5 User Flow Examples for Exceptional UX Design

In UI/UX design, none of the two parts of the equation can be downplayed. However, while the user interface sets the stage for a user journey, it is the user experience that puts everything in motion. The UX defines each stage, touchpoint, and transition a user goes through when browsing software.  More importantly, the UX shapes the way the digital product feels, how all the interactions in it occur, and how a user moves from screen to screen, page to page, feature to feature — in other words, a user flow. 

But there’s an important distinction to make. While UX is an umbrella term for the entire user experience, a user flow is a tool that helps plan each interaction with different parts of the software within that experience. 

This article will help figure things out, differentiate between the concepts, and understand the ultimate importance of prioritizing user flow planning as part of UX design. But let’s start from the basics. 

What Is a User Flow?

A user flow is an outline, a blueprint, if you will, of the software product’s user-facing navigation. This includes all actions and steps a user must take in order to use a certain feature, achieve a certain software outcome, etc. The most basic example would be a mobile shopping user flow like this one:

[Open mobile app] → [Browse products] → [Select a product] → [Add to cart] → [View cart] → [Proceed to checkout]

Designers usually create a diagram, chart, or infographic of certain user interactions with baseline software features structured into a logical sequence. This helps them fit into the end-user’s shoes, emulate a high-quality user journey, and sketch it out for further implementation.

Here’s what a realistic user flow example would look like:

How Do User Flows Enhance User Experience?

User flows also make an essential tool for team collaboration, letting designers, developers, PMs, marketers, and other specialists stay on the same page and synced up in their UI/UX decisions. 

On top of all that, user flow diagrams also help:

• achieve better user-centricity;
• get rid of points of friction;
• minimize churn;
• avoid expensive mistakes;
• organically boost app conversions.

Better yet, user flow design helps eliminate steps on the user's path that have no functional load, for example:

• Previously skipped steps that do not allow the user to continue their journey.
• Dead ends — the inability to return or change their choice.
• Error handling, validation messages.
• Handling empty states — when there is no information for the image: incomplete data, no search results, etc.

How to Create a User Flow Diagram for Your Project

The creation of user flow charts, graphs, or diagrams is a very personalized task. Nevertheless, their basic structuring is very common and universal. All you need to do is tweak a pre-researched template according to your user journey vision. Thus, the main elements of a user flow diagram are:

• Entry points: Website homepage; mobile app launch/authorization; trigger action; etc.
  A starting point of a user flow can be a push of a button, a submission of data, or a start of a certain interaction, like simply opening a mobile app.
• Process, user action, or interaction: Pressing a button, picking sections/menu items, using a feature, etc.
  If opening an app is only an entry-point decision, all the following actions, like opening certain screens or pages and interacting with offers, should be marked separately.
• Decision points: Which authorization method to pick? Which tools should be used for this or that goal? And other similar questions.
  Important milestone decisions should also be highlighted in their own right, like when a user decides whether to use fast authorization or go through a full-on registration and then authorize into a user cabinet.
• Branch-outs, variations, or loops (if applicable): Multiple outcomes, predefined software response, differently triggered processes, etc.
  Multiple outcomes and software response variants should also be marked out, demonstrating alternative user paths that may depend on different factors and variables.
• Arrows or other indicators: Direction markers, branched indicators, A to B outlines, etc.
  You will need another type of mark, usually an arrow, to indicate the sequence of user flow elements and steps, showing which action or outcome flows out of which endpoint or prerequisite. 
• Endpoints or goals: Results and outcomes, point of process completion, user’s goal achievement, etc.
  Lastly, mark the endpoint of the user journey, like completing a profile registration or verifying a product order. 

With these core elements in hand, you can move on to forming and structuring a user flow chart for your purposes. There are a couple of things you can do.

Strategic brainstorming

First, you need to specify a baseline purpose, ultimate goal, and target user audience of your user flow. You can do so by answering the following questions:

• Who is the target user?
• What are their intentions/goals?
• What steps must they take to get satisfaction?

