what is user journey mapping?

Simply put, user journey mapping is outlining the route a user takes to achieve a goal on your website. This route will be guided by your site’s design, including structure, menu labels, and calls to action.

A user journey map is usually created in conjunction with user personas, and focuses on the needs, goals and business requirements of the organisation, as well as the needs and expectations of users. It’s a really useful tool for working out the best way to get users to navigate your site and complete any desired actions.

Let’s say a user arrives at your site with the intention of purchasing a product. Their journey might take them from promotional content to your homepage, and then through various product pages before finally completing the checkout process. This journey needs to be mapped out precisely and every stage optimised to ensure that the user completes their end-goal and doesn’t drop out along the way.

designing the ideal user journey

A website must cater to both new and returning users, leading them where they want to go in a simple and user-friendly way. A great user journey map anticipates what users are expecting at each stage and supplies all the information needed, without bombarding or overwhelming. If designed well, it can also cater to different audiences effectively.

User journey mapping can help you:

• Reduce friction in user experience: Friction is defined as anything that interrupts users and prevents them from completing their digital goals. By reducing obstacles in the user journey, you can help ensure users make purchases, fill out contact forms and finish other desired actions.
• Remove unnecessary steps: Making users’ navigation through your website simple and enjoyable will increase user satisfaction and improve conversions.
• Meet the needs of different audiences: New customers might be looking for special offers and high-level information about your organisation, whilst returning visitors may be more interested in support or advice. User journey mapping can help you understand and meet both type of users’ needs simultaneously.
• Display the most relevant information: Users typically only spend a few seconds on a webpage. If they’re presented with relevant information and clear calls to action, this will ensure they continue on their journey through your site.
• Provide the right amount of content: Users often scan websites rather than actively reading, so displaying too much information can be overwhelming and confusing. User journey mapping can help you keep content short, simple and relevant to users’ needs.

To sum up, user journey mapping brings clarity to the path users take through your site, and helps keep them on track towards their end-goal, with just the right amount of detail and encouragement along the way.

For on-demand support with web design or user experience, please get in touch and we’ll be happy to help!

Website usability is often a problem for charities – with tight web design budgets, optimising user experience can seem like a luxury rather than a necessity. But UX is key to promoting your charity effectively, encouraging people to explore your site, and maximising online donations – so underspending on website usability may well be a false economy.

Dr Jakob Nielsen carried out user testing of 23 non-profit websites in the US. He found a variety of usability issues which he called donation killers, including poor content, missing information, cluttered pages and confusing navigation. On 17% of sites, testers couldn’t even find where to donate!

10 ways in which the best charity sites maximise website usability:

1. Choosing clear fonts which are easy to read and work across browsers and devices
2. Featuring a bold and interactive ‘donate’ button on every page, ideally in the top header
3. Limiting content on the homepage, in order to highlight the most important information and key messages – using ‘read more’ buttons is a great way to reduce irrelevant text
4. Using the same colours across the site to maximise brand recognition and consistency
5. Having a clear, simple and concise layout, with logical menu items
6. Including links to relevant information, to encourage users to keep exploring
7. Adding social media buttons and feeds to streamline user experience across platforms
8. Always keeping the target audience/users in mind – for example, a 60-year-old woman seeking cancer support groups will be expecting a very different online experience to a teenage boy seeking information about mental health
9. Maximising accessibility by enabling keyboard functionality and providing information in varied formats
10. Ensuring contact details are easy to find, including links to local charity branches if applicable

need help?

We’ve designed websites and maximised UX for charities including World Cancer Research Fund, Anti-Slavery International, Care International and The Fostering Network. If you’d like to improve your site’s usability or optimise your charity’s digital performance in any other way, please visit our charity services page or get in touch.

planning you fundraising blog

1. Decide on messaging: What are you raising money for? Think through what you want to communicate and what kind of a response you want to generate. What’s your key message and how can a blog convey this?
2. Consider your brand personality: You can show your charity’s values and personality with a blog. Think about your tone – are you quirky, factual, humorous, scientific or something else?
3. Choose content types: Who are your target audience and how can you best connect with them? A real-life story, Q&A or opinion piece could all be useful for different audiences and campaigns. Consider what will appeal to potential donors – what will they want to see, and what will encourage them to click on your donate button?
4. Set a timeframe: Be realistic about how often you can blog. Think about what information has to be collated, where you will source imagery or videos, and how much time will be needed for editing and proofreading. This should all tie in with your fundraising plans and timeframe too.
5. Plan, plan, plan: Finally make a plan of what content you will produce and when, including any key information such as upcoming fundraising events, donation targets and dates for seeking information from stakeholders. Remember that whilst it’s important to plan, if something comes up – such as a major news story – your blog schedule can always be changed.

writing your fundraising blog

1. Introduce your fundraiser: There’s no value in asking someone to donate to your cause if they do not know what it is! Make sure to introduce your fundraiser and donation targets as well as explaining how money will be spent.
2. Encourage discussion: A blog is a great way to create a community and encourage people to discuss and share your post. Encourage users to comment with their opinions, comments and even share their own stories.
3. Include imagery: A picture says a thousand words, or so the saying goes. Make sure to include images to show what you’re trying to achieve and who you’re trying to help. Visual content is very effective in reinforcing your written messages.
4. Be bold with your donation button: Make sure your donation message and button is clearly visible. Make it as easy as possible for people to support your cause.
5. Include links: Within your blog, link to related posts on your site, further information about your charity and any other information about donating or attending events. It’s important not to over-fill your posts with links, but to give people easy access to relevant information.
6. Proofread: When you’re pressed for time, it can be easy to click ‘post’ before proofreading. But by double checking the spelling, grammar and clarity of your blog, you ensure your message is as professional and compelling as possible.
7. Use keywords: This will aid in search engine optimisation (SEO), and therefore help people to find your blogs on search engines such as Google.
8. Share widely: There’s no point having a blog if no one reads it. Share via social media, email newsletters and any other channels you have available. Also, encourage your supporters/donors to share your blog too!

If you’d like on-demand help with your charity website or blog, visit our charity services page or get in touch.

1. provide links for further browsing

Your 404 error page needs to convince the user to carry on browsing your site rather than exiting. Solely seeing the words ‘file not found’ is going to make them want to leave and find what they’re looking for elsewhere. Therefore, at the very least, you need to provide a link back to your website homepage or menu. Ideally, a 404 error page should also provide a search box, popular content or suggested content. 

2. acknowledge there’s been a mistake

The fact that the page is no longer there isn’t the user’s fault – indeed, it may well be your mistake, whether you’ve removed the page intentionally or not. There’s no harm in admitting responsibility and apologising on your 404 error page – this helps maintain a positive relationship with users.

3. keep the design consistent

Although your 404 page is a single page which can’t be found within your site menu, it’s still part of your wider web design. Whatever approach you use – whether it’s a serious or humorous, simple or elaborate – make sure it’s inkeeping with the colour scheme and design of the rest of your site. You should also ensure your logo and any website headers/footers appear on the page.

4.  add emotion or humour

Yes, there’s been a mistake and yes, this isn’t great for user experience, but it’s also a brilliant opportunity to show the playful side of your brand. By including something silly, emotional or humorous, you can grab the user’s attention and keep them in a good mood. This not only encourages users to continue browsing your site, but also indicates that your brand is warm and personable.

For further inspiration, check out these nine awesome 404 error page examples. Or, for on-demand help with your 404 page, website user experience or any other aspect of digital performance, please get in touch.