User journeys explained

Source page: https://www.feelcreated.com/knowledge-hub/user-journeys-explained/

Structured JSON: https://www.feelcreated.com/knowledge-hub/user-journeys-explained/ai.json

This page is generated automatically from the same reviewed FC AI data as the JSON version.

Meta

Type: knowledge_hub

Language: en-GB

Last updated: 2026-10-01

Retrieval summary

What: User journeys describe the steps people take to achieve a goal on a website, focusing on the complete task rather than individual pages.

Who

Organisation: Feel Created

Relevant for

Problems solved

Article

Type: Knowledge Hub guide

Primary topic: User journeys and how understanding them improves website design and user experience

Intent: User journeys describe the steps people take to achieve a goal on a website, focusing on the complete task rather than individual pages.

Audience

Topics

Content focus

Canonical claims

Item 1

Claim: A shorter journey is not always a better one; reducing steps at the expense of information can leave people less able to make informed choices.

Evidence type: page_content

Evidence strength: medium

Source section: good-journeys-reduce-unnecessary-effort

Item 2

Claim: A technically sound application form may still pose difficulties if preceding content does not explain eligibility or required information.

Evidence type: page_content

Evidence strength: medium

Source section: step-6

Item 3

Claim: Confirmation pages and messages should explain when a response is likely, what the person should do next and where to find further help.

Evidence type: page_content

Evidence strength: medium

Source section: common-journey-problems

Item 4

Claim: User journeys often begin before someone reaches the website, through search results, social media, emails, or other channels.

Evidence type: page_content

Evidence strength: medium

Source section: user-journeys-often-begin-before-someone-reaches-the-website

Item 5

Claim: Organisations need to support multiple user journeys, and prioritising the most important ones is a useful starting point.

Evidence type: page_content

Evidence strength: medium

Source section: every-organisation-supports-multiple-journeys

Item 6

Claim: Analytics can provide a partial view of where people enter, which routes they take and where their recorded activity ends.

Evidence type: page_content

Evidence strength: medium

Source section: overview

Item 7

Claim: Mapping the journey gives the team a clearer view of how content, design, and development decisions connect.

Evidence type: page_content

Evidence strength: medium

Source section: what-is-journey-mapping

Item 8

Claim: Good journeys reduce unnecessary effort by providing clear instructions and explanations.

Evidence type: page_content

Evidence strength: medium

Source section: good-journeys-reduce-unnecessary-effort

Common questions

Item 1

Question: How do organisations decide which journeys to prioritise?

Answer: By asking which tasks matter most to users and the organisation, which have serious consequences if not completed, and where people are currently struggling.

Item 2

Question: How do user journeys influence website projects?

Answer: Understanding priority journeys helps shape decisions in three connected stages: understand (initial objectives, user research, user journeys), shape (information architecture, navigation, content, functionality, design), and validate and improve (usability and accessibility testing, launch, learn and improve).

Item 3

Question: Do user journeys always start on the homepage?

Answer: No, many people enter further into the website through search results, social media, emails, QR codes, or links from other sites.

Item 4

Question: Do all visitors follow the same route?

Answer: No, people begin with different levels of knowledge and arrive through different channels. Good websites support more than one sensible path towards the same outcome.

Item 5

Question: Are good journeys always shorter?

Answer: Not necessarily. Some tasks require explanation and reassurance. A clear journey may consist of several useful steps rather than a single short but confusing interaction.

Item 6

Question: What does a journey map include?

Answer: A journey map includes the user goal, journey stages, touchpoints, and opportunities for improvement.

Item 7

Question: How do you map a user journey?

Answer: A simple mapping exercise might follow six steps: choose one goal and context, gather what you already know, map what happens now, add what happens at each stage, decide which problems matter most, and test changes and keep the map updated.

Item 8

Question: Why do user journeys matter?

Answer: Understanding user journeys helps organisations identify unnecessary steps, missing information, barriers, and opportunities for improvement, leading to better user experience.

