The User’s Journey: Part I
When building a web application or software, there isn’t much written on how users should flow through the sign-up process. This makes sense, as it’s highly dependent on the specific application and audience. What I’ve come to realize is that this is a marketing, design and engineering problem.
This series of posts is to identify and break down this problem into patterns into actionable steps. This is my experience and opinion, you may not agree and I don’t expect you to. My goal is to spread some ideas and how I think they can be implemented. Hopefully you learn a thing or two or view problems differently.
The Problem Statement Summarized:
Orchestrating how users navigate through your website and application is crucial for converting them into customers.
As builders and marketers, we focus heavily on lead generation pipelines and driving traffic to marketing websites and landing pages. With the increasing accessibility of application-building tools, particularly with AI, the digital space is becoming more crowded, making clarity even more critical as there is more garbage that people are being inundated with.
Significant time and money go into building these websites and their accompanying lead pipelines, especially when running ads. On-page experience of the user flow should be a key consideration because it’s the one area entirely under our control. By guiding users to take the desired next steps, we can maximize conversions.
Elements of the On-Page Journey
Each experience is made up of a few key pieces. Just because there is a separate section for each one, does not mean it necessarily needs to be a standalone service from the engineers point of view. Let’s explore some critical elements users encounter on their journey.
The Landing Page
The landing page is the asset where we direct users to. Lead pipelines and marketing efforts ultimately have the visitor end up here. Its purpose is to explain the problem our product solves and demonstrates how it relates to the user.
Why Is a Landing Page Important?
A landing page functions as a sales tool, think of it as a sales representative that answers questions and addresses prospective concerns. If users visit your website and think, I have no idea what this product does, that’s a clear sign the page needs improvement.
Landing Page Copy
The copy is the backbone of communication on a landing page. It should be clear, concise, and devoid of marketing jargon. Too often, landing pages fail to answer fundamental user questions.
You may be tempted to have ChatGPT generate this for you. I would advise against this for an end product. That said, ChatGPT can be useful for initial drafts and just getting words on the screen for designing the page. For example my workflow:
- Write out a brief description of what your service or product does. The more details you can add to this summary the better.
- For each section of the marketing page, use a prompt like the following: “Create a Title and Description for a Hero section of a website using the following context” Make sure to include the summary from step one.
- Do this for each element on the section on the landing page.
What you’ll come to find when looking at other pages online is that many pages have trash copy. This is an area where you can stand out from others that do not put time or effort into theirs.
Show, Don’t Tell
Words and generic images are not enough. Demonstrating how your product solves customer problems in action is crucial. This can be achieved through videos, code demos, or step-by-step walkthroughs. Don’t just talk about the solution—show it. Be creative here; this is your chance to stand out amidst the noise.
“What Should I Do?”
Even with excellent copy and clear demonstrations, you still need to guide customers toward their next action. You need to define what your end goal is. This will generally depend on the website or application you’re building. See the End Goal section for more information.
Your Application/Product
This is where you deliver value to your users. Whether it’s on the same website as your landing page or a separate platform, maintaining consistency is vital.
- Is the styling and copy consistent?
- Does the experience match the expectations set by the landing page?
Users should transition seamlessly to the product. You don’t want them to feel, I’ve made a huge mistake. Consistency builds trust and ensures users feel comfortable continuing their journey.
End Goal
Having a great product or tool is only the first step. Define what you want users to do: sign up, pay, or both?
Some applications follow a freemium model, where users start with a free version and are later encouraged to upgrade to a paid plan. Others don’t want to deal with the hassle of free users. These two Conversion Flows will look completely different.
Another thing to keep in mind is understanding the level of commitment required from users. The effort, time and money is something that the user will weigh against. The more perceived value that they get, the more they’re willing to give.
For example: Entering credit card details is a higher investment than registering for a free account. The value propositions must comply with the investment you’re asking for.
Whats Next
In the next couple of posts we’ll be diving into how to design and implement Conversion Flow. We’ll talk about the different components that make up a Conversion Flow model, examples of Conversion Flow models, and strategies for implementation from a technical perspective.