have different looks
based on the stage of the design process you are
in. If you have the wireframes for your app or
website already made, you can use them to create
your flowchart. Such wireframe flowcharts are
called Wireflows.
User flow diagrams are also referred to as
interaction flow, activity flow, user interface flow,
navigation flow, or task flow diagrams.
User flow diagram symbols are as➡️

follows
User Flow Diagram Symbols

Refer to this resource to understand more
flowchart symbols that might be useful when
creating user flows diagrams.
Importance of a User Flow Diagram
User flow diagrams come in handy when you
want to understand your designs based on the
goals of your users.
They can be used to communicate the
intended flow of users as they navigate
through the pages of your website or through
the actions in your app
Engineers, designers, and architects can use
them to understand the complexities, scope,
and paths of the design of a system as well as
identify gaps, dependencies, and deficiencies
in it.
How to Make a User Flow➡️
Diagram
Without further ado, let’s discuss how to make a
user flow diagram.
Step 1: Understand the Customer
Journey
A user flow is based on what the user does –
therefore understanding who they are, their
motivations, needs, and behavior is crucial to
making an effective user flow diagram.
It may seem like an additional step, but
conducting proper user research and designing
user personas will help you create smoother user
flows.
We have already covered how to create user
personas in an earlier post, refer to it to learn how
to create a buyer persona in a few simple steps.
Or if you are already familiar with the process,
here’s a template to begin with.
User Persona Template (Click on the template to

edit it online)
Once you have created the customer profile, you

are a step closer to understanding your user
journey.
You can use a customer journey map here to
properly analyze what your customers do, feel,
and expect when they are interacting with your
business (i.e. visiting your website), the various
touchpoints, and pain points.
Customer Journey Map (Click on the template to

edit it online)
We’ve also covered the process of creating a➡️

customer journey map in 6 simple steps. Do check
it out.
The rest of the steps of creating a user flow will
be easier once you know your user’s journey.
Step 2: Identify Your Goals and Your
User’s Goals
The next step is to get an idea about the
objectives of your business as well as that of your
users.
You may already be aware of your business’s
goals; e.g. to increase conversion on your
website, to boost the sale of your product, etc. It’s
usually the final outcome of the actions you want
your users to take.
On the other hand, your users’ objectives include
the desires and needs they want to satisfy. And
different users also may have varied goals in
mind. This is where the user personas and the
customer journey maps you created earlier will
help you out in figuring out what they are.
Step 3: Identify Where Your Users
are Coming From
If you are designing a website, you may want to
know where your customers are coming from or in
other words what the entry points are. These
usually include,
Direct traffic
Organic search
Social media
Paid advertising
Email
Referral sites
Press or news items
You can use Google Analytics to get the

percentages for these entry points. They may also
indicate different user behaviors.
For example, a direct visitor would search your
brand name, while an organic search visitor would
first Google the product they want before
discovering you as a suitable seller.
And it is important to map out these different user
flows based on the different entry points. It’s key
to developing a better experience for the users.
Step 4: Identify the Information the
Visitor Needs
In order to design the best possible user flow, you
need to get into the shoes of your customers.
This means understanding what their needs and
motivations are by heart. So you need to know
what problems they have, their doubts, and
hesitations, what questions they have about the
product, and what answers they seek.
Since you have already created your buyer ➡️

personas and the journey map, this step is easier
to complete.
Step 5: Visualize Your User Flows
By now you are aware of the users you are
creating the user flow for, what their objectives
are, and where they are coming from. The next
step is to create the user flow.
Think of what your users do before and after they
visit a particular page on your website. What do
they see, and what action do they take to reach
their goal? This will help you identify the pages
you need to create, what information/ content you
need to provide, and how they should be
connected to each other.
Pay attention to the start and end of each task.
This may change based on the goal of different
users.
Once you have filtered out the necessary
information, visualize it with a user flow diagram.
User Flow Diagram (Click on the template to edit it

online)
Step 6: Prototype Your Flow

You can use low-fidelity prototypes wireframes or
UI mockups to test out the user flow outlined in
the previous step. The prototype helps add more
detail to the flow and helps you understand the
flow between user actions and content.
It will also help you validate that your product is
designed according to your and your users’
objectives.
Step 7: Review, Refine and Test
You can share your user flow diagrams with
stakeholders and discuss where adjustments
need to be made.
And once a high-fidelity prototype is ready, you
can also test it out with actual users.
This way you can collect data on each step of the
user flow and understand how your users
navigate through your product. You can then
identify areas for improvement and apply
solutions before the release of the final product.
Better understand customer journey paths and
create superior user experiences with Creately.
Create a User Flow
Best Practices to Keep in

Mind When Creating a User
Flow Diagram
Stick to the best practices below to make sure
that the user flow diagrams you create are
actually effective in helping you out.
Always give your user flow diagram a name
that describes its purpose. This will help
anyone who refers to it understand its basis.
Stick to one direction when drawing the
flowchart. Since the chart maps out a story, it
helps to read and understand it better when
the map flows in one direction.
Limit the number of decision points to make it
clutter-free/ less complicated.
Make sure the scope of the user flow diagram

covers a single task or a single goal of your
user. If the user flow only covers half of the
task or maps out the steps to cover more than
one user goal, it will not serve its purpose.
Make sure to only add the necessary
information and avoid any other detail that
doesn’t help you describe the flow and actions
of the user.
Use a digital flowchart tool like Creately, to
speed up the process. Plus it will allow you to
get the input of others and keep your work
saved in one place and in the cloud, which will
enable you to refer to it and work on it from
anywhere. Moreover, it will help you save up
space with its infinite canvas area; otherwise,
it may take up several walls of your
conference room!
User Flow Diagram

Templates
Resources
HR Planning
IT & Operations User Registration Flow Diagram (Click on the
Marketing & template to edit it online)
Sales
Project
Management
Production &
Manufacturing
Software Teams
Education
BPM Flow Diagram Example (Click on the template to
Product edit it online)
Management
Guides & Best
Practices
Step-by-Step
Visual Guide to
Mobile App
Planning
The Quick Guide
to Creating a
Proper Product
Roadmap
How to Draw the
Perfect Timeline
Diagram with
Creately
H t Mk
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Diagram
Sequence
Diagram Tutorial
– Complete
Wireflow Template (Click on the template to edit it

online)
Ready to Make Your Own

User Flow Diagram?
User flows are a powerful tool in a designer’s
toolkit. They make it easier for designers to see
the big picture – what pages they need to create
and how they should be connected. We’ve pretty
much-covered everything you need to know to
make a user flow diagram – including templates
you can use to start right away.
Now we would like to know your opinion on user
flow diagrams. Type away in the comments
section below.
FAQ About the User Flow➡️
Diagram
What is the role of user flows in UX
design?
In UX design, user flow diagrams are created
during the design planning phase after the user
research has been completed. It plays an
important role in laying the foundation for the
product being designed. After the data has been
gathered from user testing, the user flow
diagrams are used to identify how many screens
are needed and what order they should appear in
and which elements should be presented on each.
They also help with enhancing the user
experience of the product and identify and clear
up issues users may encounter while interacting
with the product.
What are the different types of user
flows?
There are different types of user flow diagrams
based on how you choose to visualize the user
journey.
Task flows – a task flow chart focuses on a
single feature or a single task the user
performs without showing other pathways.
They are linear charts that don’t show options
for variability.

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23/02/23, 21.

53 How to Make a User Flow Diagram | Creately

UNLIMITED users, $89/mo. Checkout our new business plan ➡️