Services

UX design & user experience

Relationship: supporting

Url: /services/ux-design-user-experience/

Digital planning & research

Relationship: supporting

Url: /services/digital-planning-research/

Information architecture

Relationship: supporting

Url: /services/information-architecture/

Content architecture

Relationship: supporting

Url: /services/content-architecture/

UX audits & reviews

Relationship: primary

Url: /services/ux-audits-reviews/

Sections

Overview

Content

Item 1

Text: People don’t experience a website as a series of separate pages. They arrive with something to do. Someone may want to report a problem, compare university courses, ask for a quote, book an appointment or find and read a specific article. The individual pages they visit matter, but only as parts of something larger. What they remember is whether the website helped them achieve their goal. A user journey describes the steps involved in reaching that outcome. Looking at those steps together helps organisations understand where people need information, what decisions they must make and where unnecessary barriers may slow them down. It also helps project teams consider how content, navigation and functionality work together to support the complete task, rather than treating every page as a separate item to design or write.

What is a user journey?

Items

Content

Item 1

Text: A user journey follows the actions and decisions involved in completing a task. It could be relatively short. Someone might need to find an organisation’s phone number before making a call. It could also involve several stages, systems and interactions over a much longer period. A prospective university student, for example, could explore courses, compare entry requirements, attend an open day and begin an application. They may then receive emails, provide additional information and wait for a decision. Different departments and platforms might support each stage, but the student experiences them as one connected process. Depending on the task, someone may need to: The path between web pages is only one part of that experience. A visitor usually does not care how the website is structured internally or which department manages each page. They care about whether they can make progress towards the outcome they need. A user journey is therefore not just a list of pages. It’s a way of understanding the task from the user’s perspective.

User journeys often begin before someone reaches the website

Content

Item 1

Text: Organisations sometimes plan a journey as though everybody will begin on the homepage and follow the navigation in a predictable order. In reality, many people enter much further into the website. People may arrive through a search result, a link in an AI-generated answer, a social media post, an email, a QR code or another organisation’s website. A colleague or friend may also send them directly to a particular page. Someone searching for a council’s bulky waste service may land directly on a collection page. A prospective student might arrive on an individual course page after searching for a subject. Any page that can appear in search, be shared or be linked to may be someone’s first page. It should make clear where they are, whether the information is relevant and what to do next. The wider experience may also include interactions outside the website. A recommendation may create the initial interest, an email might prompt someone to return and a phone call or face-to-face appointment could complete the task. Looking at the complete journey helps organisations see those connections rather than treating the website as a self-contained experience.

Every organisation supports multiple journeys

Items

Content

Item 1

Text: Most websites need to support more than one type of visitor and more than one outcome. A university website may need to support people comparing courses, booking open days, applying and finding help once they have enrolled. Alternatively, a business website might help prospective clients compare services, ask for quotes or download technical information, while existing customers may return for support or account information. In all cases, some tasks will matter more than others. They may be completed frequently, support an important organisational objective or involve an area that currently creates confusion or avoidable enquiries. Organisations do not need to map every possible variation in detail. A useful starting point is to identify a small number of priority journeys by asking: This keeps the work focused on the areas where a clearer experience would have the greatest effect.

A user journey example: making an initial enquiry

Content

Item 1

Text: Think about someone who wants to find out whether an organisation can help and, if so, make contact.

