User Flow

What Does User Flow Mean?

User flow is a term for the description of a set of tasks that a user must do to complete some process. In IT and on the Web, professionals might analyze user flows to try to make websites or technologies more user-friendly, and to understand the goals of the user as well as the goals of the company or other party that the Web project serves.

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Techopedia Explains User Flow

In general, the user flow can be boiled down to an essential number of steps. Suppose someone is looking at a user flow for the purchase of some product on the Web; here, the user flow would start with entering the URL or clicking into the landing page. It would consist of the user looking at and clicking on menus, to get to a product page, and then selecting a product in a shopping cart or otherwise proceeding to the purchase point.

Analyzing user flows is a great way to observe how a piece of Web property or software works. Analysts can see exactly how someone would approach some process, and how that could be made easier. For example, analysis of user flows often results in more clarity for menu bars or controls, better positioning of core task access, or other kinds of design implementations that make it easier for people to do what they intend to do online.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…