For example, a retail online shopper is looking to compare and purchase a smartphone. A user flow should outline each step, from launching a marketplace app to adding products to comparison to finalizing the order.

Detailing and enrichment

With a basic sequence sketched out, it is time to refine the user flow, making it more detailed and comprehensive, fit to support a truly intuitive UX. 

• User motivations: Consider what drives the user. Do they seek convenience, cost savings, or a personalized experience?
• Supportive features: Reflect on how the software can help achieve the goal — through timely prompts, helpful tooltips, interactive tutorials, etc.
• Potential red flags: Identify any friction points that might deter users, such as complex forms or unclear navigation.
• Required information: Determine what info users need at each step to feel confident moving forward and what emotional triggers can encourage action.

User flow finalization

Three main stages help polish out and finalize a user flow chart, making it fit for passing into the following UI/UX design and development stages:

• Prototyping
• Testing and analyzing
• Optimization

You prototype a user flow first. Then, see where the user path winds up and think of a better, simpler, or more intuitive transition. Finally, rehaul and optimize the user path.

5 Great User Flow Examples for Apps and Websites 

You should have a pretty good idea of what a user flow is all about by now. Here are some tangible UX user flow examples to get inspired or customize for individual use. 

E-commerce checkout flow

Here is one of the great user flow diagram examples for your typical online shopping order checkout based on a hypothetical decision to buy a book at Amazon.

E-commerce checkout journeys are usually the most to-the-point ones, with few branch-outs and variables. For an eager buyer, there are not many friction points apart from initial registration.

Music player app flow

Here is a great template concept that you can use for inspiration or rework for your own music app. 

Known for their hyper-personalized nature, today’s music player apps tend to have more complicated user flow outlines. Apart from the standard registrations and logins, a lot of focus is put on the playlist functionality. 

Blog posting user flow

As one of the more niche-focus user flow examples, here is a user flow that can help with the blog or social media posting.

While coming up with and writing a blog or social media post is a creative task, the structures of the posts can be efficiently templated.

Project management dashboard flow

There is a great variety of management routines that can be optimized and streamlined via detailed user flows. Here is a good instance of an incident management user flow chart.

As you can see, this flow describes quite a delicate and complex procedure of high-level management. Still, a simple, descriptive infographic helps approach even such moments with efficiency. 

Online banking app user flow

Online banking calls for an ultimately intuitive UX with simple stage-by-stage transitions. Here’s a great user flow example based on the credit approval process outline.

For credit approvals, there are certain variables and friction points that require both the app functionality and banking specialists to stay consistent in the work. A well-integrated user flow will definitely help. 

5 Best Tools for Designing User Flow Diagrams

Now that you’ve learned the ins and outs of intuitive user flows and got inspired by the elaborate UX user flow examples, it is time to pick the tool to implement one. Thankfully, there are proven options to choose from.

FigJam

Created as a specialized planning tool for the Figma suite, FigJam is a whiteboarding collaboration platform. Namely, it provides a simple, well-equipped space for designers to sketch out user flows and brainstorm concepts. 

Pros:

• Integration with Figma: Seamless integration with Figma’s design environment allows a smooth transition from wireframes to detailed designs.
• UI: A simple interface makes it easy for designers and non-designers alike to contribute ideas.

Cons:

• Limited advanced diagramming features: While great for brainstorming, FigJam lacks features for complex flowcharts compared to dedicated diagramming tools.
• Difficult for new users: Teams unfamiliar with Figma might need time to adjust to the interface and collaborative functionalities.

Lucidchart

Lucidchart is a feature-rich diagramming tool that can be used to create a great variety of diagram types, including user flows. It gives you a varied set of templates and integrations, making it fit for different-scale projects.