Step 1

Parent id: a-user-journey-example-making-an-initial-enquiry

Parent heading: A user journey example: making an initial enquiry

Content

Item 1

Text: Find a service that looks relevant

Step 2

Parent id: a-user-journey-example-making-an-initial-enquiry

Parent heading: A user journey example: making an initial enquiry

Content

Item 1

Text: Decide whether the organisation can help

Step 3

Parent id: a-user-journey-example-making-an-initial-enquiry

Parent heading: A user journey example: making an initial enquiry

Content

Item 1

Text: Explore the available options

Step 4

Parent id: a-user-journey-example-making-an-initial-enquiry

Parent heading: A user journey example: making an initial enquiry

Content

Item 1

Text: Decide how to get in touch

Step 5

Parent id: a-user-journey-example-making-an-initial-enquiry

Parent heading: A user journey example: making an initial enquiry

Content

Item 1

Text: Complete the enquiry

Step 6

Parent id: a-user-journey-example-making-an-initial-enquiry

Parent heading: A user journey example: making an initial enquiry

Content

Item 1

Text: Understand what will happen next A fuller journey map would also show what the person needs at each stage, the channels they use, where the route branches and where people may encounter difficulties. On paper, the route looks simple. In practice, there are several points where the person can lose confidence. They may land on an outdated page from a search result, then struggle to work out whether the service applies to them. The organisation may describe its services in language that is familiar to its own teams but less familiar to prospective clients or customers. The next step may take them into a separate form, booking platform or customer system with its own layout and instructions. A form may ask for detailed information without explaining why it is needed. Even after submitting it, the person may still be left wondering whether the enquiry has been received, when the organisation will respond and what will happen next. None of these problems is necessarily caused by one badly designed page. The difficulty comes from the combined experience. Looking at the whole task helps the organisation ask more useful questions. Can people tell whether the service is right for them? Do they know how to make contact? Are they prepared for the information they will be asked to provide? Does the confirmation explain what happens next? Some people will know exactly what they need and move through the journey quickly. Others may need more explanation before deciding what to do next. The journey should support both.

Good journeys reduce unnecessary effort

Content

Item 1

Text: Some tasks are naturally complicated. Applying for funding, choosing a university course or understanding healthcare options may require careful thought. A website cannot remove that underlying complexity, but it can avoid making the task harder than it needs to be. Good journeys help people understand where to begin, find the right information and make decisions with greater confidence. Instructions appear when they’re needed, choices are explained clearly and important actions are easy to recognise. Completing one step should provide a sensible path forward. A shorter journey is not always a better one. Someone comparing several important options may need clear explanations before making a decision. Reducing the number of steps at the expense of that information can leave people less able to make an informed choice. Effort becomes unnecessary when it is created by the website rather than the task. Repeated questions, unclear labels, missing information and unnecessary switching between systems all demand attention without helping the person make progress. Removing those obstacles is often more valuable than adding new features.

Common journey problems

Items

Content

Item 1

Text: Websites can become difficult to use when they reflect organisational structures rather than the tasks people need to complete. A navigation menu may reproduce departments, teams or internal service names. That structure can feel logical to employees who understand the organisation, but it may offer little guidance to someone arriving with a practical question. Information can also appear in the wrong order. A page might ask someone to begin an application before explaining the eligibility criteria. A service page may describe the organisation’s expertise in detail while leaving the visitor unsure how to request help. Other common problems include: Problems like these are often overlooked because pages, forms and external systems tend to be checked separately. Each one may work well enough on its own, but the task can still become difficult when someone has to move between them.

What is journey mapping?

Content

Item 1

Text: Journey mapping is a practical way to record the experience of completing a task. A map can be a simple sequence of steps on a page or a more detailed workshop output showing what someone needs, does and experiences at each stage. The format matters less than whether it helps the team understand the task more clearly. The exercise gives people from different departments a shared view of the experience. It can reveal where information is missing, where responsibilities are unclear and where separate systems or teams create friction for the user.

User goal

Parent id: what-is-journey-mapping

Parent heading: What is journey mapping?

Content

Item 1

Text: The outcome someone wants to achieve. For example, finding out whether an organisation can help and making contact, rather than simply visiting its contact page.

Journey stage

Parent id: what-is-journey-mapping

Parent heading: What is journey mapping?

Content

Item 1

Text: A part of the journey involving one or more related actions, decisions or touchpoints. A stage might involve discovering a service, comparing options, submitting information or waiting for a response.

Touchpoint

Parent id: what-is-journey-mapping

Parent heading: What is journey mapping?

Content

Item 1

Text: Any point at which someone encounters or interacts with the organisation or service, before, during or after using the website.

Opportunity

Parent id: what-is-journey-mapping

Parent heading: What is journey mapping?

Content

Item 1

Text: A point where a barrier could be reduced or a need better met. The answer might be clearer content, a simpler form, a change to the process, a better hand-off between teams or a more suitable support route. Base the map on evidence wherever possible. Where evidence is missing, identify assumptions and look for ways to test them. A journey map does not tell the team exactly what to build. It gives them a stronger basis for deciding what needs to change.

How to map a user journey

Items

Content

Item 1

Text: A simple mapping exercise might follow six steps:

How journeys influence website projects

Content

Item 1

Text: Understanding priority journeys helps shape many of the decisions made during a website project. A simplified view might group that work into three connected stages:

Initial objectives

Parent id: how-journeys-influence-website-projects

Parent heading: How journeys influence website projects

Content

Item 1

Text: What the organisation needs the project to achieve

User research

Parent id: how-journeys-influence-website-projects

Parent heading: How journeys influence website projects

Content

Item 1

Text: Understanding people’s goals, behaviours and needs

User journeys

Parent id: how-journeys-influence-website-projects

Parent heading: How journeys influence website projects

Content

Item 1

Text: Mapping the tasks and outcomes the website needs to support

Information architecture

Parent id: how-journeys-influence-website-projects

Parent heading: How journeys influence website projects

Content

Item 1

Text: Organising services and content around a clear structure

Entities

Information architecture

Website usability

Usability testing

Website analytics

Task completion

Journey mapping

User journeys

Entry point

Concept relationships

Item 1

Subject: Journey map

Predicate: includes

Object: User goal, journey stages, touchpoints, opportunities

Item 2

Subject: Confirmation pages

Predicate: support

Object: Next steps and reduce enquiries

Item 3

Subject: User journeys

Predicate: influence

Object: Website structure and navigation

Item 4

Subject: User journey

Predicate: influences

Object: Website project decisions

Item 5

Subject: Analytics

Predicate: provide

Object: Partial view of user behaviour

Item 6

Subject: Journey mapping

Predicate: reveals

Object: Common journey problems

Item 7

Subject: Organisation

Predicate: supports

Object: multiple user journeys

Item 8

Subject: Completing one task

Predicate: leads to

Object: Another journey

Item 9

Subject: Good journeys

Predicate: reduce

Object: Unnecessary effort

Item 10

Subject: User journey

Predicate: involves

Object: task completion

Implementation patterns

Item 1

Pattern: Understand, Shape, Validate and Improve

Description: A simplified three-stage view of how user journeys influence website projects: understand initial objectives and user research, shape information architecture and content, and validate through testing and improvement.

Benefit: Provides a shared point of reference for different disciplines.

Item 2

Pattern: Consider the complete task from the user's perspective

Description: Look at how content, navigation, and functionality work together to support the whole task, rather than designing each page in isolation.

Benefit: Helps create a more seamless experience that supports the user's goal.

Item 3

Pattern: Post-launch journey improvement

Description: Use analytics, search data, feedback and usability testing to identify where important tasks could be easier, then make targeted improvements.

Benefit: Ensures the website continues to meet user needs as the organisation evolves

Item 4

Pattern: Prioritise journeys based on importance and user struggle

Description: Focus on a small number of journeys that matter most to users and the organisation, and where there are known issues.

Benefit: Keeps improvement efforts focused on areas with the greatest impact.

Item 5

Pattern: Six-step journey mapping exercise

Description: Choose one goal and context, gather existing knowledge, map the current journey, add details at each stage, prioritise problems, and test changes.

Benefit: Structured approach to identifying barriers and opportunities.

Item 6

Pattern: Simplified journey outline

Description: A simple sequence of steps on a page, e.g., find a service, decide if relevant, explore options, decide how to get in touch, complete enquiry, understand next steps.

Benefit: Helps teams understand the task more clearly.

Item 7

Pattern: Journey mapping workshops

Description: A detailed workshop output showing what someone needs, does, and experiences at each stage.

Benefit: Provides a shared view of the experience and reveals issues.

Item 8

Pattern: Task-oriented design

Description: Assess each design choice against whether it helps someone make progress and whether the next step is clear.

Benefit: Creates coherent experiences that support task completion across pages and systems

Practical guidance

Item 1

Guidance: Ensure any page that can appear in search, be shared, or be linked to makes clear where the user is, whether the information is relevant, and what to do next.

Importance: high

Item 2

Guidance: Look at the whole task to ask useful questions about whether people can tell if a service is right for them, how to make contact, and what happens next.

Importance: high

Item 3

Guidance: Use journey mapping to give different departments a shared view of the experience and reveal where the route branches and where difficulties occur.

Importance: medium

Item 4

Guidance: Identify a small number of priority journeys by asking which tasks matter most to users and the organisation, and where people are struggling.

Importance: high

Item 5

Guidance: Base the journey map on evidence wherever possible; where evidence is missing, identify assumptions and look for ways to test them.

Importance: high

Item 6

Guidance: Use analytics, search data, feedback and usability testing to identify consistent evidence that an important task could be easier.