Pros:

• Lots of templates and shapes: A rich library of pre-designed templates and symbols specifically for UX and flowchart diagrams.
• Integrations: Connects with Google Workspace, Slack, and Microsoft Office.

Cons:

• Subscription cost: Access to premium features is on the more expensive side.
• Occasional performance issues: In very large diagrams, some users have reported slow performance or loading times.

Whimsical

Whimsical is known for its simplicity and clean interface, making it easy to create user flow diagrams, wireframes, and other UX deliverables. It doubles down speed and clarity, which is ideal for quickly sketching out ideas.

Pros:

• Intuitive and clean UI: Minimalistic design allows for rapid diagram creation without overwhelming users with too many options.
• Fast prototyping: Great for quick iterations and early-stage conceptualization of user flows.
• Collaboration: Supports sharing and real-time collaboration, making it a good option for distributed teams.

Cons:

• Limited customization: Its simplicity can be a drawback if you need highly detailed or customized diagrams.
• Feature limitations: May not support some advanced diagramming or data integration features that more robust tools offer.

Overflow

Overflow is a tool for the creation of exhaustive, interactive user flow diagrams with any extent of details and touchpoints. It is tailored for UX professionals who need to present a detailed and navigable view of a user journey.

Pros:

• Interactive diagrams: Clickable flows that help stakeholders understand complex user journeys.
• Integrations: Works well with Sketch, Figma, and Adobe XD.
• Detailed documentation: Provides a platform to annotate and explain each step in the user journey clearly.

Cons:

• Niche focus: Its specialization in user flow diagrams makes it quite narrowly focused.
• Cost: Is on the pricier side compared to more general diagramming tools, making it less ideal for small teams or individual designers.

Flowmapp

Flowmapp is designed specifically for UX professionals to create user flow diagrams, sitemaps, and other UX artifacts. It focuses on planning and mapping out user journeys with clarity and precision.

Pros:

• UX-centric features: Tailored for creating detailed user flows and sitemaps, with tools to map user journeys visually.
• Collaboration and sharing: Supports team collaboration and easy sharing of interactive diagrams with stakeholders.
• Integration with UX research: Enables linking of user personas, research findings, and even mobile data analytics.

Cons:

• Difficult to master: Requires time to figure out all the features and adapt them to the design workflow.
• Less versatile for other diagram types: Focuses mainly on UX diagrams, so it may not be suitable if you need a tool that handles a broader range of diagramming tasks.

Improve Your App User Journey with Reteno

Got the user flow design concepts figured out? To maximize your project or business performance, Reteno will help you centralize user contacts and plan out interactions and events in one place. Reteno is a messaging automation and customer retention platform with a feature-rich functionality that helps optimize regular user interactions through AI-driven testing, in-depth mobile analytics, and personalization. 

Reteno’s main purpose is to boost lead generation and retain as many existing business contacts as possible through the automation of user interactions. To that end, Reteno offers:

• Contact identification: New users can be automatically assigned an identifier and added to a pre-segmented contact list. 
• App user behavior tracking: The contact activity dashboard helps monitor user’s interactions with a marketing campaign or a website, providing valuable info for better personalization and simpler onboarding. 
• Personalized marketing campaigns: The creation of workflow allows setting up multistaged campaigns by simply dragging and dropping campaign elements, stages, and events in a convenient editor. 
• Dynamic content and product recommendations: Reteno’s content tips will help visualize the user journey and optimize a unique digital marketing funnel to drive conversions and sales with consistent, eye-catching offerings. 

Do you have a network of leads or business contacts that you need to grow, boost, or maintain more efficiently? Try Reteno for its centralization and maximizing the outcomes.

Final Thoughts

In the era of overwhelming digital offerings and faceless clone software designs that we live in, the sky’s the limit for enhancing the user experience and perfecting user journeys so that they truly stand out. User flows are an irreplaceable tool to help chisel out exceptional UX creations without going far and overthinking. This article gives you everything you need to get a robust handle on the user flows for your projects!