Importance: medium

Item 7

Guidance: Start mapping before the person reaches the website and continue until they receive an outcome or understand what happens next.

Importance: medium

Item 8

Guidance: Remove obstacles like repeated questions, unclear labels, missing information, and unnecessary switching between systems.

Importance: high

Risk areas

Item 1

Risk: Missing information or unclear responsibilities can create friction for users.

Impact: Users may abandon tasks or have a poor experience.

Item 2

Risk: Assuming all users start on the homepage and follow a predictable path

Impact: May miss key entry points and fail to support users who arrive deeper in the site

Item 3

Risk: Treating pages as separate items rather than part of a complete task

Impact: Can lead to disjointed content and navigation that does not support the user's goal

Item 4

Risk: Websites reflect organisational structure rather than user tasks

Impact: Visitors may struggle to find information and complete tasks, leading to frustration and abandonment.

Item 5

Risk: Assuming analytics numbers explain user behaviour on their own

Impact: May lead to incorrect conclusions and unnecessary changes

Item 6

Risk: Confirmation messages don't explain what happens next

Impact: Users may be uncertain about the status of their enquiry, leading to anxiety and additional contact.

Item 7

Risk: Designing only for the immediate form submission

Impact: Misses opportunities to support next steps and may increase avoidable enquiries

Item 8

Risk: Forms contain unnecessary or unexplained fields

Impact: Users may abandon the form or provide incorrect information, reducing conversion.

Common misconceptions

Item 1

Misconception: All users begin on the homepage and follow the navigation in a predictable order.

Clarification: Many people enter further into the website through search results, social media, emails, or other channels.

Item 2

Misconception: Checking pages, forms, and systems separately is sufficient.

Clarification: Problems often arise from the combined experience across pages, forms, and systems, so the whole task must be considered.

Item 3

Misconception: User journeys are linear and start from the homepage.

Clarification: User journeys are not necessarily fixed, linear routes; people may enter at different points, take different routes, and interact with other channels.

Item 4

Misconception: A journey map tells the team exactly what to build.

Clarification: A journey map gives a stronger basis for deciding what needs to change, but does not dictate specific solutions.

Item 5

Misconception: Every visitor follows exactly the same route

Clarification: People begin with different levels of knowledge and arrive through different channels. Good websites support more than one sensible path towards the same outcome.

Item 6

Misconception: Journey mapping is only for large projects

Clarification: Even mapping one important task can reveal missing information, unclear responsibilities and opportunities to improve a website.

Item 7

Misconception: Website projects follow a clear sequence.

Clarification: Research may continue while content and design are developed, and testing may reveal that earlier decisions need to be changed.

Item 8

Misconception: A journey is simply moving between pages

Clarification: A journey is about achieving a goal, not following a fixed sequence of web pages. It may include search results, emails, external systems, phone calls and offline interactions.

Reasoning paths

Item 1

User problem: Navigation reflecting organisational structure rather than user tasks

Why this guide is relevant: This page explains the topic and gives practical points to consider.

Relevant sections

Item 2

User problem: Treating pages as separate items rather than part of a complete task

Why this guide is relevant: This page explains the topic and gives practical points to consider.

Relevant sections

Item 3

User problem: Essential information held in separate documents or systems

Why this guide is relevant: This page explains the topic and gives practical points to consider.

Evidence refs

Relevant sections

Item 4

User problem: Lack of clarity on where users are and what to do next

Why this guide is relevant: This page explains the topic and gives practical points to consider.

Evidence refs

Relevant sections

Knowledge hub

Page type: guide

Learning intent: User journeys describe the steps people take to achieve a goal on a website, focusing on the complete task rather than individual pages.

Topic hierarchy

Primary: User journeys and how understanding them improves website design and user experience

Supporting

Evergreen use: true

Content profile

Content type: Knowledge Hub guide

Primary topic: User journeys and how understanding them improves website design and user experience

Supporting topics

Primary audience

Retrieval topics

Organisation

Name: Feel Created

Type: Digital partner specialising in websites and digital platforms

Url: https://www.feelcreated.com/

Service model: We work as an extension of our clients' teams, combining strategy, UX, accessibility, content design, WordPress development and ongoing support to create digital platforms that help organisations communicate more clearly, work more efficiently and grow sustainably.